LITR 3731: Creative
Writing 
Lecture Notes
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review genres, conventions Question: What are different strengths, appeals of narrative + dialogue? assignments & deadlines [break] fiction workshop: Karina, Jackie quiz [break] reading: Jennifer |
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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
assignments & deadlines
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
Thursday, 19 November: Fiction workshop + discussion of reading assignments
1st Fiction Author: Naomi Gonzales
1st fiction Author’s Discussion Leader: Ryan Smith
2nd Fiction Author: Christi Wood
2nd fiction Author’s Discussion Leader: J J Torres
Thursday, 26 November: No meeting--Thanksgiving holidays
1 October-3 December: The following students are required to do Draft Exchanges for their fiction manuscripts: Marcus Austin, Niki Bippen, Alicia Costello, Tara McGee, Veronica Nadalin, J J Torres
Thursday, 3 December: Last fiction workshop + discussion of final exam
Fiction final submissions & revision accounts due by noon Monday 7 December
1st Fiction Author: Amanda Pruett (extra time for final submission)
1st fiction Author’s Discussion Leader: Jeff Derrickson
+
Roundtable discussion of final exams: each student discusses emphases or asks questions on assignments
Thursday, 10 December: Final Exam
review genres, conventions
Question: What are different strengths, appeals of narrative + dialogue?
chapter 12. 150 five narrative modes of fiction: dialogue, thought, action, description, & exposition
"genres"—types or classes of literature
(last week's reading assignment)
145 three
types of prose writing: factual, creative, and creative nonfiction
149 plot: conventions, formulas [add elements]
So genres are types, kinds or classes of literature (or art, music, etc.)
What are the identifying marks or signs of a genre?
formulas
elements
expectations
can be challenged, varied, or broken
genres can go stale > jazz up, refresh
genre = contract with the reader
Hard to summarize fiction b/c multi-voiced
"Novel theorists" defend fiction as best imitation of modern reality
modern reality is multi-voiced > novel automatically multi-voiced (narrator + characters in dialogue, each expressing a different take on the world)
poems make you feel, open up your heart-mind to totally new impressions
fiction makes you see or experience reality from different angles, perspectives
ch. 20 (pp. 217-225) Creating Tension
217 pleasant is not a compliment
no complaints, no improvements
(good student / writer = criticism absorbed x rejected as personal attack > learning)
217 lack tension—keeps the reader reading
conflict—internal or external
anxiety of uneasy relation—mutual suspicion
withholding information from reader
conjunction
218 conflict x character development & subtlety of theme
x-inner doubts
beginning writers keep characters passive or isolated
219 is it resolved? Never fully disappear > manageable
220 internal conflict
x-reliance on protagonist’s thoughts
reveal conflicting attitudes < characters act and talk
221 dynamic opening < freshness of initial circumstances & rate at which details revealed
221 flagrant hooks: plot dominated and obvious
221 x-lengthy physical description or character sketch
221 ongoing action in medias res
221 actual, ongoing situation
222 dramatic questions
222 rate of revelation
223 blatant suspense > melodrama
223 melodrama: intense, unrelenting action
x depth of character and originality
223 Is your story long enough to make it credible, or have you packed too much into a short space?
223 x-simple winning or losing
224 tension should not be most memorable aspect
224 revision: relations between characters
225 hold interest without sacrificing characterization and thematic insight
Leftover notes from previous classes
literary / popular fiction?
Question announced last week:
How are our last two stories ("Escapes" & "Obst Vw"--ch. 22) identifiable as "literary fiction" instead of "popular fiction?"
ch. 20
217 lack tension—keeps the reader reading
conflict—internal or external
anxiety of uneasy relation—mutual suspicion
withholding information from reader
ch. 21
221 flagrant hooks: plot dominated and obvious
221 actual, ongoing situation
260 simple fiction (thrillers, most historical novels): primarily, action reveals characters > blots out subtle aspects
260 action restrained in sophisticated fiction [cf. “muting rhyme” in poetry]
“Escapes”: traumatic events offstage
Summary:
base of support: sales, $, mass market
Popular fiction: usually nothing wrong about it, but little learning involved (which is fine by most people)
popular attitudes reinforced: terrorists have bad manners, children are cute and adorable, a big strong guy who knows what's right will restore order
escapes everyday world of conflicts and complications--boss comes in to worker at desk, "I'm giving you an assignment in Honduras."
literary fiction
base of support: intellectuals / writers / teachers / students
if no learning, why bother? Not just did you enjoy, but what did you gain by reading?
popular attitudes complicated or challenged: terrorist has a bad cold, children are cute but troubled, a big strong guy who knows what's right will restore order in which others suffer?
accepts everyday world of conflicts and complications--boss comes in to worker at desk, "I'm giving you a promotion but not a raise."
