This class focuses on the reading and writing of narrative
prose fiction. Both short fiction and novel extracts are welcome, though the
workshop format is certainly more suitable for short fiction. The purpose of
the class is to help students formulate a sense of their own aesthetic—what
they find valuable or otherwise in fiction—and to incorporate these choices
into their own work.
Each week, students will read published stories
(approximately 40 pages) and essays regarding the craft of fiction writing (20
pages), plus three student stories (roughly 30 pages total). Each student will
write three stories for class discussion of a minimum of 10 pages, although
longer works will be encouraged. Students will take turns leading class
discussions of both the student stories and the published work. Course grade
will reflect the student’s preparation for these discusssions, as well as
overall contributions to the weekly conversation.
Required texts:
Francine Prose, Reading
Like a Writer
Daniel Halpern, ed. The
Art of the Tale