Varieties of Short Fiction

Catalog description

The aim of this course is for students to analyze a variety of classical and contemporary short fiction. The course engages all the elements that give a fiction a chance at success - obsession, seduction, evoking of the senses, the removal of filters, scene and summary, theatre of the mind, et cetera. This course examines the elements of fiction - plot, character, setting, point of view, theme, effective dialogue, meaningful description and telling detail, narrative voice, pacing, symbol, etc. - in an effort to determine the part each element plays in creating the overall effect of the short story. Students learn to recognize and use the terminology of fiction and, by reading, discussing, and analyzing several dozen stories by a diverse selection of writers, achieve a thorough understanding of the process and value of writing short fiction, as well as develop skills with which to analyze the form.