Occasional overlap:
Shakespeare, Dickens, Twain, Brontes
ch. 21 (pp. 226-237) Setting: Where are we?
226 setting, or orientation
if delay, good reason
(unstated, even unknown expectations)
227 launch; perspective; where
227 literary short stories
x-sitcom living room
228 distinctive and specific
228 descriptions spaced out in fragments to make less obtrusive
229 setting to highlight aspect of theme
229 prisoners
230 actual city or state
imagination
Midcourse—suggest region without names
230 actual place, still illusion, imagination
231 avoid most obvious aspects of city
232 cliché: wake-up opening
start of day: start of story (ends at sunset)
235 transformational
in fiction, everything connected
236 mute details > stress elements that reader will see as though for the first time
Instructor's question for reading assignment:
How are our last two stories ("Escapes" & "Obst Vw") identifiable as "literary fiction" instead of "popular fiction?"
ch. 22: Dialogue & Thoughts (pp.
238-246);
238 x-dialogue > informal essay
reveal character
advance plot
238 analyze, eavesdrop
x-tape recording
phatic speech = sociability, x-info
239 conventions of fictional dialogue and thoughts
239 conventions of dialogue
dialogue tag “s/he said”
okay repeatedly
240 alternatives become obtrusive
tone clear from dialogue itself
240 x-phonetic spelling—slows pace, draws attention to itself, patronizing
regional flavor < word choice and characteristic phrasing
240 if stops advancing plot or advancing understanding of speaker > paraphrase
241 paraphrase events not central to story
241 indirect quotations in conjunction with direct quotations
241 illusion of thoughts
242 descriptive passage but not objective
243 thoughts, like dialogue, have to be motivated by situation
x-exposition, background facts
243 illusion of a foreign language
244 word order that is characteristic of that language
cf. Hemingway
Pacing: Maintaining forward motion
244 thumb through without reading
245 speech patterns: character and mood
245 people with consistently distinctive speech patterns are a minority
245 calm, reflective mood < longer sentences, grammatical
moments of crisis < dialogue becomes fragmentary, abrupt, and frequently redundant
Ch. 23, 247-55 “Obst Vw” a story by Sharon Solwitz
247 loathing for Rachel > desire for baseball
248 dads, fluke, college
249 inactive
250 flash-forward
251 disappointed Man in his mother’s fiction
251 flashback
ch. 24: (256-66): Characterization
256 illusion of actually getting to know people
round x flat
256-7 physical characteristics, conversation ritual = exploration, action, stressful experience
257 how learn about fictional characters
x-leisurely
months > 15 minutes: hints, stealthily
257 x-solid block of characterization
author’s intrusion
258 slows pace; cf. extended physical descriptions
258 maintain forward motion with dialogue, action, thoughts
258 show, don’t tell
258 characterization through dialogue and thoughts
259 Damien’s mother > family myth
260 simple fiction (thrillers, most historical novels): primarily, action reveals characters > blots out subtle aspects
260 action restrained in sophisticated fiction [cf. “muting rhyme” in poetry]
“Escapes”: traumatic events offstage
261 dialogue, thought, action used together in single sentences
262 analysis not same as writing story
intuitive, messy in development
discover more about characters with each new draft
264 three goals of effective characterization
264 consistency, especially for minor characters
265 complexity
establish a pattern, both elements part of same character > fresh insight, but credible
265 individuality > memorable
266 point where distinctiveness turns artificial and unconvincing
> gimmick, contrived and superficial, attention-getter
By preferring first person and third person limited, Minot again shows his preference for "literary" creative writing, not "popular"
In popular fiction, "third person omniscient" is still popular
Three Genres, ch. 19 (pp. 209-216) A story by Ann Hood. “Escapes”
210 invented a story
212 almost happy
213 but I say none of these things
214 smile . . . hurts
214 Cal Berkeley . . . ninth grade; cf. 209
215 scars are revealed
215 no escaping
ch. 20 (pp. 217-225) Creating Tension
217 pleasant is not a compliment
no complaints, no improvements
(good student / writer = criticism absorbed x rejected as personal attack > learning)
217 lack tension—keeps the reader reading
conflict—internal or external
anxiety of uneasy relation—mutual suspicion
withholding information from reader
conjunction
218 conflict x character development & subtlety of theme
x-inner doubts
beginning writers keep characters passive or isolated
219 is it resolved? Never fully disappear > manageable
220 internal conflict
x-reliance on protagonist’s thoughts
reveal conflicting attitudes < charactersa ct and talk
221 dynamic opening < freshness of initial circumstances & rate at which details revealed
