EN236 The Practice of Fiction: Contexts, Themes and Techniques
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EN236 The Practice of Fiction: Contexts, Themes and Techniques Convenor: George Ttoouli (T1) Maureen Freely (T2) Tutors: Maureen Freely, Michael Gardiner, China Miéville, George Ttoouli Objectives This module will introduce students to a range of traditional and contemporary approaches to writing fiction. The module will develop skills in reading contemporary fiction, both in English and in translation. Students will become familiar with a range of writers and will learn to make connections between writers, trends and styles, across generations and boundaries of nationality, gender, politics, etc. They will be expected to develop their own reading lists from the primary reading, using recommendations at the end of this page, and their own research. Students will also develop a variety of techniques for writing fiction, practicing the craft of writing through workshops and assignments. Format The course consists of four units, taught primarily by Maureen Freely and George Ttoouli, with guest tutors. Short fiction includes anything from microfiction to novellas. The units comprise a mixture of writing workshops, critical discussions of primary texts and peer reviewing. At the start of the year, students will be provided with a week-by-week plan of primary and secondary texts to be discussed in each unit. Lists below are provided to allow for preparation in advance of the module. There will be writing assignments for each unit alongside the class reading. At the end of week 6 all students will submit a redrafted exercise from earlier in the term, to be peer reviewed in later sessions. Students are expected to extend at least one of these peer reviewed stories into a developed short story each term, to go in their final portfolios. They will also make use of tutorials to support redrafting. Students taking this module are also expected to attend related not-for-credit courses, workshops and events, such as LitBiz talks and readings in the Writers' Room, or China Miéville's Weird Fiction lecture series. Attendance is not compulsory for paid events, such as the Writers at Warwick series at the Arts Centre, but is recommended. Teaching Time Thursday 09:00-10:30 and 10:30-12:00 in the Rehearsal Room, CAPITAL Centre. The module runs for two terms. Some sessions will last three hours and be for both groups while others will be of normal seminar length. Due to booking clashes, some classes may take place in other locations, but these will be advertised well in advance. Schedule Term 1: Unit 1: The Cold War Novel Week 1: Introduction & McSweeneys – no advance reading needed Primary reading Burgess, Anthony, A Clockwork Orange Secondary reading Amis, Kingsley, Lucky Jim Unit 2: Short fiction: Sparse Prose Week 7: Mansfield and Chekhov Primary reading Mansfield, Katherine, Bliss Secondary reading Coetzee, J.M., Waiting for the Barbarians Term 2: Unit 3: Anti-Canon Week 1: Doris Lessing, Shikasta Primary reading Ballard, J.G., The Atrocity Exhibition Secondary reading Ballard, JG, The Terminal Beach Unit 4: Latin American Tropes Week 7: Short stories Primary reading: Borges, Jorge Luis, Labyrinths and Other Stories Cortazar, Julio Blow-Up and Other Stories Vasquez, Juan Gabriel, The Informers Rosero, Evelio, The Armies
Secondary reading Bolaño, Roberto, Last Evenings on Earth Additional Reading British Continent/Quarantine by Jim Crace European The Tin Drum, by Gunther Grass Irish The Book of Evidence, by John Banville Canadian The Stone Diaries, by Carol Shields Oscar and Lucinda/True History of the Kelly Gang, by Peter Carey African Waiting for the Barbarians/Disgrace by JM Coetzee United States White Noise/Underworld, by Don Delillo Latin American One Hundred Years of Solitude/Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez South Asian A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth Turkish Memed My Hawk, by Yashar Kemal Assessment 100% Assessed Your final portfolio will consist of two short stories (5000 words total) and a personal essay (4000 words) about themes in contemporary fiction. Examined/Assessed You will submit a fiction portfolio (4000 words total), worth 50% of the final mark. The exam (consisting of 3 essay questions, or 2 essay questions and one creative assignment) is worth 50% of the final mark.
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