Storytelling: Writing Techniques for Fiction and Nonfiction

Semester and Year	SP 2013
Course Number	ELEC-GG2548
Section	001
Instructor	Christopher Bram
Days	Thu
Time	6:20 PM - 9:00 PM
Units	4.0
Level	G
Foundation Requirement

Notes/Restrictions

Open to advanced undergraduates with permission of the instructor (chris.bram@yahoo.com).

Description

Whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction, story is an important part of prose. Story here is just another name for sequence and structure. Learning the right order for your sentences, paragraphs, and pages is as invaluable as learning how to put one foot in front of the other when learning to walk. In this course we will explore different ways to lay out actions and ideas, whether you're writing a novel, a book of history, an opinion piece, an essay or a short story. We will examine the best ways to make notes and sketch out early drafts as you find your voice and structure. You will gain practice in rewriting. And we will look at some of the different approaches to voice and narrative, reading such writers as Milan Kundera, Janet Malcolm, Truman Capote, Sigrid Nunez, and Primo Levi. Students will be expected to submit for workshop two separate projects, one work of fiction and another of nonfiction, in at least two drafts each, which we will discuss in class. In the end you are expected to produce a minimum of forty finished pages.

Syllabus

ELEC-GG2548

Course Type

Graduate Electives (ELEC-GG)