221 flagrant hooks: plot dominated and obvious
221 x-lengthy physical description or character sketch
221 ongoing action in medias res
221 actual, ongoing situation
222 dramatic questions
222 rate of revelation
223 blatant suspense > melodrama
223 melodrama: intense, unrelenting action
x depth of character and originality
223 Is your story long enough to make it credible, or have you packed too much into a short space?
223 x-simple winning or losing
224 tension should not be most memorable aspect
224 revision: relations between characters
225 hold interest without sacrificing characterization and thematic insight
ch. 21 (pp. 226-237) Setting: Where are we?
226 setting, or orientation
if delay, good reason
(unstated, even unknown expectations)
227 launch; perspective; where
227 literary short stories
x-sitcom living room
228 distinctive and specific
228 descriptions spaced out in fragments to make less obtrusive
229 setting to highlight aspect of theme
229 prisoners
230 actual city or state
imagination
Midcourse—suggest region without names
230 actual place, still illusion, imagination
231 avoid most obvious aspects of city
232 cliché: wake-up opening
start of day: start of story (ends at sunset)
235 transformational
in fiction, everything connected
236 mute details > stress elements that reader will see as though for the first time
Instructor's question for reading assignment:
How are our last two stories ("Escapes" & "Obst Vw") identifiable as "literary fiction" instead of "popular fiction?"
ch. 22: Dialogue & Thoughts (pp.
238-246);
238 x-dialogue > informal essay
reveal character
advance plot
238 analyze, eavesdrop
x-tape recording
phatic speech = sociability, x-info
239 conventions of fictional dialogue and thoughts
239 conventions of dialogue
dialogue tag “s/he said”
okay repeatedly
240 alternatives become obtrusive
tone clear from dialogue itself
240 x-phonetic spelling—slows pace, draws attention to itself, patronizing
regional flavor < word choice and characteristic phrasing
240 if stops advancing plot or advancing understanding of speaker > paraphrase
241 paraphrase events not central to story
241 indirect quotations in conjunction with direct quotations
241 illusion of thoughts
242 descriptive passage but not objective
243 thoughts, like dialogue, have to be motivated by situation
x-exposition, background facts
243 illusion of a foreign language
244 word order that is characteristic of that language
cf. Hemingway
Pacing: Maintaining forward motion
244 thumb through without reading
245 speech patterns: character and mood
245 people with consistently distinctive speech patterns are a minority
245 calm, reflective mood < longer sentences, grammatical
moments of crisis < dialogue becomes fragmentary, abrupt, and frequently redundant
Ch. 23, 247-55 “Obst Vw” a story by Sharon Solwitz
247 loathing for Rachel > desire for baseball
248 dads, fluke, college
249 inactive
250 flash-forward
251 disappointed Man in his mother’s fiction
251 flashback
ch. 24: (256-66): Characterization
256 illusion of actually getting to know people
round x flat
256-7 physical characteristics, conversation ritual = exploration, action, stressful experience
257 how learn about fictional characters
x-leisurely
months > 15 minutes: hints, stealthily
257 x-solid block of characterization
author’s intrusion
258 slows pace; cf. extended physical descriptions
258 maintain forward motion with dialogue, action, thoughts
258 show, don’t tell
258 characterization through dialogue and thoughts
259 Damien’s mother > family myth
260 simple fiction (thrillers, most historical novels): primarily, action reveals characters > blots out subtle aspects
260 action restrained in sophisticated fiction [cf. “muting rhyme” in poetry]
“Escapes”: traumatic events offstage
261 dialogue, thought, action used together in single sentences
262 analysis not same as writing story
intuitive, messy in development
discover more about characters with each new draft
264 three goals of effective characterization
264 consistency, especially for minor characters
265 complexity
establish a pattern, both elements part of same character > fresh insight, but credible
265 individuality > memorable
266 point where distinctiveness turns artificial and unconvincing
> gimmick, contrived and superficial, attention-getter
