57122 Short Fiction Workshop

Handbook description

This is an advanced workshop subject for students who have already commenced work on a collection of short fiction and who are keen to progress towards a completed final draft of a manuscript. The focus of this subject is upon polishing, redrafting, editing and completing. The final work is two short stories of up to 4,000 words in total. Students are expected to write and circulate for peer assessment drafts of their work-in-progress every week. Additionally, students study a select and seminal range of short stories to enhance their understanding of the art of short fiction writing. There is no reader for this subject. Rather, students are set three collections of short stories, which are studied in relationship to their historical and narrative impact on the short story form. Assessment includes the critical and structured feedback on the complete work of another student. Students also write a 2,000-word critical essay on the development of the short story in collection. The aim of this subject is to provide focus and encouragement to enable students to produce a strong draft collection of short fictional works.

Subject objectives/outcomes

In this subject students will:

• acquire skills to reflect critically on their writing
• acquire skills to revise and re-draft work in progress
• acquire skills to reflect critically on fictional texts in English
• study and practise formal and technical elements of short story writing
• place the short story collection in a social, political and cultural context.

Teaching and learning strategies

Activities will consist of a mix of workshop, required exercises, reading and commentary on students' work, brief seminar presentations, in-class discussion and analysis, reading projects.

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Critical Essay

Assessment item 2: Final Assignment

Minimum requirements

Students are expected to read the subject outline to ensure they are familiar with the subject requirements. Since class discussion and participation in activities form an integral part of this subject, you are expected to attend, arrive punctually and actively participate in classes. If you experience difficulties meeting this requirement, please contact your lecturer. Students who have a reason for extended absence (e.g., illness) may be required to complete additional work to ensure they achieve the subject objectives.

Attendance is particularly important in this subject because it is based on a collaborative approach which involves essential workshopping and interchange of ideas. Students who attend fewer than ten classes are advised that their final work will not be assessed and that they are likely to fail the subject.

Indicative references

There is no reader for this subject. Students will examine three short story collections:

Aviva Tuffield (ed.) New Australian Stories, Scribe, Melbourne, 2009
Dave Eggers How We Are Hungry, Penguin, New York, 2006
Alice Munro, Runaway, Vintage, New York, 2004

They will also select a separate, additional short story collection on which to write their critical essay.