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English (ENGL) 482

Advanced Fiction Writing (Revision 3)
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Status:

Open

Delivery mode:

Individualized study online. Delivered via Brightspace.

Credits:

3

Areas of study:

Arts or Humanities

Prerequisites:

English 381 and permission of the professor.

Course start date:

If you are a:

  • Self-funded student: register by the 10th of the month, start on the 1st of the next.
  • Funded student: please check the next enrolment deadline and course start date.

Precluded:

None

Challenge:

ENGL 482 is not available for challenge.

Faculty:

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Overview

English 482: Advanced Fiction Writing is the next step for students who have taken English 381 or a similar introductory course in writing fiction. The course provides an option to work on separate short stories or linked stories, or develop a longer narrative, whether a novel, novella, or novel-in-stories. Students read sample fiction with close attention to technique and style.

Outline

English 482: Advanced Fiction Writing consists of six units:

  • Unit 1: The Writing Process: Why Write?
  • Unit 2: Reading as a Writer
  • Unit 3: Creating Character
  • Unit 4: Creating a Structure
  • Unit 5: Style
  • Unit 6: Revision

Evaluation

To receive credit for ENGL 482, you must achieve a minimum grade of 50 percent on each assignment and a course composite grade of at least D (50 percent). The weighting of the course assignments is as follows:

Activity Weight
Assignment 1: First Chapter or Story 15%
Assignment 2, Part I: Why Write? Blog 5%
Assignment 2, Part II: Reading as a Writer Blog 5%
Assignment 3: Chapter or Story 25%
Assignment 4: Chapter or Story 30%
Assignment 5: Revision of Assignment 1, 3, or 4 20%
Total 100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.

Materials

Burroway, Janet, Elizabeth Stuckey-French, and Ned Stuckey-French. Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, 9th edition. Boston: Pearson, 2015. (PDF)

Gardner, John. On Becoming a Novelist. Foreword by Raymond Carver. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1999. (Print)

Other Materials

All other course materials are available online.

Important links

  • Academic advising
  • Program planning
  • Request assistance
  • Support services

Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized study counterparts.

Opened in Revision 3, May 10, 2023

Updated August 14, 2023

View previous revision

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