By preferring first person and third person limited, Minot again shows his preference for "literary" creative writing, not "popular"
In popular fiction, "third person omniscient" is still popular
Paragraphs on subject from my book on Cooper
Today’s tastes in literary fiction discount third-person omniscient viewpoint in favor of more limited perspectives like “first person” and “third-person limited.” With their internal views, these limited styles expose deeper psychological identities and conflicts. In contrast, “omniscient” or “all-seeing” view may appear old-fashioned and shallow. Along with first-person style, omniscient perspective dominated the early novel, with third-person limited perspective developing later. Yet third-person omniscient viewpoint remains standard for mass-market fiction—e. g., The Da Vinci Code or The Hunt for Red October—which rapidly shifts perspective from one character or scene to another like a movie camera. For later readers this resemblance between Cooper’s viewpoint and cinema remains one of the author’s greatest appeals.
Third-person omniscient also succeeds with populous social scenes in which characters’ speech and gestures declare their identities and, to an extent, their inner states of mind. Cooper found this style comfortable for novels of manners like Precaution and The Spy. In Pathfinder he relocates it to the frontier of North America. The novel’s richest social scene is a “shooting match” at Fort Oswego. Like medieval ladies at jousting tournaments in Scott’s Ivanhoe, the spectators—officers’ wives, Mabel, and the common soldiers’ wives—seat themselves on planks according to “the etiquette of rank” (XI). Everything glitters, but all is witnessed from outside.
By 1840, however, fashions in literature were changing. As fiction matured, perspective became more personal. “Third-person limited” point of view focuses selectively on the internal consciousness of individuals. Fiction by Nathaniel Hawthorne such as The Scarlet Letter influenced this style’s development. Abandoning the omniscient’s wide scope, limited viewpoint deepens psychological intensity. The resulting ambiguities appeal to modern tastes for irony and self-deception.
ch. 20 (pp. 217-225) Creating
Tension
217 pleasant is not a compliment
no complaints, no improvements
(good student / writer = criticism absorbed x rejected as personal attack > learning)
217 lack tension—keeps the reader reading
conflict—internal or external
anxiety of uneasy relation—mutual suspicion
withholding information from reader
conjunction
218 conflict x character development & subtlety of theme
x-inner doubts
beginning writers keep characters passive or isolated
219 is it resolved? Never fully disappear > manageable
220 internal conflict
x-reliance on protagonist’s thoughts
reveal conflicting attitudes < characters act and talk
221 dynamic opening < freshness of initial circumstances & rate at which details revealed
221 flagrant hooks: plot dominated and obvious
221 x-lengthy physical description or character sketch
221 ongoing action in medias res
221 actual, ongoing situation
222 dramatic questions
222 rate of revelation
223 blatant suspense > melodrama
223 melodrama: intense, unrelenting action
x depth of character and originality
223 Is your story long enough to make it credible, or have you packed too much into a short space?
223 x-simple winning or losing
224 tension should not be most memorable aspect
224 revision: relations between characters
225 hold interest without sacrificing characterization and thematic insight
ch. 21 (pp. 226-237) Setting: Where are we?
226 setting, or orientation
if delay, good reason
(unstated, even unknown expectations)
227 launch; perspective; where
227 literary short stories
x-sitcom living room
228 distinctive and specific
228 descriptions spaced out in fragments to make less
obtrusive
229 setting to highlight aspect of theme
229 prisoners
230 actual city or state
imagination
Midcourse—suggest region without names
230 actual place, still illusion, imagination
231 avoid most obvious aspects of city
232 cliché: wake-up opening
start of day: start of story (ends at sunset)
235 transformational
in fiction, everything connected
236 mute details > stress elements that reader will
see as though for the first time