FICT 58 W — Leave Out the Boring Parts: Crafting Stories People Want to Read
Spring
Date(s)
Mar 28—Jun 3
10 weeks
Drop By
Mar 31
3 Units
Fees
$805
Open
"Leave out all the parts readers skip,” says the writer
Elmore Leonard. “Readers are not sheep,” says
Vladimir Nabokov, “and not every pen tempts them.”
But how do we refine our instincts for what will engage
a reader? Without including boring bits of connective
tissue, how do we get the story to cohere as a whole?
Are we to exile from our stores of material anything
that’s not obviously suspenseful or exciting? How are
we to know whether we should cut a part of a story
that isn’t working or try to make it better? In this
course, we will read a variety of short stories, some
with high action—blazing house fires, sudden death,
drug-addled midnight joyrides—and some with quiet,
unassuming renderings of day-to-day life. At these
poles and in between, we will investigate what makes
the writing interesting. At the same time, we will do
writing and revision exercises designed to make your
work more vibrant and engaging. Each student will
complete a short story and have it workshopped.
Whether you’re an experienced writer or are just
starting to try your hand at stories, you’ll finish the
course with a sharpened sense of what makes readers
want to turn the page.
This is an online course. For more information about the Online Writing Program, visit our FAQs.
Rachel Smith, William Chace Lecturer in Continuing Studies; Former Stegner Fellow, Stanford
Rachel Smith’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, Brevity, and elsewhere. She has taught at Stanford, the Cambridge International Centre in Taizhou, China, and the University of Mississippi, where she received an MFA in creative writing.Textbooks for this course:
(Required) Stephen Koch, The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction (ISBN 978-0375755583)