ENG 414: Fiction Workshop
In this course, students will clarify, situate, and hone their sense of craft by engaging in a rigorous close reading practice and a consistent writing ritual. By studying and borrowing techniques from our readings—particularly attuned to elements of style, structure, setting, and point-of-view—students will be provided weekly writing exercises designed toward uncovering or building short stories or novel chapters. Students can expect to write, at minimum, 1000 words a week.
In the first half of the semester, we will read work by contemporary writers from Hawaiʻi and across the U.S., from recently published anthologies and literary magazines, alongside craft essays on narrative technique and the writing process. Later, we will discuss how to map our larger writing projects and goals, reading excerpts from short story collections and the opening chapters of select novels, as we reinforce our understanding of audience and the communities we are writing for and from.
The second half of the semester will be devoted to workshopping each studentʻs writing in the spirit of care and collaboration, as we build a supportive artistic community together. We will engage in a workshop practice that centers and supports the vision and intentions of the writer rather than silencing and overwhelming them. Throughout the course, we will discuss and practice revision strategies across various scales—sections, scenes, paragraphs, sentences—as we learn to become better readers, editors, and advocates of ourselves and one another.
Student Learning Objectives:
- Identify and analyze craft terms for exploration in your writing
- Engage in a variety of prose techniques, forms, and genres
- Develop the discipline and endurance to write and revise in the long-term
- Develop editorial skills through a care-informed practice of close reading, workshop, and feedback
- Plan and build a short story toward a full-length collection, or an opening chapter toward a novel
- Revise with an understanding of audience, and an eye toward submitting your work for publication
- Collaborate and thrive in a writing community
Possible Texts:
Honolulu Stories Today: An Anthology of Modern Fiction from Hawaiʻʻi
The Best American Short Stories 2024, edited by Lauren Groff
1000 Words: A Writerʻs Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round, Jami Attenberg
Excerpts from Craft in the Real World, Matthew Salesses
Excerpts from short story collections and novels TBD
Selections from online literary magazines