Module Information

The module will provide students with the basic knowledge needed for the successful writing of fiction. It replaces the current Ways with Words module, which covers a broad range of different topics in a diffuse way without intensive consideration of any of them. By contrast, this module will focus on one area, with an emphasis on technical skills. It will provide a foundation of fictional knowledge and technique that students can build on in the rest of thier degree course.

Breakdown of student workload in hours:
Contact time: 30 hours
Pererparation for classes: 60 hours
Supplementary reading: 40 hours
Preparation and completion of writing for assignments and classes: 70 hours

What is a story?

Lecture 1.
Brief introduction to the module and the course. Stories in everyday life: anecdotes, jokes, ghost / supernatural stories, urban legends. Social origins and purposes of storytelling. Storytelling as near universal skill – we all know from experience how to select details and create the structure of an effective story. Fiction as adaptation of these skills.
Seminar 1. Discussion of issues raised in lecture. Exercises based on this material, eg, groups of students decide among themselves on a story to tell to the whole class.


The structures of prose

Lecture 2.
Sentences, paragraphs, scenes (or sections), complete stories. The basic structure of a sentence (subject-predicate, subject-verb-object), seen as a miniature story. Badly structured sentences: fragments, fused sentences and comma splices. Alternatives to these. Paragraphs also seen as miniature story. Conventions of paragraphing. Scenes or sections within a story and the conventions governing these.
Seminar 2. Discussion of issues. Exercises, eg, students are asked to make a syntactically correct, stylistically attractive passage of continuous prose from a series of disconnected sentences.


Descriptive writing

Lecture 3. Describing places and people. Concrete / abstract. Specific / general. Showing / telling. Word choice. Cliches and journalese.
Seminar 3. Discussion of issues. Exercises, eg, students are given a passage of prose with a lot of ‘telling’, and asked to rewrite it with more ‘showing’.

Dialogue

Lecture 4. Importance of dialogue to pacing and drama of a story. Scene and summary. Direct and indirect speech. Conventions of dialogue: paragraphing, punctuation, speech tags. Writing effective dialogue: realism, cutting, interspersing dialogue with action / description, avoidance of on-the-nose (simplistic and implausible) dialogue.
Seminar 4. Discussion of issues. Exercises, eg, students are given a passage of prose with a lot of ‘on-the nose’ dialogue , and asked to rewrite it more authentically, or they may be given a passage of realistic but unfocused dialogue and asked to rewrite it to achieve a specific narrative purpose. They will also be asked to practise correct punctuation and formatting.


Test feedback

Lecture 5. This lecture slot wilI follow the test, (see Assessment), and will be used to explain the rationale behind the questions set, and the implications for students’ practice of the knowledge and techniques tested. A general breakdown of results will be given, and students will be asked to consider the implications for their future practice of the test results.
Seminar 5. This seminar will be used to give more personalized feedback on the test results,and to answer students’ questions.


Plot

Lecture 6. Significant action. Types of plot. Conflict and resolution. Mystery and solution. Quests, sieges. Love and relationships. Coming of age / Learning Better / epiphany. Problems with plotting: plotlessness, congested plot, loopholes, lack of realism, weak driving force, triviality, unclear significance, unresolved ending.
Seminar 6. Discussion of issues. Exercises, eg,students are asked to construct a plot using methods adapted from William Wallace Cook’s Plotto, and then expand it to a one-page synopsis. Students may also be shown a synopsis and asked to identify potential weaknesses or loopholes.


Character

Lecture 7. Description of characters: showing and telling. Character through dialogue. Stereotypes and individuals. Flat and round characters. Character faults: undercharacterizing, inconsistency, inappropriate use of stereotypes.
Seminar 7. Discussion of issues. Exercises, eg,students are asked to construct a characters in the style of a game of Consequences, by writing traits on a piece of paper which is passed round the room. They then write a scene using the characters they have constructed.


Narrative modes

Lecture 8. Third person narratives: omniscient, limited, objective, free indirect style. First person: direct / oral style, written style with implied or explicit medium (eg letters, diaries, MSS), stream of consciousness. Nested narratives. Second person. Past tense. Present tense. Importance of consistency: head-hopping, inconsistent tense.
Seminar 8. Discussion of issues. Exercises, eg,students are asked to write a well-known story, such as Little Red Riding Hood, using a variety of narrative modes.

Editing your writing

Lecture 9. The editing process. Objectifying your writing. Recognizing faults covered in previous weeks: sentence structure, description, dialogue, plot, character, narrative modes. Proofreading.
Seminar 9. Discussion of issues. Exercises, eg, students are given a weak piece of writing and asked to improve it.

The commentary

Lecture 10. Importance of reading, particularly literary fiction and short fiction. The annotated bibliography. Conventions of critical prose, including referencing. Self-analysis. Genre and context. Argument and evidence.
Seminar 10. Discussion of issues. Exercises, eg, students workshop a previously written piece of commentary.