This is an archived course. A more recent version may be available at ocw.mit.edu.

 

Lecture Notes

Please note: Though this section features lecture notes for the majority of class sessions, notes are not available for every single session. Furthermore, please consult the readings, as many of the notes reference them.

Acknowledgement

Many of the exercises below were inspired by the following text:

Amazon logo Bernays, Anne, and Pamela Painter. What If? Writing Exercises For Fiction Writers. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Longman, 2003. ISBN: 9780321107176.

Lecture Notes

 

SES # TOPICS LECTURE NOTES
1 Introduction and Discussion of the Process and the Nature of the Story (PDF)
2 Discussion of Readings and Exploration into the Notion of What Makes a Short Story (PDF)
3 Biography, Slice of Life, and the Use of Real Life in Creating a Story

(PDF 1)

(PDF 2)

4 Exercise in Developing Story From Incident and Life (PDF)
5

Workshop Incident/Emotion Sketches

Begin Discussion of Character

Character as the Center of the Story

(PDF)
6 Creating Character (PDF)
7 Exercise/Workshop in Character Creation (Bring in a Character Sketch)

(PDF 1)

(PDF 2)

8 What is a Plot and How can it be Constructed? (PDF)
9 Exercise in Creating Plot (PDF)
10 The Real as the Basis for the Unreal (PDF)
11 Examination of the Idea and Usage of Point of View (PDF)
12 Exercise on Point of View (PDF)
13 Description as a Central Element and Metaphor (PDF)
14

Exercise with Description

Discuss Reading in Terms of All Techniques Discussed in Class

(PDF)
15 Workshop: The Forms and Methods of Revelation (PDF)
16 Workshop (Story 1) Workshops Guide (PDF)
17 Making the Decision Where to Begin (PDF)
18 Workshop (Story 1) Workshops Guide (PDF)
19 Exercise in Extreme Fictionalization  
20 Place as both Reality and Metaphor (PDF)
21-22

Workshop

Rewriting

(PDF)

Workshops Guide (PDF)

23 The Way a Professional Writer Works in the World (PDF)
24 The Business of Publishing (About Conglomerates, Agents, Distributors, etc.)  
25

Evaluations

Discussion of Getting Published in the Real World