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CW 87 W — Speculative Fiction Workshop: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror

Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Faith Merino
Duration: 10 weeks
Location: Online
Date(s): Jan 14—Mar 18
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Tuesdays
 
Class Meeting Time: 12:00—1:00 pm (PT)
Tuition: $1000
   
Refund Deadline: Jan 16
 
Unit(s): 2
   
Enrollment Limit: 18
  
Status: Registration opens Dec 2, 8:30 am (PT)
 
Quarter: Winter
Day: Tuesdays
Duration: 10 weeks
Time: 12:00—1:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jan 14—Mar 18
Unit(s): 2
Location: Online
 
Tuition: $1000
 
Refund Deadline: Jan 16
 
Instructor(s): Faith Merino
 
Enrollment Limit: 18
 
Recording Available: Yes
 
Status: Registration opens Dec 2, 8:30 am (PT)
 
Writing a speculative novel can feel like building a plane while flying it—especially when balancing world-building with character development and plot. Speculative fiction, encompassing science fiction, fantasy, horror, magical realism, steampunk, and beyond, is distinguished by its rich world-building. But how do you craft a world without getting bogged down in description and sacrificing momentum? In this course, we will discuss these topics, along with how to draft novels that blur genres (e.g., horror and sci-fi), the place of violence in speculative fiction, and more.

In this course, we’ll tackle these challenges head-on. You’ll explore how to maintain a propulsive narrative while constructing immersive worlds, zooming in on character movements and zooming out to depict expansive universes. We’ll analyze Kindred by Octavia E. Butler and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and we’ll use insights from Matt Bell’s craft book, Refuse to Be Done, to guide our writing exercises. During the second half of the quarter, you'll participate in workshops to receive peer and instructor feedback on up to 5,000 words of your work in progress. By the end of the course, you'll have a brand new chapter of your speculative novel and the skills to succeed on this epic journey.

FAITH MERINO
Author

Faith Merino is a former Stegner Fellow at Stanford and the author of Cormorant Lake, which was longlisted for the 2021 Center for Fiction First Novel Award. She received an MFA in fiction from UC Davis, and her short stories have appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, Indiana Review, and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, among others.

Textbooks for this course:

(Required) Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Mexican Gothic (ISBN 978-0525620808)
(Required) Octavia E. Butler, Kindred (ISBN 978-0807083697)