Through dialogue, debate and an intensely practical approach to the writer’s craft, we shall explore the nature and role of fiction. The primary focus will be the students’ own writing, produced between sessions, and examined by the group in the course of those sessions.
In this course we shall examine voice as a crucial aspect of fiction. The narrative voices of story are essential for establishing how a tale will be told, giving character, perspective and inevitability and building a foundation for our fictions.
You will have the opportunity for experimentation and for collaborative feedback. Through explorations on the page, you should arrive at a fuller understanding of how your stories might be driven by narrative voice, and will gain a deeper awareness of the opportunity that choice brings and of the effect of specific choices.
We will also have the opportunity to explore character, place and the sensory preoccupations of voice, as well as the way in which tone affects the reader. This will help you to build essential relationships with your audience and to create the imaginative spaces in which writer and reader can interact.
Learning outcomes
- An understanding of the art and craft of fiction as practised by published writers;
- A personal understanding of the practicalities of fiction-writing, with particular reference to narrative voice and dialogue;
- A greater confidence in both the practice of fiction-writing and the practice of criticism.
