LITR 3731: Creative
Writing 
Lecture Notes
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assignments, business fiction: Paul & Peter quiz [break] reading discussion: Marcus Question: What are different strengths, appeals of narrative + dialogue?
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Thursday, 29 October: Fiction workshop + discussion of reading assignments
Reading assignment: Three Genres, ch. 17 (pp. 189-198); ch. 18 (pp. 199-208)
Reading highlight: Marcus Austin
1st Fiction Author: Paul Acevedo
1st fiction Author’s Discussion Leader: Peter Becnel
Thursday, 5 November: Fiction workshop + discussion of reading assignments
Reading assignment: Three Genres, ch. 19 "Escapes" (pp. 209-216); ch. 20 "Creating Tension" (pp. 217-225)
Reading highlight: Jennifer M. Leonard
1st Fiction Author: Karina Ramos
1st fiction Author’s Discussion Leader: Jackie Baker
Thursday, 12 November: Fiction workshop + discussion of reading assignments
Reading assignment: Three Genres, ch. 22 (pp. 238-246)
Reading highlight: Karina Ramos
1st Fiction Author: Jeff Derrickson
1st fiction Author’s Discussion Leader: Amanda Pruett
2nd Fiction Author: Jennifer M. Leonard
2nd fiction Author’s Discussion Leader: Jackie Baker & Alicia Costello
178 cutting blocks of material is painful > Lost Gems file
180 initial memory
borrowed memories
pure invention
181 imagine self as new reader
189 viewpoint, point of view, means of perception, [perspective]
viewpoint does not equal attitude
189 1st person = I
190 third person [limited]
190 increases readers’ sense of identification
190 maintains suspense
191 deliberate withholding of information
197 4 first aid steps
198
1 don’t tear up draft
2 write sample x abstract analysis
3 trust instinct
4 focus: look at first and last pages
200 episodes in life > scenes in fiction: basic units
arrangement of scenes = plot
200 “Sausage & Beer”: 3 major blocks: hospital, visit, bar
206 pace < style: length & complexity of sentence structure
206 rate of revelation
206 high-speed car crashes & catastrophic explosions x subtlety of theme and richness of character
Three Genres, ch. 17
(pp. 189-198) Viewpoint: who’s seeing this?
189 fiction x-drama, film: eyes of a specific character
enter character’s mind, only guess what others thinking
other characters reveal minds through though, action
189 viewpoint, point of view, means of perception, [perspective]
viewpoint does not equal attitude
189 1st person = I
190 third person [limited]
190 increases readers’ sense of identification
190 maintains suspense
191 deliberate withholding of information
191 most novelists, only 2 or 3 characters = means of perception
191 experiments
191-2 author’s intrusion, 18 & 19cs < stance of stories told out loud
192 > illusion of entering story directly < film?
193 limited omniscience
194 [story as reality to be traversed, quarried]
195 first person for naivete or innocence of young protagonist
195 x-phonetic spellings > phrasing for accent
195 third person = holding material at arm’s length
196 convert sample paragraph
196 focus does not equal viewpoint
196 reviewing your options
197 x-analyze too much too soon; keep feel of story
197 4 first aid steps
198
1 don’t tear up draft
2 write sample x abstract analysis
3 trust instinct
4 focus: look at first and last pages
ch. 18 (pp.
199-208) Structure: from scenes to plot
199 clock time, psychological time > sequence of episodes
episodes: setting, character
links blur
200 episodes in life > scenes in fiction: basic units
arrangement of scenes = plot
200 “Sausage & Beer”: 3 major blocks: hospital, visit, bar
200 flashback = scene within scene
200 number and length of scenes
202 flashback = episode before main flow or base time of plot
202 past perfect > flashback
past of past
202 how come out of a flashback?
Action or dialogue clearly from base time
202 or present > past (“Three Hearts”)
202 even careless readers follow cues without idea how they work; writers aware of techniques
203 flash-forward increases distance
204 frame story = 1 long flashback
204 openings and closings
205 show, don’t tell
205 x-explain at end
206 pace < style: length & complexity of sentence structure
206 rate of revelation
slow down: digression, speculation, description, any exposition
206 high-speed car crashes & catastrophic explosions x subtlety of theme and richness of character
206 openings = high rate of revelation
207 alternate between vitality of fresh plot development and richness of description and exposition
fiction submissions
Examples of fiction submissions
Draft exchange:
+ JT chapter from novel
Workshop