This course is designed to make students aware of the wide-variety of techniques used by fiction writers and to guide students in practicing those techniques in their own fiction. The primary focus will be on semi-autobiographical realistic short fiction, but opportunities to experiment with science fiction, fantasy, and other genres will be available.

Writers considered in recent semesters include Langston Hughes, Stephen Crane, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, John Cheever, Donald Barthelme, James Thurber, Jack London, William Faulkner, and Grace Paley, as well as successful examples from past and present students of the course.

Class discussions will consider the effectiveness of a variety of pieces of fiction along with the theory of fiction writing. Students will produce original fiction and devote effort to editing the fiction of classmates. Assigned readings will be for the purpose of identifying writing techniques, discussing fiction writing theory, evaluating the choices that fiction writers make, and building a community of writers.

Essential questions the course will address include:

• What are the steps in the writing process?
• How is writing short fiction different from other kinds of creative writing?
• What are the demands of the art of fiction writing?
• What are the expectations of my audience?
• How do I craft dialogue that is engaging and meaningful, realistic yet stylized?
• How important is uniqueness or originality to crafting an effective story?
• Why do punctuation, parallel structure, and other conventions matter?
• When can I break fiction writing conventions? When should I adhere to them?