Setting and Description

About this course:

Setting and description are foundational to a story and can support larger themes well—if done thoughtfully with fresh and vivid language, attention to detail, implication, and perspective. They can, in effect, give one's characters a home or space to work within, as well as open up possibilities for deepening and expanding the scope of any story. In this reading and exercise-based class, we explore and practice descriptive writing and its power in establishing setting and mood while enlivening action and supporting symbolic relationships in fiction and creative nonfiction. Each week, we read sample fiction and creative nonfiction to identify how the content is influenced by the description of setting, action, events, and objects. By the end of class, you have improved skills in writing descriptively to enrich and enliven your work.