Form and Structure

Does a story have to consist of a beginning, middle, and end in that order? The Hero's Journey? Move in linear, consecutive time? In this 10-week course, we'll study six common prose structures using published examples from authors across genres like Sofia Samatar, Silvia Park, and Carmen Maria Machado, by weighing the risks and rewards of each shape, and their effect. We’ll draw inspiration from poetic forms, genre conventions such as time limited devices, and non-literary inspired containers to learn the right questions to ask of our stories: what shape are you meant to be? How does my language help me? How would my characters tell this story? Students will practice writing in different shapes, and experimenting with fragments, Hermit Crab essays and braiding in the first half of the course before workshop, and leave with a complete story with feedback.