Introduction to Fiction Writing

Catalog description

English 212 is a course for students who want to try writing fiction for the first time and for more seasoned writers who are ready to develop greater courage for expression, complexity of craft, and skills for analysis and revision. You will find new sources of inspiration and sharpen your senses for observation. You will master the core components of fiction, such as character, setting, point of view, dialogue, and plot, and you will learn to improve your writing by sharing and reworking it. The course typically involves short exercises designed to help you strengthen key areas of your writing; analysis of published short stories and essays for examples and advice; and, centrally, workshop settings, where you will gain experience giving and receiving generous, useful criticism. You will complete at least one longer, cohesive work of fiction, such as a short story or section of a novel. You will learn to take up the writing life with a spirit of adventure and play, even as you get serious about the disciplined work and vital stakes of making fiction. By inspiring the production, analysis, and appreciation of creative arts, this course satisfies Bachelor of Arts and General Education requirements for Arts.