Instructor: Nick White
Wednesday, 3:00-5:45 pm | Location: Sever 105
Enrollment: Limited to 12 students
In The Scene Book: A Primer for Fiction Writers, Sandra Scofield asserts that “[t]he scene is the most vivid and immediate part of story, the place where the reader is the most emotionally involved, the part that leaves the reader with images and a memory of the action.” This workshop will explore the elements of dynamic scenes: from lively narrative action to memorable dialogue. We will also study how to organize and structure our scenes within the short story and the novel. We will consult other craft texts on scenes and structure, including Jane Alison’s Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative and Charles Baxter’s Burning Down the House: Essays on Fiction. Additionally, we will closely read several contemporary short stories, novellas, and novel excerpts that will serve as model texts for how to use scenes effectively in our fiction.
You will write one flash piece and one short story or novel chapter (around 5,000 words), and both will be workshopped in class. Your final project will be a substantial revision of your short story / chapter.
Supplemental Application Information: Prior experience writing fiction is helpful but not required. Please submit a writing sample of 3-5 pages of fiction, along with an application letter explaining your interest in this course, any writing experience you feel is relevant, and listing examples of work that moves and/or influences you, explaining why it does.