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.
教学大纲 - 您将从这门课程中学到什么
周
1完成时间为 3 小时
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 个视频 （总计 56 分钟）, 2 个阅读材料, 1 个测验
9 个视频
Introduction to Meaning, Sense, and Clarity7分钟
The Pyramid of Language7分钟
Scatteration3分钟
Shop Talk with Amity Gaige14分钟
Excellent Word Choice at Work, pt. 14分钟
Excellent Word Choice at Work, pt. 22分钟
Assignment Overview5分钟
Feedback Expectations for the Specialization2分钟
2 个阅读材料
A Note on Assignments10分钟
Promo Codes10分钟
周
2完成时间为 3 小时
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 个视频 （总计 32 分钟）, 1 个测验
6 个视频
Nouns and Verbs at Work, pt. 12分钟
Nouns and Verbs at Work, pt 2.4分钟
Close Reading of "Lord of Misrule"4分钟
A Conversation with Jaimy Gordon, Author of "Lord of Misrule"10分钟
Assignment Overview3分钟
周
3完成时间为 3 小时
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 个视频 （总计 44 分钟）, 1 个阅读材料, 1 个测验
5 个视频
Surgery10分钟
Shop Talk with Brando Skyhorse10分钟
Visiting Writer: Sophie McManus13分钟
Assignment Overview3分钟
1 个阅读材料
Sophie McManus's Informal List of Words and Phrases to Cut10分钟
周
4完成时间为 3 小时
"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 个视频 （总计 43 分钟）, 1 个测验
6 个视频
Respecting the Reader's Mind6分钟
Shop Talk with Amy Bloom12分钟
The Reader-Writer Arc8分钟
Close Reading of "Song of Solomon"5分钟
Assignment Overview3分钟
4.7
183 条评论来自Creative Writing: The Craft of Style的热门评论
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.
讲师
Salvatore Scibona
Frank B. Weeks Visiting Professor of English关于 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.
关于 创意写作 专项课程
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.
常见问题
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