Module overview
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- work with different styles, modes and genres of fiction
- create the key structures of fictional narrative and identify their relation to readers
- plan the extended development of a fictional narrative towards a successful conclusion
- revise and edit your work effectively
- distinguish your aims as a writer of fiction from others
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- write prose fluently in a range of styles
- manage deadlines and make effective use of your time
- revise and edit creative writing to a professional standard
- present ideas effectively in narrative form
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- make literary judgements of fiction in an informed way
- handle complex demands of fictional composition in a systematic and analytic manner
- demonstrate originality through your writing
- locate your fiction writing in relation to a global context
- independently evaluate and apply compositional methods
- interact effectively with readers via your writing
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- the achievements of contemporary international fiction writers whose work may help you improve your own writing
- how to write in a range of fictional genres and styles
- how to achieve originality, linguistic versatility, and form in the handling of plot, character, time, point of view, and overall structural control in your fiction writing
Syllabus
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Independent Study | 130 |
| Teaching | 20 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Madison Smartt Bell (2000). Narrative Design. New York: Norton.
Ben Nyberg (1988). One Great Way to Write Short Stories. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writers Digest.
Vladimir Nabokov (2001). Laughter in the Dark. London: Penguin Classics.
Charles E. May (2002). The Short Story: The Rules of Artifice. New York: Routledge.
Margaret Atwood (1986). The Handmaid's Tale. New York: Anchor Books.
Ian McEwan (2001). Atonement. London: Cape.
Ron Hansen and Jim Shepard (1994). You’ve Got to Read This: Contemporary American Writers Introduce Stories that Held them in Awe. New York: Libri.
Marilynne Robinson (2004). Housekeeping. London: Macmillan.
Jean Rhys (1982). Wide Sargasso Sea. New York: Norton.
John Fowles (2005). The French Lieutenant's Woman. New York: Vintage Classics.
Arundhati Roy (1997). The God of Small Things. New York: Random House.
Kazuo Ishiguro (1989). An Artist of the Floating World. New York: Vintage.
Jack Zipes. The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Riding.
Angela Carter (1993). The Bloody Chamber. London: Penguin.
Jerome Stern (1991). Making Shapely Fiction. New York: Norton.
Sol Stein (1995). Stein on Writing. New York: St Martins Press.
David Michael Kaplan (1998). Rewriting: A creative approach to writing fiction. London: A&C Black.
John Gardner (1991). The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers. New York: Vintage.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Critical commentary | 25% |
| Creative writing | 75% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Critical commentary | 25% |
| Creative writing | 75% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Assessed written tasks | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External