FICT 138 W — Voice in Fiction: Style, Dialogue, and Point of View
Quarter: Summer
Instructor(s): Sarah Stone
Date(s): Jun 24—Aug 26
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Wednesdays
Class Meeting Time: 12:00—1:00 pm (PT)
Tuition: $1000
Refund Deadline: Jun 26
Unit(s): 2
Enrollment Limit: 18
Status: Registration opens May 18, 8:30 am (PT)
Quarter: Summer
Day: Wednesdays
Duration: 10 weeks
Time: 12:00—1:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jun 24—Aug 26
Unit(s): 2
Tuition: $1000
Refund Deadline: Jun 26
Instructor(s): Sarah Stone
Enrollment Limit: 18
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Registration opens May 18, 8:30 am (PT)
Author Bharati Mukherjee said that “‘voice’ is our shorthand for the process of decision-making regarding tone, diction, pacing, texture, withholding, etc. in a given work.” Each writer, and each work, has a particular voice—or sometimes a chorus of voices—that reveals point of view and character and helps determine meaning. Together, we will read and discuss novel selections and short stories from a variety of writers, including Helen Oyeyemi, Grace Paley, and Justin Torres. You will have the chance to post three selections from your work (up to 5,000 words total) for substantive, supportive feedback from your colleagues and instructor and to develop new approaches to the voice, style, dialogue, and POV in your own fiction. We will also consider character, plot, and place. By the end of the course, you will have a deeper sense of how to bring your writer’s voice more vividly, distinctly alive.
SARAH STONE
Author
Sarah Stone is the author of four books, including Marriage to the Sea; Hungry Ghost Theater, a finalist for the 38th annual Northern California Book Awards; and, with Ron Nyren, Deepening Fiction: A Practical Guide for Intermediate and Advanced Writers. Her work has appeared in Image, Ploughshares, StoryQuarterly, The Millions, Scoundrel Time, The Believer, 100 Word Story, CRAFT, and Alta Online, among other places. She has taught for UC Berkeley and the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers.Textbooks for this course:
There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.