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Creative Writing Courses
Writing Fiction I - Visiting Lecturer Sara London
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Writing Fiction I is an introductory fiction workshop. We will focus
on essential matters of craft and technique (point of view, voice,
dialogue, narrative structure, etc.), particularly as these elements
relate to the short-story form. Class time will be devoted primarily
to "workshopping" your stories, but we will also regularly
discuss short stories by established writers, especially those working
in a realist mode. We will look closely at how the masters of this
distinctly modern form have managed to render, with precision, economy,
and what Rick Moody has called "poetical density," a genre
of lasting literary value. As writers, we will also consider ways in
which autobiography may be used in fiction, how seeds from the writer's
own life may germinate as fictional "truth."
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Please submit 8 to 12 pages of your very best prose writing, double-spaced,
stapled, and with your name and contact information (please include
e-mail address) on the first page. A short story or a novel excerpt
would be ideal, but if you have not written fiction previously, a nonfiction
piece will be fine. I'll accept creative or analytical essays, memoir,
journalistic articles, or book reviews. While this is an introductory
class, I'm looking for students who are already accomplished prose
writers, and who express their ideas with clarity, intelligence and
authority.
Submissions are due Friday, September 2nd, and should be
sent to: Fiction I Submissions, Creative Writing Program Office, AC #2235,
Amherst College, P.O. Box 5000, Amherst, MA 01002. A class list will
be e-mailed to students and posted in the Creative Writing Office the
day before class. Submissions will not be returned, so please keep a
copy of your work.
Sara London may be reached at slondon@smith.edu.
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