Your style is as unique and distinctive as your face, your voice, except that you can choose it, you can can work on it, enhance it. In this course we will introduce aspiring writers to the art of putting pressure on written language. We will study the use of metaphor and imagery, and demonstrate how clarity, grace, and inventiveness in word choice are imperative to a story’s success. Writers will emerge with the revision skills essential to all writers of good stories and good prose.
教學大綱 - 您將從這門課程中學到什麼
週
1完成時間為 3 小時
Meaning, Sense, and Clarity
Here in the first module we focus on putting pressure on your words so that they mean what you intend. We balance abstraction with the need to make good sense. And we discuss the first and last stylistic difficulty of any prose writer, being clear.
9 個視頻 （總計 56 分鐘）, 2 個閱讀材料, 1 個測驗
9 個視頻
Introduction to Meaning, Sense, and Clarity7分鐘
The Pyramid of Language7分鐘
Scatteration3分鐘
Shop Talk with Amity Gaige14分鐘
Excellent Word Choice at Work, pt. 14分鐘
Excellent Word Choice at Work, pt. 22分鐘
Assignment Overview5分鐘
Feedback Expectations for the Specialization2分鐘
2 個閱讀材料
A Note on Assignments10分鐘
Promo Codes10分鐘
週
2完成時間為 3 小時
Writing with Nouns and Verbs
In the second module we look at the various parts of speech and how two of them—nouns and verbs—are the building blocks of good style and good narratives. By relying on nouns, we make the people, places, and things of the narrative world vivid. By relying on verbs we keep the story alive and in motion.
6 個視頻 （總計 32 分鐘）, 1 個測驗
6 個視頻
Nouns and Verbs at Work, pt. 12分鐘
Nouns and Verbs at Work, pt 2.4分鐘
Close Reading of "Lord of Misrule"4分鐘
A Conversation with Jaimy Gordon, Author of "Lord of Misrule"10分鐘
Assignment Overview3分鐘
週
3完成時間為 3 小時
Economy
In the third module, having practiced putting words in, we learn to take them out. And why: for humor, for clarity, for cleanliness, and for that fleet quality of wit that makes a style irresistible.
5 個視頻 （總計 44 分鐘）, 1 個閱讀材料, 1 個測驗
5 個視頻
Surgery10分鐘
Shop Talk with Brando Skyhorse10分鐘
Visiting Writer: Sophie McManus13分鐘
Assignment Overview3分鐘
1 個閱讀材料
Sophie McManus's Informal List of Words and Phrases to Cut10分鐘
週
4完成時間為 3 小時
"No Ideas But in Things"
In the the final module of the course, we learn to balance the drive to get at ideas and feelings, with the need the story always has for concreteness, realness. We learn to express ideas in the form of physical things in a narrative world, to produce a style that speaks as much to the world of the senses as to the world of the mind.
6 個視頻 （總計 43 分鐘）, 1 個測驗
6 個視頻
Respecting the Reader's Mind6分鐘
Shop Talk with Amy Bloom12分鐘
The Reader-Writer Arc8分鐘
Close Reading of "Song of Solomon"5分鐘
Assignment Overview3分鐘
4.7
170 個審閱42%
完成這些課程後已開始新的職業生涯
40%
通過此課程獲得實實在在的工作福利
來自Creative Writing: The Craft of Style的熱門評論
Great class for the content I needed. I audited this class and benefited from the theory discussion and practical exercises. The class guided me to improve my writing style which was my ultimate goal.
Lessons were well done, good mix of teaching and illuminating discussion between accomplished writers. Exercises are creative and well thought out. Feedback from classmates is generally helpful.
講師
Salvatore Scibona
Frank B. Weeks Visiting Professor of English關於 卫斯连大学
At Wesleyan, distinguished scholar-teachers work closely with students, taking advantage of fluidity among disciplines to explore the world with a variety of tools. The university seeks to build a diverse, energetic community of students, faculty, and staff who think critically and creatively and who value independence of mind and generosity of spirit.
關於 创意写作 專項課程
This Specialization covers elements of three major creative writing genres: short story, narrative essay, and memoir. You will master the techniques that good writers use to compose a bracing story, populated with memorable characters in an interesting setting, written in a fresh descriptive style. You will analyze and constructively evaluate peer writing. In the Capstone, you will draft, rewrite, and complete a substantial original story in the genre of your choosing.
Our courses are designed for anyone from the aspiring short story writer to established novelist. Whether you have a finished novel sitting on your desk calling for a fresh look or have had the germ of an idea for a decade, this Specialization gives you tools to achieve your goal. Through 4 courses focused on a key aspect of writing, and taken in any order you choose, you will develop a stronger ability to not only refine your writing, but critique writing in general and find inspiration in the works you are already reading.
Thanks to our sponsors, upon completion of their first assignment, learners in each course will receive up to an 80% discount from Write-Bros and a 30% discount off their first purchase from Scrivener to use on their writing software. Additionally, learners who complete an assignment will receive 30% off membership at the online writing community Scribophile. For more information about our partners, see the FAQ below.
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