Module Identifier | WR30320 | |||||||||||
Module Title | WRITING SHORT FICTIONS: NARRATIVES | |||||||||||
Academic Year | 2006/2007 | |||||||||||
Co-ordinator | Dr Matthew C Francis | |||||||||||
Semester | Intended for use in future years | |||||||||||
Next year offered | N/A | |||||||||||
Next semester offered | N/A | |||||||||||
Pre-Requisite | EN10320 , EN10420 | |||||||||||
Mutually Exclusive | EN32420 | |||||||||||
Course delivery | Seminars / Tutorials | 10 x 2 hour seminar/workshops | ||||||||||
Assessment |
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1. to help students to develop their range and capabilities as writers;
2. to help students to work with confidence in a variety of prose forms and genres;
3. to help students develop their ability to reflect critically on their own writing practice.
Outline of Weekly Programme
1 What is a Story?
A discussion of a brief example story challenging students to rethink their definitions of the genre. Exercises in telling and writing very short stories.
2 The Epiphany Story
Stories based on the notion of epiphany, eg a character's emotional or spiritual coming of age.
3 The Relationship Story
Stories dealing with the start, end and continuing problems of relationships.
4 The Quest Story
Stories structured around the idea of a quest, in which a character tries to obtain some objective in the face of obstacles and ordeals.
5 Problems and Mysteries
Stories structured round the idea of a mystery, from the traditional detective story to less conventional attempts to find solutions to intellectual and emotional problems.
6 Imagined Worlds
Stories which build a world, whether through pure fantasy or by subtly changing the conditions of reality.
7 Writing about Writing
Stories which explore their own textuality.
8 Scene and Summary
Students will be asked to think about the structure of their stories and how they decide which parts of the narrative to show and which to tell.
9 Character and Dialogue
Students will be asked to think about the way they develop character in their stories, and project this through dialogue, with particular emphasis on the uses and abuses of stereotypes.
10 Redrafting and Revision
Students will work on a draft of one of their short stories with a view to improving it. There will be discussion of the different stages of planning, writing and revision.
This module is at CQFW Level 6