CRW 5130 Spring 2018 Howard

The fiction workshop will follow the traditional workshop model to assist writers as they seek clarity in both the writing and the process.  I want to focus on the connection between the visual pacing and the language used to add depth and composition to the storytelling.  We will consider the “anthology of images” that Susan Sontag describes in On Photography.  In addition to Sontag’s ideas, we will consider the notes on photography and filmmaking from Teju Cole, Michael Ondaatje, and the film editor Walter Murch.  I am working on a reading list that will feature novels and short stories from writers such as Lesley Nneka Arimah, Kirsten Valdez Quade, Paul Harding, Celeste Ng, C. Dale Young, Victor Lavalle, and others.  Also, I like to begin each semester with an anonymous workshop option where the stories, novel excerpts, or essays are submitted without identifying the writer. The writer can participate in the session, asking questions and offering commentary with a bit of distance the anonymity provides.