WU291 Structuring the Novel

This class explores structure and form in the novel. While theme, voice, character are essential elements in every kind of fiction, the long form may succeed or fail on the basis of structure. We will consider various aspects of novel structure, from plot and generic forms to more organic and idiosyncratic forms, as well as the notion of short and long lines of tension. We will study how F. Scott Fitzgerald developed structure in The Great Gatsby and examine the structural issues in the projects of the seminar participants.

 This course will be conducted online - registrants shall benefit from a 15% reduction in price.

Special Instructions: Students are expected to send an extract of their work: 15 pages, double-spaced, 12 point font. Please send to creativewriting@wice-paris.org.

About the Instructor: Samantha Chang is the author of two novels, All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost and Inheritance, and a story collection, Hunger. Samantha’s short stories have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Ploughshares, and The Best American Short Stories. She has received fellowships from the American Library in Paris, the Radcliffe Institute, the National Endowment for the Arts and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. She lives in Iowa City, Iowa, where she is Elizabeth M. Stanley Professor of the Arts and Director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa.