Like science fiction, fantasy, or horror? (Otherwise known as speculative fiction)
Have an imaginative mind and find yourself thinking up magical adventures and portals to other worlds when you should be doing homework?
Been itching to write about alien encounters, a college for magic users, or a dark presence living under the bridge that grants wishes… if you’re willing to pay the price?
Then this Eng 273 course might be for you! If you’re not a speculative fiction writer, you’re welcome to join–it’s just that the class will be focused on the speculative.
This face-to-face class meets T and Th, 10:30-11:45am in Kuykendall 309.
You’ll analyze elements of the short story and how those elements are specialized towards speculative fiction (setting -> worldbuilding, mood -> sense of wonder, etc) by writing short critical pieces (if you’ve ever done stylistic analysis, this will be similar). And… you’ll also be given opportunities to wow the class by writing creatively. Expect small experiments that let you practice each storytelling element we cover and one or two longer pieces–short stories!
We’ll primarily use short stories to examine speculative fiction concepts via literature. Some (TENTATIVE–DON’T BUY YET) course texts might be Steven Harper’s Writing the Paranormal Novel or Brian McCloud’s Land of the Dead: Lessons From the Underworld.