Welcome to English 381: Creative Writing in Prose, the first creative writing course ever offered by Athabasca University. English 381 is a three-credit, intermediate-level university course offered through individualized-study distance education.

English 381 focuses on writing clearly with imagination. The aim is not to produce a bestselling novel or the quintessential New Yorker short story, but to foster a better understanding of the craft of writing and to instill an appreciation of what goes into producing readable, publishable and engrossing fiction. So while this course may not teach you how to write a bestselling novel, it encourages the integral first steps every writer must take toward getting published. To that end, you will read a broad sampling of short fiction while studying and thinking about narrative fundamentals such as plot, character and point of view, and you will produce your own fiction to demonstrate your grasp of these principles.

English 381 confines itself to short prose assignments since a three-credit course doesn't allow the time in which to work on a novel. The course focuses on constructing effective prose narratives. Successful prose narratives come in all lengths—from postcard stories to screenplays to thousand-page novels—but have in common all of the tools of narrative mentioned above—things like character, plot, conflict and theme. The difference between an effective short story and a compelling novel lies not in the fundamentals themselves, but in how they are used, so think of this course as a way to become familiar with the tools, materials and techniques of narrative prose. Once you work with these tools and materials, you may develop the skills to construct grander, more complex narratives in the future.

The most important raw material of prose narrative is language, and your language tools are grammar, punctuation, diction, syntax, etc.

This course is also about writing with clarity and precision. Unclear, imprecise use of language can render even grand and compelling stories dull, garrulous, convoluted and incoherent. Though writing effective prose narratives can be a great source of creative joy and satisfaction, it is also a lot of work.