ENG 3610 PBC
ENG 3610—Creative Writing: Fiction
Three Semester Hours
JK 2/16
Prerequisites
University Requisite: ENG 200 or 201 or 250 or 2010 or 2020
Course Overview
The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the fundamental mechanics and aesthetics of storytelling. This territory will be covered in two ways: first, you will be asked to read and digest one chapter of the accompanying text for each lesson. Burroway’s text is a rigorous introduction to fiction technique. Second, you will be given a writing assignment for each successive chapter in the Burroway text.
Methods of Course Instruction
All material for this course is print-based. Instructor and students communicate and exchange materials through postal mail.
E-Print Option
In this course, an option exists to use e-mail to submit your lesson assignments. Your assignment will be returned to you either as an e-mail attachment or as a hard copy sent through the postal mail, depending on the preferences of the instructor and/or program.
Textbooks and Supplies
Burroway, Janet. Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft. 9th ed. NY: Pearson, 2015. [ISBN: 9780321923165]
Number of Lessons
The course has ten lessons, including one final project (which will be graded as the final for the course). These lessons include:
- Lesson 1: The Writing Process
- Lesson 2: Showing and Telling
- Lesson 3: Characterization, Part I
- Lesson 4: Characterization, Part II
- Lesson 5: Fictional Place
- Lesson 6: Fictional Time
- Lesson 7: Story Forms, Plot, and Structure
- Lesson 8: Point of View
- Lesson 9: Revision
- Lesson 10: Final Project
Types of Writing Assignments
Each lesson contains a writing assignment. Some early assignments will take the form of critical essays in response to short story models in the text. These essays should be written according to the standard rules of composition. You also will be asked to write original fiction fragments or exercises, and finally you will advance to the complete, stand-alone short story. The last lesson requires that you submit a fully revised short story worthy of publication.