Course Description
This course will be a seminar focused on fiction craft. Readings will include fiction from authors of diverse backgrounds and styles paired with essays dedicated to the craft of fiction writing. Lectures and discussions will consider the fundamental elements of fiction: point of view and psychic distance, narrative structure, character, dialogue, treatment of time, setting and description, style and voice.
Zoom Information
For all meetings:
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://sou.zoom.us/j/84632220077
Meeting ID: 846 3222 0077
Topic: Fiction Writing
Time: Jan 6, 2022 04:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Every week on Thu, 8 occurrence(s)
Jan 6, 2022 04:30 PM
Jan 13, 2022 04:30 PM
Jan 20, 2022 04:30 PM
Jan 27, 2022 04:30 PM
Feb 3, 2022 04:30 PM
Feb 10, 2022 04:30 PM
Feb 17, 2022 04:30 PM
Feb 24, 2022 04:30 PM
Class Schedule
01.06 | Introductions, Genre & Identity
- Optional post-class reading
- Shawn Coyne, Storygrid.com, “The Five Leaf Genre Infographic“
- Benjamin Percy, “The Best of Genre + The Best of Literary Fiction = Awesome,” Lithub
- Sources for my talk:
- Chavez, Felicia Rose. The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: Decolonizing the Creative Classroom. Haymarket Books, 2021.
- Mura, David. A Stranger’s Journey: Race, Identity, and Narrative Craft in Writing. The University of Georgia Press, 2018.
- Percy, Benjamin. Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction. Graywolf Press, 2016.
- Salesses, Matthew. Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping. Catapult, 2021.
01.13 | Point of View
- Robert Olen Butler, “Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot”
- Valerie Miner, “Casting Shadows, Hearing Voices: The Basics of Point of View”
- Lynna Williams, “And Eyes to See: The Art of Third Person”
- For In-Class Reading & Review
- Morrison, Toni. From Beloved.
01.20 | Dialogue and Voice
- Ann Beatie, “The Rabbit Hole As Likely Explanation”
- Dialogue Mechanics Handout (using examples from Beatie’s story)
- “How Should You Format and Punctuate Dialogue?” from The Language of Fiction
- “What Words Should You Use to Present Dialogue?” from The Language of Fiction
- “Should You Phonetically Represent Characters’ Speech?” from The Language of Fiction
- For In-Class Reading & Review
- A scene from Fleabag written as fiction.
- Some examples from bestsellers of cringe-worthy dialogue.
01.27 | The Art of Character
- Leopoldine Cole, “The Underside of Charm“
- Deborah Eisenberg, “Some Other, Better Otto“
- Optional post-class readings
- Margot Livesey, “Mrs. Turpin Reads the Stars: Creating Characters Who Walk off the Page,” from The Hidden Machinery
- David Corbett, “Character Generation Exercise” from The Art of Character: Creating Memorable Characters for Fiction, Film, and TV
- John Cheever, “Reunion” is an example of a story that creates a memorable character in only a few pages.
02.03 | Time in Fiction
- “The Speeds of Storytelling” (HTML table)
- Jane Alison, “Movement and Flow,” from Meander, Spiral, Explode
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “The Future Looks Good”
- Lorrie Moore, “How to Talk to Your Mother (Note)”
- Tobias Wolff, “Bullet in the Brain”
- Robert Coover, “Going for a Beer”
02.10 | Description & Details, Signs & Symbols
- David Means, “Two Nurses, Smoking”
- Charles Baxter, “Rhyming Action” (start on page 112 with the section that begins with “Robert Creeley once said about his stories…” The earlier, introductory part of the essay is basically just Baxter making fun of poets for not working very hard).
- Optional post-class reading
- For those interested in learning more about Derrida, his reading of Plato’s use of the term pharmakeus, and the idea that the author is not entirely in control of their own meaning: “Plato’s Pharmacy” by Jacques Derrida, from Disseminations, trans. Barabara Johnson.
02.17 | Narrative Structures
- Madison Smartt Bell, “Linear Design” and “Modular Design” from Narrative Design.
- Donald Barthelme, “The School” (just the story; you can skip the introductory commentary)
- George Saunders, “The Perfect Gerbil“
02.24 | Readings from Works-in-Progress
Resources
Craft Talks & Advice
- New Yorker Fiction Podcast. Each month, The New Yorker Fiction Podcast features a story from the magazine’s archives read by a writer whose work has also been appeared in the New Yorker. After the reading, fiction editor Deborah Treisman and her guest discuss the story.
- KCRW’s Bookworm. On his long-running podcast Bookworm, KCRW’s Michael Silverblatt interviews authors and poets, asking questions informed by his careful reading of nearly everything his guest has ever written.
- IWP MOOC-Packs. The International Writing Program (a sister program of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop) offers a number of freely accessible, massive open online courses (MOOCs) dedicated to aspects of fiction writing. Each of the IWP’s MOOC-Packs contains a series of online videos making up the self-directed course, together with a guide that explains how to use the materials to teach a class or lead a study group. Courses include How Writers Write Fiction (I & II), Stories of Place: Writing and the Natural World, and Moving the Margins: Fiction and Inclusion.
- Craft and Advice. Advice and essays on craft from Literary Hub.
- Don’t Write Alone. Craft essays curated by Catapult Magazine.
- Craft Essays. Craft essays curated by Brevity magazine.
Writing Prompts
- The Time is Now. Prompts curated by Poets & Writers Magazine.