Advanced Fiction: Writing the Novella
Harvard Extension School
CREA E-131
Section 1
CRN 17132
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.
Registration Closes: August 29, 2024
Credits: 4
View Tuition Information Term
Fall Term 2024
Part of Term
Full Term
Format
Live Attendance Web Conference
Credit Status
Graduate
Section Status
Open