ENG 313 – Types of Creative Writing – Fully online section via Laulima
SCREENWRITING & SHORT FICTION
Writing Intensive section with Zero textbook cost
(CRN 92328, Sec. 701)
Summer 2019, 7/1-8/9
How do you tell a story? In a way, storytelling–the art of dramatically showing “what happens next”–is the oldest, most organic, form of entertainment for humanity. Like the “once upon a time” narrators of yore, we tell stories to imaginatively revisit and process tough experiences; to share our life perspectives and philosophies through the make-believe alchemy of timing, illustration, empathy, humor, embellishment, revelation, and drama; and to teach moral or social lessons to less seasoned or younger members of our species. But storytelling also demands a skill set of formal (aka aesthetic) expertise which can best evolve through both daring and careful narrative practice.
In this Writing-Intensive online course, we will hone our skills in the craft of narrative delivery, playing with key elements of two major storytelling traditions, film and fiction: we will creatively write premise, plot structure, characters and their arcs, setting/storyworld, point of view, genre, exposition/description, tone, conflict, dialog, voice, subtext, action, and tension. You will tell two fictional (aka scripted) stories well, by practicing writing parts of them in informal exercises, by reading and discussing samples of quality stories, and finally by revising your Rough Draft of each story into a Final Draft in response to peer and instructor feedback.
Course requirements include:
- One 8-10 double-spaced page screenplay
in the standard screenwriting format (in 2 drafts)
[40% of total grade or 20% per draft]
- One 6-8 double-spaced page short fiction story
following the conventions of print literature (in 2 drafts)
[40% of total grade or 20% per draft]
- Two 3-4 double-spaced page self-reflection essays
analyzing your process for each of the 2 stories
[10% of total grade or 5% per essay]
- Completion of informal writing exercises
to help build up to the full paper drafts (about 2/week)
[5% of total grade or a little under 1%/week]
- Active, timely, & quality participation in assigned exercises
that demonstrates timely learning of course content
[5% of total grade or a little under 1%/week]
Join us as we learn to storytell in these great traditions of the modern narrative! Share your own favorite films and literary stories with your classmates and talk about what makes a tale work–or not. By the end of the course, you should be more aware of what constitutes a strong story and how to tell it. Contribute your own narrative skills and learn from those of your peers!
Questions, email ida@hawaii.edu.