Carolyn Ferrell

Toni Morrison once wrote, “If writing is thinking and discovery and selection and order and meaning, it is also awe and reverence and mystery and magic.” She referred to the interior life of her ancestors as being a large (perhaps the largest?) charge that she, as an author, faced; the characters she created—in part from pictures, in part from the act of imagination—yielded “a kind of truth.” We are experiencing a new age of Black artists and activists, charging the world to heed their truths; as writers, we’ll delve into the fullness of their experiences. Nana Ama Adjei-Brenyah brings magical realism to the doorstep of our daily lives; Edward P. Jones establishes setting as character, garnering comparisons to James Joyce. Ta-Nehisi Coates posits large questions about writing and Black identity, while Jocelyn Nicole Johnson uses satire to address themes of class and culture; and both Danielle Evans and Jamel Brinkley write in a charged realist tradition that is RIEBY (my new acronym: right in everybody’s back yard!). Class readings will include essays on craft and technique, as well as short stories and memoir. This workshop will also have at its heart the discussion of student manuscripts and the development of constructive criticism. Talking about race, talking about craft, and talking about our own fiction should occur in an environment where everyone feels valued and supported. The road may be bumpy at times—but how else to get to that truth that Toni Morrison so prized?

Toni Morrison once wrote, “If writing is thinking and discovery and selection an order and meaning, it is also awe and reverence and mystery and magic.” She referred to the interior life of her ancestors as being a large (perhaps the largest?) charge that she, as an author, faced; the characters she created—in part from pictures, in part from the imaginative act—yielded “a kind of truth.” We are experiencing a new age of Black artists and activists, charging the world to heed their own truths; as writers, we’ll delve into the fullness of their experiences. Nana Ama Adjei-Brenyah brings magical realism to the doorstep of our daily lives; Edward P. Jones establishes setting as character, garnering comparisons to James Joyce. Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay posit large questions about writing and Black identity, while Nafissa Thompson-Spires uses satire to address themes of class and culture; and both Danielle Evans and Jamel Brinkley write in a charged realist tradition that is RIEBY (my new acronym: right in everybody’s back yard!). Class readings will include essays on technique, short stories, and memoir. We’ll discuss the elements of craft as they pertain to the published literature as well as to our own work. This workshop will also have at its heart the discussion of student manuscripts and the development of constructive criticism. Talking about race, talking about craft, and talking about our own fiction should occur in an environment where everyone feels valued and supported. The road may be bumpy at times, but how else to get to that truth Toni Morrison so prized?

This class will be run as a traditional workshop, with students exchanging their own stories for discussion and completing weekly reading assignments; but the focus of our reading will be on two or more works by a particular author in order to try and understand that author’s trajectory. We will, for example, explore the development of voice and subject matter, as well as characterization, plot, point of view, and form. These writers will be our teachers. By reading their work, we hope to come to a clearer understanding of what makes a story live and breathe. Some authors whom we may consider include Tobias Wolff, Junot Diaz, Dan Chaon, Alice Munro, Lynda Barry, and Roxane Gay. Students will be expected to attend at least two readings on campus, hand in writing assignments every other week, and complete a set of readings for conference.

What does it mean to be a writer today? How do we find our subject matter, our voices, our forms? The writer Paula Whyman observed, “Art in its many forms can give voice to our concerns, hopes, fears, anxieties—and joys. Art can provide solace. It can spur engagement. It can increase understanding. It can help us feel less alone.” Through weekly reading and writing assignments, we will begin the journey toward understanding who we can be as fiction writers. We’ll explore questions of technique and craft, starting with: Who decides what craft is? What makes a story a story? How does one go from word to sentence to paragraph to scene? Does there always need to be transformation? Can structure shape content? The workshop will be divided between discussions of student stories and of published fiction writers, including Carmen Maria Machado, George Saunders, Sarah Moss, Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, among others. We’ll also read essays on craft by authors such as Richard Russo, Matthew Salesses, Roxane Gay, and Robin Hemley, who ask us to pay attention to larger cultural questions. From the start, we will work on developing our constructive criticism. When developed in a supportive atmosphere, our critiques should help us better grasp the workings of our stories and see what they can be in the world.

How do we, as writers, take our lived experiences and transform them into fiction? The novelist Janet Frame observed that “putting it all down as it happens is not fiction; there must be the journey by oneself, the changing of the light focused upon the material, the willingness of the author herself to live within that light…the real shape, the first shape, is always a circle formed, only to be broken and reformed, again and again.” The purpose of this course is to explore the ways in which memoir and fiction work together to tell the most deeply felt, emotionally honest, and resonant story possible. We’ll look at both the fiction and nonfiction of writers that include Andre Dubus III, Janet Frame, Edward P. Jones, Nana Adjei-Brenyah, George Saunders, and Jamaica Kincaid. The class will be led as a fiction workshop, although there will be some opportunity to explore biography through occasional writing exercises. The workshop will be divided between the discussion of student stories and the discussion of published literature (which will include essays on writing craft). Students are required to do additional conference reading, as well as to attend at least two campus readings per semester. From the start, we will work on developing our constructive criticism, which (when developed in a supportive atmosphere) should help us better understand our own creative writing.

