Advanced Fiction: Writing the Novella

Harvard Extension School

CREA E-131

Section 1

CRN 17132

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Before the novel was the novella. In length, the form offers what Edgar Allan Poe defines as the ideal duration of literary art—it can be read in a single sitting—and, in unity of effect, what Ian McEwan has called the perfect form of prose fiction. With a long literary history, the novella remains today a popular genre in literary publishing. This course offers students the chance to study and practice the art of the novella. We read masterful examples of the form and discuss texts with the eye of a writer attentive to elements of craft: dramatic structure, tone, point of view, suspense, prose style, rhythm, characterization, and plotting. Students draft and workshop two sections of their own novella. The writers' workshop is at the heart of what we do, as we gather twice weekly to critique work-in-progress. Working in this genre pushes students to write with economy and to polish their sentences as they aspire towards the virtues of excellent prose fiction: precision, economy, clarity, and urgency. The course concludes with a conversation about publishing possibilities for novella writers.

Instructor Info

Thomas Wisniewski, PhD

Associate of the Department of Comparative Literature, Harvard University


Meeting Info

M 6:00pm - 8:00pm (9/3 - 12/21)

Participation Option: Online Synchronous

Deadlines

Last day to register: August 29, 2024

Prerequisites

A beginning-level creative writing course or permission of the instructor.

Notes

This course meets via web conference. Students must attend and participate at the scheduled meeting time.

Syllabus

All Sections of this Course

CRN Section # Participation Option(s) Instructor Section Status Meets Term Dates
17132 1 Online Synchronous Thomas Wisniewski Open M 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Sep 3 to Dec 21