Fiction Writing: Fantastic Worlds

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

How do you build a compelling world that's not just a backdrop, but part of the story? "Fantastic Worlds" is a reading-intensive fiction workshop and an exploration of "the Fantastic." The Fantastic is a term that encompasses a wide range of genres (Sci-Fi, Cyberpunk, Fantasy, Speculative, and Surrealism) and specific effects (the marvelous, uncanny, surreal, weird, strange, unreal, dreamlike, and nightmarish). Through the lens of the Fantastic, we will explore a wide range of conventions and techniques related to narrative, syntax, and figurative language. We will also consider the position of the Fantastic in times of ecological crisis, war, and political turmoil. Readings will include work from William Blake, John Milton, Octavia E. Butler, J. R. R. Tolkien, Aase Berg, Jeff VanderMeer, James Tiptree, Jr., Ursula K. Le Guin, Hiromi Itō, William Gibson, Frank Herbert, and others.