What does it mean to be a writer today? How do we find our subject matter, our voices, our forms? The writer Paula Whyman observed, “Art in its many forms can give voice to our concerns, hopes, fears, anxieties—and joys. Art can provide solace. It can spur engagement. It can increase understanding. It can help us feel less alone.” Through weekly reading and writing assignments, we will begin the journey into understanding who we can be as fiction writers. We’ll explore questions of craft: What makes a story a story? How does one go from word to sentence to paragraph to scene? Does there always need to be transformation? What is the role of setting? And how does structure help create voice? The workshop will be divided between discussions of student stories and of published fiction writers, including Carmen Maria Machado, George Saunders, Dan Chaon, Claudia Rankine, and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. We will also read from other genres, including essays on craft by authors such as Richard Russo, Roxane Gay, and Robin Hemley. Students are required to do additional conference reading, as well as to attend at least two campus readings per semester. From the start, we will work on developing our constructive criticism; when developed in a supportive atmosphere, our critiques should help us better grasp the workings of our stories and see what those stories can be in the world.

What does it mean to be a writer today? How do we find our subject matter, our voices? The writer Paula Whyman observed, “Art in its many forms can give voice to our concerns, hopes, fears, anxieties—and joys. Art can provide solace. It can spur engagement. It can increase understanding. It can help us feel less alone.” Through weekly reading and writing assignments, we will begin the journey into understanding who we can be as fiction writers. We’ll explore questions of craft: What makes a story a story? How does one go from word to sentence to paragraph to scene? What are the tools of a fiction writer? The workshop will be divided between discussions of student stories and of published fiction writers, including Carmen Maria Machado, George Saunders, Edward P. Jones, Jamil Jan Kochai, Venita Blackburn, and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, among others. We will also read from other genres, including essays on craft by authors such as Richard Russo, Roxane Gay, and Robin Hemley. Students are required to do additional conference reading, as well as to attend at least two campus readings per semester; writing time will also be structured into class. Perhaps most importantly, we will work on developing our constructive criticism from the very start. When developed in a supportive atmosphere, our critiques should help us better grasp the workings of our stories and see what those stories can be in the world.

What makes a story a story? What are the tools of fiction writers? How does one go from character to scene to story? When does a story make you want to keep reading—beyond its end? These are questions that we will explore in workshop; we'll think about our stories from the first draft to the revision, exploring questions of craft through weekly writing and reading assignments. The various forms of the short story (including the short short, the frame story, the episodic story, and micro fiction, among others) will guide us as we create. Our reading list includes writers such as Edward P. Jones, Steven Millhauser, Camille Acker, Carmen Maria Machado, and Nana Adjei-Brenyah—writers whose use of point of view, character development, setting, voice, and structure will hopefully provide inspiration. Students are expected to attend at least two readings on campus, as well as to prepare a reading list for conference. Typed critiques of student stories are also required, as is participation in workshop. Last but not least: We'll work on developing our constructive criticism, which, next to reading, is key to becoming a strong writer.

How do we, as writers, take our lived experiences and transform them into fiction? The novelist Janet Frame observed that “putting it all down as it happens is not fiction; there must be the journey by oneself, the changing of the light focused upon the material, the willingness of the author herself to live within that light…the real shape, the first shape, is always a circle formed, only to be broken and reformed, again and again.” The purpose of this course is to explore the ways in which memoir and fiction work together to tell the most deeply felt, emotionally honest, and resonant story possible. We’ll look at both the fiction and the nonfiction of writers that may include Andre Dubus III, Tobias Wolff, Lynda Barry, Edward P. Jones, and Sandra Cisneros. The class will be led as a fiction workshop, although there will be some opportunity to explore biography through occasional writing exercises. The workshop will be divided between the discussion of student stories and the discussion of published literature (which will include essays on writing craft). Students are required to do additional conference reading, as well as to attend at least two campus readings per semester. From the start, we will work on developing our constructive criticism which, when developed in a supportive atmosphere, should help us better understand our own creative writing.

