OWC 303 A — Novel I: The Powerful Beginning
Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Christine Sneed
Date(s): Jan 5—Mar 9
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Tuesdays
Grade Restriction: Letter grade only
Class Meeting Time: 5:30—6:45 pm (PT)
Tuition: $1290
Refund Deadline: Jan 7
Unit(s): 2
Enrollment Limit: 15
Status: Registration opens Nov 30, 8:30 am (PT)
Quarter: Winter
Day: Tuesdays
Duration: 10 weeks
Time: 5:30—6:45 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jan 5—Mar 9
Unit(s): 2
Tuition: $1290
Refund Deadline: Jan 7
Instructor(s): Christine Sneed
Grade Restriction: Letter grade only
Enrollment Limit: 15
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Registration opens Nov 30, 8:30 am (PT)
This course is not open to the public, but rather by admission only. For more information on the Writing Certificate Program and its application process, please click here.
The beginning of a novel is crucial: establishing a contract with the reader, raising narrative questions, setting the tone and mood of the book, and, of course, introducing the main characters. We will begin by making sure that your novel starts in the right place, with a conflict compelling enough to reveal who these people are, and to ensure that they are making meaningful choices that lead to dramatic action. The challenges that our characters face up front help us to know who they are at the beginning of a book, and also set up expectations for how they might change by the end. Students will spend time thinking about the trajectory they envision not only for their protagonists but also for the secondary characters, and discussing issues related to characterization, such as point of view, dialogue, and voice. In this course, everyone will write and workshop an opening section of up to 5000 words.
The beginning of a novel is crucial: establishing a contract with the reader, raising narrative questions, setting the tone and mood of the book, and, of course, introducing the main characters. We will begin by making sure that your novel starts in the right place, with a conflict compelling enough to reveal who these people are, and to ensure that they are making meaningful choices that lead to dramatic action. The challenges that our characters face up front help us to know who they are at the beginning of a book, and also set up expectations for how they might change by the end. Students will spend time thinking about the trajectory they envision not only for their protagonists but also for the secondary characters, and discussing issues related to characterization, such as point of view, dialogue, and voice. In this course, everyone will write and workshop an opening section of up to 5000 words.
CHRISTINE SNEED
Author
Christine Sneed writes the Substack Bookish and is the author of six books, including Little Known Facts and The Virginity of Famous Men. She received the Grace Paley Prize, a Society of Midland Authors Award, and the Chicago Public Library Foundation's 21st Century Award, among other honors. Her work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories, The O. Henry Prize Stories, Ploughshares, The New York Times, and elsewhere. She is the faculty director of Northwestern's School of Professional Studies' graduate writing program. Textbooks for this course:
(Required) Steve Almond, Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories (ISBN 978-1638931300)