 When you click the Amazon logo to the left of any citation and purchase the book (or other media) from Amazon.com, MIT OpenCourseWare will receive up to 10% of this purchase and any other purchases you make during that visit. This will not increase the cost of your purchase. Links provided are to the US Amazon site, but you can also support OCW through Amazon sites in other regions. Learn more. |
Please note: Though this section features lecture notes for the majority of class sessions, notes are not available for every single session. Furthermore, please consult the readings, as many of the notes reference them.
Acknowledgement
Many of the exercises below were inspired by the following text:
Bernays, Anne, and Pamela Painter. What If? Writing Exercises For Fiction Writers. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Longman, 2003. ISBN: 9780321107176.
Lecture Notes
Lecture notes table.
| SES # |
TOPICS |
LECTURE NOTES |
| 1 |
Introduction and Discussion of the Process and the Nature of the Story |
(PDF) |
| 2 |
Discussion of Readings and Exploration into the Notion of What Makes a Short Story |
(PDF) |
| 3 |
Biography, Slice of Life, and the Use of Real Life in Creating a Story |
(PDF 1)
(PDF 2)
|
| 4 |
Exercise in Developing Story From Incident and Life |
(PDF) |
| 5 |
Workshop Incident/Emotion Sketches
Begin Discussion of Character
Character as the Center of the Story
|
(PDF) |
| 6 |
Creating Character |
(PDF) |
| 7 |
Exercise/Workshop in Character Creation (Bring in a Character Sketch) |
(PDF 1)
(PDF 2)
|
| 8 |
What is a Plot and How can it be Constructed? |
(PDF) |
| 9 |
Exercise in Creating Plot |
(PDF) |
| 10 |
The Real as the Basis for the Unreal |
(PDF) |
| 11 |
Examination of the Idea and Usage of Point of View |
(PDF) |
| 12 |
Exercise on Point of View |
(PDF) |
| 13 |
Description as a Central Element and Metaphor |
(PDF) |
| 14 |
Exercise with Description
Discuss Reading in Terms of All Techniques Discussed in Class
|
(PDF) |
| 15 |
Workshop: The Forms and Methods of Revelation |
(PDF) |
| 16 |
Workshop (Story 1) |
Workshops Guide (PDF) |
| 17 |
Making the Decision Where to Begin |
(PDF) |
| 18 |
Workshop (Story 1) |
Workshops Guide (PDF) |
| 19 |
Exercise in Extreme Fictionalization |
|
| 20 |
Place as both Reality and Metaphor |
(PDF) |
| 21-22 |
Workshop
Rewriting
|
(PDF)
Workshops Guide (PDF)
|
| 23 |
The Way a Professional Writer Works in the World |
(PDF) |
| 24 |
The Business of Publishing (About Conglomerates, Agents, Distributors, etc.) |
|
| 25 |
Evaluations
Discussion of Getting Published in the Real World
|
|