The Present and the Rules (and How To Break Them)

Catalog description

In fall, writing will begin with our bodies in present time and space. Our minds are nestled in our bodies, and our imaginations are nestled in our nervous systems. We will consider present bodies as mediums, sources, oracles, and anchors. From autofiction to high fantasy, stories are born this way; speculation, itself, is an imaginative projection. We will explore ways to release our writing from cerebral control while mindfully steering it: breaking habitual linguistic patterns, collaborating with other writers, and working outside our usual forms. We will explore how elements preconceived as deficits are actually sources of power as writers. In spring, we will have a solid process and practice foundation. Thus, the course will segue into our examination of the most common craft terms and the generally accepted contemporary rules for writing fiction. We will look at how some writers explode those rules, then use what was learned to break the rules themselves. We will generate new writing through experiments both during and outside of class. Experiential exercises may include immediate sensory awareness work, dream logs, and studies of inexplicably vivid memories. We will also do some highly structured experiments around craft concepts, such as point of view, atmosphere, plot, and figurative language, among others. We will also collaborate in pairs and small groups. Authors studied may include Franz Kafka, Anton Chekhov, Karin Tidbeck, Uchida Hyakken, Carmen Maria Machado, Paul La Farge, Octavia Butler, Raymond Carver, Robert Lopez, Maurice Kilwein Guevara, James Hannaham, Denis Johnson, Renee Gladman, Elizabeth Crane, Shelley Jackson, and Ryō Hanmura. Texts by writers and teachers such as Pema Chödrön, Garielle Lutz, Peter Levine, Richard Schwartz, D. Foy, and Jericho Brown will also support our work. Fiction Workshop: Subject Matter, Voice, Form, and Purpose