CRWR 185 A-Z - Special TopicsSemester Hours: 3
Fall, Spring
Special topics related to the creative writing genres. Subjects to be selected yearly.
Current Special Topics
CRWR 185E: Fiction: Character and Conflict
Characters need or desire something. They proactively try to get it. Obstacles, both external and internal, get in the way, causing conflicts. How characters deal with these conflicts essentially defines who they are and gives shape to the story. You can’t have a strong story without strong characters, and you can’t have strong characters without strong conflict.
In this advanced fiction writing workshop, students will concentrate particularly on the idea that character drives action, and that action grows out of conflict, conflict being defined as a character’s needs or desires meeting external or internal opposition.
Students will be required to complete three short stories over the course of the semester. Students will workshop their first drafts with the class, receive verbal and written notes from their peers and from the instructor, and then submit revised copies of their stories based on those notes. Only the revised drafts will be graded.
Students will also be asked to read a number of published stories and excerpts, analyzing the work with an eye to how the authors set their characters up against obstacles, and how the characters’ journeys move forward primarily through the process of engaging the conflicts created by those obstacles.
Prerequisite: CRWR 133 and CRWR 135 or instructor’s permission.
Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
WSC 001 and CRWR 133 . May be repeated for credit when topics vary. As individual subjects are selected, each is assigned a letter (A-Z) which is affixed to the course number. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule.
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