Overview
English 482: Advanced Fiction Writing is the next step for students who have taken English 381 or a similar introductory course in writing fiction. The course provides an option to work on separate short stories or linked stories, or develop a longer narrative, whether a novel, novella, or novel-in-stories. Students read sample fiction with close attention to technique and style.
Outline
English 482: Advanced Fiction Writing consists of six units:
- Unit 1: The Writing Process: Why Write?
- Unit 2: Reading as a Writer
- Unit 3: Creating Character
- Unit 4: Creating a Structure
- Unit 5: Style
- Unit 6: Revision
Evaluation
To receive credit for ENGL 482, you must achieve a minimum grade of 50 percent on each assignment and a course composite grade of at least D (50 percent). The weighting of the course assignments is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1: First Chapter or Story | 15% |
| Assignment 2, Part I: Why Write? Blog | 5% |
| Assignment 2, Part II: Reading as a Writer Blog | 5% |
| Assignment 3: Chapter or Story | 25% |
| Assignment 4: Chapter or Story | 30% |
| Assignment 5: Revision of Assignment 1, 3, or 4 | 20% |
| Total | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Burroway, Janet, Elizabeth Stuckey-French, and Ned Stuckey-French. Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, 9th edition. Boston: Pearson, 2015.
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
Gardner, John. On Becoming a Novelist. Foreword by Raymond Carver. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1999.
Other Materials
All other course materials are available online.