Toni Morrison once wrote, “If writing is thinking and discovery and selection and order and meaning, it is also awe and reverence and mystery and magic.” She referred to the interior life of her ancestors as being a large (perhaps the largest?) charge she, as an author, faced; the characters she created, in part from pictures, in part from the imaginative act, yielded “a kind of truth.” We are experiencing a new age of Black artists and activists charging the world to heed their own truth; our focus as writers will be to delve into the fullness of their experience. Nana Ama Adjei-Brenyah brings magical realism to the doorstep of quotidien political events; Edward P. Jones establishes setting as character, garnering comparisons to James Joyce. Nafissa Thompson-Spires uses satire to address themes of identity; and both Danielle Evans and Jamel Brinkley write in a charged realist tradition that is RIEBY (my new acronym: right in everybody’s back yard!). Class readings will include essays on technique, short stories, and memoir; we’ll discuss the elements of craft as they pertain to the published literature as well as to our own work. This workshop will also have at its heart the discussion of student manuscripts, and the development of constructive criticism. Talking about race, talking about craft, and talking about our own fiction should occur in an environment where everyone feels valued and supported; the road may be bumpy at times, but how else to get to that truth Toni Morrison so prized?

Toni Morrison once wrote, “If writing is thinking and discovery and selection and order and meaning, it is also awe and reverence and mystery and magic.” She referred to the interior life of her ancestors as being a large (perhaps the largest?) charge that she, as an author, faced; the characters she created—in part from pictures, in part from the imaginative act—yielded “a kind of truth.” We are experiencing a new age of Black artists and activists, charging the world to heed their own truths; as writers, we’ll delve into the fullness of their experiences. Nana Ama Adjei-Brenyah brings magical realism to the doorstep of our daily lives; Edward P. Jones establishes setting as character, garnering comparisons to James Joyce. Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay posit large questions about writing and Black identity, while Nafissa Thompson-Spires uses satire to address themes of class and culture; and both Danielle Evans and Jamel Brinkley write in a charged realist tradition that is RIEBY (my new acronym: right in everybody’s back yard!). Class readings will include essays on technique, short stories, and memoir. We’ll discuss the elements of craft as they pertain to the published literature as well as to our own work. This workshop will also have at its heart the discussion of student manuscripts and the development of constructive criticism. Talking about race, talking about craft, and talking about our own fiction should occur in an environment where everyone feels valued and supported. The road may be bumpy at times—but how else to get to that truth that Toni Morrison so prized?

Does it ever happen to you that you feel your draft is never finished—that you could go on revising forever? Number 10 on Zadie Smith’s “Rules of Writing” reads as follows: “Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand—but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never being satisfied.” How might the quest for perfection in a draft actually prevent one from completing it? What role does writer’s block play—or is writer’s block even a thing? In this workshop, we will try to figure out ways to handle our own challenges about writing perfection by doing writing exercises (Brian Kitely’s The Three A.M. Epiphany), reading craft essays (from authors such as Mark Childress, Ann Patchett, and Jane Smiley), comparing early and late drafts from certain authors (Tobias Wolff, Lorna Simpson), and trying to figure out what makes a completed story and how we can get there. We will read a few stories a week by established authors such as Edward P. Jones, Dan Chaon, and Steven Millhauser—and by newer voices such as Camille Acker, Rattawut Lapcharoensap, and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. We want to understand what works in a draft and what can be improved—and find the tools we need to move forward on our own. Hopefully, that “lifelong sadness” will transform itself into confidence, as well as into a strong piece of writing in which one can take pride.

Toni Morrison once wrote, “If writing is thinking and discovery and selection and order and meaning, it is also awe and reverence and mystery and magic.” She referred to the interior life of her ancestors as being a large (perhaps the largest?) charge that she, as an author, faced; the characters she created—in part from pictures, in part from the imaginative act—yielded “a kind of truth.” We are experiencing a new age of Black artists and activists, charging the world to heed their own truth; our focus as writers will be to delve into the fullness of their experience. Nana Ama Adjei-Brenyah brings magical realism to the doorstep of quotidien political events; Edward P. Jones establishes setting as character, garnering comparisons to James Joyce. Nafissa Thompson-Spires uses satire to address themes of identity; and both Danielle Evans and Jamel Brinkley write in a charged realist tradition that is RIEBY (my new acronym: right in everybody’s back yard!). Class readings will include essays on technique, short stories, and memoir. We’ll discuss the elements of craft as they pertain to the published literature, as well as to our own work. This workshop will also have at its heart the discussion of student manuscripts and the development of constructive criticism. Talking about race, talking about craft, and talking about our own fiction should occur in an environment where everyone feels valued and supported. The road may be bumpy at times, but how else to get to that truth Toni Morrison so prized?

Where do the stories come from that are featured in anthologies like Best American or the O. Henry Prize Stories?  How does the fiction in the Paris Review compare to that of Prairie Schooner? What sort of writers are published in Tin House? Ploughshares? Who publishes in reviews and journals to begin with? In this workshop, we will read various literary journals, both online and in print format, as a way to answer these and other questions, as well as discover new voices. In terms of writing, this workshop will be held in a traditional format wherein students deliver their work a week in advance of the workshop and write up formal critiques of the fiction of their fellow writers. There will be writing exercises in addition to weekly readings of journals and critical essays. Literary journals can be sources of great reading and inspiration; becoming familiar with them might help you figure out where your own fiction might one day find a home.