Intermediate Fiction Workshop: Speculative Fictions

(4 Credits)

Science fiction, fantasy, horror, weird fiction, alternative histories—all fall under the heading of speculative fiction. This class has three basic components: 1) reading and discussing a focused set of works of speculative fiction framed by a set of creative writing craft, instructional and critical texts; 2) research in support of semester project development and execution; and 3) frequent writing exercises and assignments, culminating in a semester project. You will read and discuss to understand better how speculative fiction works, both in terms of basic narrative techniques common to all fiction as well as with regard to challenges, such as worldbuilding, that may be considered unique in importance to speculative fiction. You will also conduct research necessary to both better understand those texts and their authors’ techniques and thinking, and to do work necessary to support your own creative experiments in writing your own speculative fiction. Research is a big part of the successful speculative fiction writer’s practice, and it will be a significant part of this class. Pre-requisite: Introduction to Creative Writing ( CRWR-SHU 159 or CRWR-SHU 161 ) OR Sophomore standing. Fulfillment: IMA Elective and IMB Interactive Media Elective Courses.