WRITING
Fiction Workshop: Breaking the Rules
AUTUMN WN130 
Wednesday
Susan Knight
A function of good literature is to look at the world in a new way, to subvert preconceptions and expectations. This new course will bring participants on a journey down a road less travelled. With reference to various more experimental authors, from Borges to David Mitchell, from the Dadaists to Kurt Vonnegut to Post-Modernists, the endless exciting possibilities of literary creativity will be examined. Class and home assignments will play with genre, point of view, language, dialogue, character and plot, or plotlessness. A session of collaborative writing will explore what happens when the individual is subsumed into the group. Rules and conventions will be looked at, broken or redesigned.
Part of the course will include a visit to a play during the Dublin theatre in October,(ticket not included in course fee) to a production that breaks the rules of conventional drama. This will provide a discussion point for the following class.
Students will be encouraged to attend readings at the Irish Writers’ centre and elsewhere to broaden their awareness of possible new directions for fiction writing.
All home assignments will receive a critique. Participants will be encouraged to present their work to the group for discussion. Both new and more experienced writers are welcome. The only prerequisite is an open mind.
| BELFIELD | ||
| 10 Wednesdays | Sep 26, Oct 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, Nov 7, 14, 21, 28 | 7.30pm - 9.30pm |
|
FEE €190 |
Print Open Learning Application Form 2012.13 or ring (01) 716 7123 for Laser/ Credit Card payment |
Tutor Details:
Susan Knight (Ph.D) has been teaching in the Adult Education department of UCD for many years. She is the author of three novels, a non-fiction book and numerous short stories, several of which have won awards, including the Bryan McMahon award at Listowel Writers’ Week and the James Plunkett memorial award. Her collection, Letting Rip & Other Stories, was published in May 2012. She has also written for stage and radio.
Who is the course for?
The course is aimed at writers, both new and experienced, who want to broaden their awareness of what writing is and what it does.
Reading List:
There is no advance book list for this course. Photocopies of relevant texts will be provided in class and the students encouraged to follow up writers they enjoy and are stimulated by.
