English 286*Tribble A202*Thursday,
3-5:30 p.m.*Dr. Julie Edelson*X5908*e-mail:
edelsojb@wfu.edu
Short-Story Workshop
A self-conscious, practical, laboratory
approach to prose fiction techniques. Each week, students are asked to
tackle specific problems in viewpoint, dialog, description, and tense and
to read the result for general reaction and discussion the next. The professor
will gladly edit these efforts. Radiant
examples of published work will be consulted to clarify the demands
of the exercise and to inculcate both ambition and humility.
Week 1. Reliable First-Person Narration
2. Unreliable First Person - Persona
3. Third Person
4. Gender Switch
5. Two-Person Dialog
6. Group Conversation
7. Crowd Scene
8. Portrait/Still Life
9. Indoor Description/Movement in Confined Space
10. Outdoor Description/Unconfined Movement
11. Present Tense
12. Flashback/Forward; Condensing the Past - Baggage Handling
13. Planning the Final Story
14. Why is a short story short?
15. Practical Matters/Going Public
The goal is to develop control, to build a
repertoire, to be ready and able when inspiration strikes. Style, subject
matter, and syntax are at your discretion provided we may criticize how
well they work. Students must submit at least five assignments and complete
one short story by the end of term. Hard work will be rewarded over talent.
