FICT 110 W — Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop: The Art of Speculative Storytelling
Quarter: Spring
Instructor(s): Jarrod Shusterman, Sofia Lapuente
Date(s): Apr 2—Jun 4
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Wednesdays
Class Meeting Time: 12:00—1:00 pm (PT)
Tuition: $1000
Refund Deadline: Apr 4
Unit(s): 2
Enrollment Limit: 18
Status: Registration opens Feb 24, 8:30 am (PT)
Quarter: Spring
Day: Wednesdays
Duration: 10 weeks
Time: 12:00—1:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Apr 2—Jun 4
Unit(s): 2
Tuition: $1000
Refund Deadline: Apr 4
Instructor(s): Jarrod Shusterman, Sofia Lapuente
Enrollment Limit: 18
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Registration opens Feb 24, 8:30 am (PT)
Science fiction and fantasy are two of the most popular genres in publishing today, offering rich world-building, complex characters, and topical dramatic themes—where the fantastic becomes a metaphor for the real world. This course seeks to demystify the process of writing in these genres and equip students with the tools necessary to write high-level fiction.
To learn how to structure a sci-fi or fantasy novel, students will read Neal Shusterman's sci-fi Printz Award winner, Scythe, and Andrzej Sapkowski's acclaimed The Witcher, analyzing how these best-selling novels handle plot, character, language, setting, and voice. Discussions of this work will dovetail with creative writing exercises and lessons from Blake Snyder's Save the Cat, and each student will submit a story or chapter of up to 5,000 words to be workshopped by the group. Students will also receive written feedback and cutting-edge industry from two instructors who publish annually in these genres. The instructors will share notes and emails from editors and agents and invite guest authors for class visits. By the end of the course, you'll leave with a wealth of practical knowledge about the field, along with a completed chapter and outline of your book, ready to query agents.
To learn how to structure a sci-fi or fantasy novel, students will read Neal Shusterman's sci-fi Printz Award winner, Scythe, and Andrzej Sapkowski's acclaimed The Witcher, analyzing how these best-selling novels handle plot, character, language, setting, and voice. Discussions of this work will dovetail with creative writing exercises and lessons from Blake Snyder's Save the Cat, and each student will submit a story or chapter of up to 5,000 words to be workshopped by the group. Students will also receive written feedback and cutting-edge industry from two instructors who publish annually in these genres. The instructors will share notes and emails from editors and agents and invite guest authors for class visits. By the end of the course, you'll leave with a wealth of practical knowledge about the field, along with a completed chapter and outline of your book, ready to query agents.
Since most of the learning in this course takes place asynchronously in threaded discussions on the Canvas classroom site, the live Zoom sessions are limited to 60 minutes per week.
JARROD SHUSTERMAN
Author
Jarrod Shusterman is the New York Times best-selling co-author of Roxy and Dry, which he is adapting for the screen with his co-author, Neal Shusterman. He also writes with Sofía Lapuente, and they co-authored the novel Retro and collaborated on Gleanings, the fourth installment of the best-selling Arc of a Scythe series. His work has received many accolades, including starred reviews in Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal, as well as a Green Earth Book Award and two German National Book Award nominations.SOFIA LAPUENTE
Author
Sofía Lapuente is the co-author of the novel Retro with Jarrod Shusterman. She also collaborated on Gleanings, the fourth installment of the best-selling Arc of a Scythe series, which is currently being adapted for the screen by Universal. Lapuente immigrated to the United States with a dream of storytelling and since then has been published in over a dozen languages worldwide. She is a writer, creative writing instructor, screenwriter, and former producer and casting director on an Emmy-nominated show. Textbooks for this course:
(Required) Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher: Blood of Elves (ISBN 978-0316452663)
(Required) Neal Shusterman, Scythe (ISBN 978-1442472433 )
(Recommended) Jessica Brody, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel (ISBN 978-0399579745)
(Required) Neal Shusterman, Scythe (ISBN 978-1442472433 )
(Recommended) Jessica Brody, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel (ISBN 978-0399579745)