Advanced Fiction Writing: The Suspense Story
COL 213
Fall 2011
| Section:
01
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| This course may be repeated for credit. |
| Certificates: Writing |
This course will focus on advanced fiction writing techniques used in suspense fiction and will explore the concept of genre. Are fictional genres such as the suspense thriller, the detective story, and the literary story artificial constructs, or do these labels meaningfully distinguish between categories of fiction with distinct traditions and qualities? Students will begin the semester by wrestling with definitions of the suspense thriller and examining techniques used by Gothic writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and Mary Shelley to evoke mood and suspense in fiction. Thereafter, the class will chart the emergence of the detective story genre in the works of Poe and Wilkie Collins; read classic detective stories by such authors as James Cain, Patricia Highsmith, and Georges Simenon; and learn plotting techniques exalted by masters of the detective story.
Paula Sharp is the author of four novels and a collection of short stories. She is writer-in-residence at the College of Letters and has taught there since 2003. |
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Essential Capabilities:
None |
| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA COL |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
PRINCIPAL TEXTS
Selected Fiction by James Cain, Wilkie Collins, William Faulkner, Patricia Highsmith, Shirley Jackson, E.P. Jones, Somerset Maugham, Edgar Allan Poe, Georges Simenon, Wallace Stegner, Jim Thompson and Mary Shelley.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Students will read approximately 200 pages of fiction or non-fiction per week; and will write 40-50pages of short fiction or non-fiction during the semester (four short assignments; and two short works of 15-20 pages). |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Students will complete several short assignments and write a story utilizing techniques studied in class.
Recommended prerequisite: COL 201, or the equivalent. Students who have taken COL 201 should e-mail Professor Sharp (psharp@wesleyan.edu) to obtain permission to attend the seminar. Students who have not taken COL 201 should send a writing sample and ask for a short application form (allowing students to provide information on their qualifications to take an advanced course). Professor Sharp will consider applications submitted between February and September. Preference is given to COL majors and upperclassmen, but students of all years and majors are encouraged to apply. WRITING CERTIFICATE: This seminar may be counted as a Level Two "Elective" course for purposes of Wesleyan's writing certificate; the seminar also fulfills the certificates "POI" and "workshop" course requirements. |
| Instructor(s): Sharp,Paula Times: ..T.... 07:00PM-09:50PM; Location: BTFDC314; |
Permission of Instructor Required
Enrollment capacity: 12 | Permission of instructor will be granted during the drop/add period. Students must submit either a ranked or unranked drop/add request for this course. |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 1 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 1 |
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