ENGL 4180: Novel Beginnings (Dalton)
Time / Format: In-Person, Monday & Wednesday, 2-3:15
In your mind you have a great idea and a great cast of characters for your Sci-fi / Fantasy / Thriller / Young Adult / Literary novel. Or maybe you've already begun working on the novel and the pages are starting to pile up. Either way it's time to take those ideas and characters and place them in a novel beginning that readers will find captivating. But getting the balance right on a novel beginning is no easy thing. You'll need a compelling event to start things off, dimensional characters, an engaging plot, a setting that feels real, a point-of-view strategy. You'll need to have a clear understanding of what qualifies as good writing and good storytelling. We'll read and learn from several acclaimed contemporary novels that blend literary fiction and science fiction / horror together. We'll look at the key ingredients that make a novel beginning irresistible to a reader. We'll also help you develop a complex and interesting main character. The second but equal aim of this class is to provide each student an opportunity to present her or his novel beginning (or a short story) to the class for workshop. Each novel beginning (or story) will be carefully read, considered, and commented on by the instructor and other writers in the class. Students will be expected to offer detailed editorial notes on other writers’ work and to engage in what I hope will be lively and informative workshop discussion.
