Kashyap, Aruni
R 11:10 AM
Park Hall 0061
Fiction Workshop : Writing the Novel
Is it possible to write the first draft of a book in a few weeks? Faulkner wrote As I Lay Dying in six weeks and claims he didn't change a word of it. Kazuo Ishiguro wrote the first draft of Remains of the Day in four weeks and revised it extensively before publication. John Boyne wrote the initial draft of his widely popular novel The Boy in Striped Pajamas in just two and a half days.
This is a fiction workshop. The objective of this course is to finish the unedited first draft of a book-length project. This may mean differently to each one of you. If you have an idea that you have been thinking about for a while, you will aim to finish a rough first draft. If you have a manuscript that is at an advanced stage of completion, you should aim towards polishing that project. If you are writing a novel, novella, novel-in-stories, or linked a collection of short stories, this workshop is also for you.
How will we do this? Well, that’s the challenge and the most exciting part: by the end of the semester, everyone will be required to produce at least 40,000 original words of either the first draft of a new work or extensive re-writing of an earlier rough draft. At this stage in the writing process, we will not be overly concerned with the quality but rather quantity. Perfection is not our goal during this semester. Our concerns are creating plausible characters, the plot turns, conflicts, how to create an outline, develop a writing regime, etc. Creating a book-length piece of fiction is a challenging prospect. My hope is that at the end of the semester, you will not be mystified by the word “prolific”; you will see how it is possible to finish a book-length project within a period of time by remaining loyal to a writing regime and discover the thrill of typing “THE END” after finishing your final chapter.
Though we will not worry about perfection, we will worry a lot about the novel’s craft, form, and structure by reading other authors. However, these will be short excursions, only to support our drafting process. Our focus will remain on the manuscript in progress. Even though we will workshop huge chunks during the semester, keeping the aforementioned goals in mind, this course is foremost a commitment to yourself to finish a book. I am your consultant and accountability keeper. Novel writing is a lonely process. You will have a community during this lonely journey. I will know your novel and will always be ready to discuss knotty parts with you and unspool them together.