001: Silfa WF 12:30 PM – 1:50 PM
002: Ko WF 9:30 AM – 10:50 AM
003: Galef TR 2:00 PM – 3:20 PM
001:
”It is a happy talent to know how to play.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
In this introductory workshop, you will experiment with very short fiction, exploring what makes a story work through play and precision. The course begins with reading a range of published flash fiction—including magical realism, soft sci-fi, queer fiction, and more—to analyze the craft elements that bring these stories to life. You will then write your own short narratives, applying what you’ve learned. Each student will submit one original piece for workshop, participate in ten-minute in-class writing exercises, and compile a final portfolio of revised work at the end of the semester. Be prepared to share your writing often.
002:
That’s what fiction is for. It’s for getting at the truth when the truth isn’t sufficient for the truth. ― Tim O’Brien
This introductory fiction-writing course is intended to further your growth as a writer, reader, and skilled workshop member. We consider craft elements such as point of view, tense, character, setting, voice, style, surprise, and more. This semester we will read flash fiction, short stories, novel excerpts, and craft essays from a variety of writers, both historical and contemporary, and discuss how and why they work. After building your knowledge of literary devices and styles, the second half of the semester will focus on workshopping two of your own stories. We will explore works from Angela Carter, Raymond Carver, Ken Liu, Netflix’s Arcane, and others, together throughout the semester.
003:
This is a fast-paced introductory course in reading and writing short fiction, with the ultimate goal of coming to better understand the writing process not just as an art but also as a craft. Students will read and discuss a broad selection of prose from the ancient world to the present, covering diverse genres and perspectives, with a special focus on reading like a writer, will compose their own fiction in the form of daily exercises and at least one publication-length story, and will give and receive constructive criticism on each other’s writing.