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CRWT30080

Academic Year 2023/2024

Advanced Fiction Workshop I (CRWT30080)

Subject:
Creative Writing
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
English, Drama & Film
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Dr Paula McGrath
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

Writers learn to write by learning to read, and then by experiment. No-one’s first efforts are their best; we improve by failing and trying again, by having an idea, trying it out, seeing what hasn’t worked and refining or rejecting the idea. This workshop will be about creative failure, and you will be encouraged to see and rewarded for seeing what happens when you try something interesting. At this stage of your formation as a writer, process matters far more than product, and as far as possible we will focus on and assess processes. There is no objectively correct method for writing fiction, and often different projects require us to learn or make different methods: the object of this course is for you to work out by reading and by trial and error which methods suit the project you have in hand.
We will alternate reading set texts with writing workshops related to our discussion of the set texts. The set texts are the foundation of your learning on this course and it is necessary for you to read them, in advance and/or as we go along. As you read, try to notice the technical challenges of each literary text: what difficulties does the writer face? How are those difficulties addressed? What do you learn? Look at the craft: what are the relationships between plot, character and setting? How is dialogue integrated into action? What is the balance between ‘showing’ and ‘telling’?

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

Students will learn to read contemporary literary fiction with writerly attention, noticing literary craft and technique.

Students will learn to relate their own writing practice to the attentive reading of contemporary literary fiction.

Students will explore in their practice the idea of creative failure.

Students will learn to experiment with ideas and practice, to lessen the fear of failure in composing literary fiction and to understand the value of playfulness in literary practice.

Indicative Module Content:

We will alternate reading set texts with writing workshops related to our discussion of the set texts. The set texts are the foundation of your learning on this course and it is necessary for you to read them, in advance and/or as we go along. In workshops, you will experiment with the craft and techniques of the set texts in your own writing practice, and will continue to work on giving and receiving constructive and professional responses to creative work.

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

0
Small Group

24
Specified Learning Activities

76
Autonomous Student Learning

100
Total

200

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Students will read and reflect on the set texts, work on their own writing and produce editorial responses to their peers' work outside class time, preparing to participate in seminars and workshops by whole-class and small group discussion. They will be invited to provide written responses to each other's work. Throughout the module, we will be thinking and talking about experiment, playfulness and the development of creative practice; this module values process over product.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Portfolio: Students will produce a portfolio of literary fiction. Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No
100
 No

Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Peer review activities
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Throughout the module, you will be working towards a portfolio of literary fiction. This may be one long piece of writing or several shorter ones. In writing workshops, you will reflect on your own development and offer constructive responses to other students' work; I will guide you in both and you may discuss your progress in office hours. I will edit and grade the final portfolio, rewarding experiment and play in your writing process as much as the literary quality of the finished product.

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