Short Fiction

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

Total expected time commitment is 170 hours across the semester, including class time.

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106-105/CWRI10001 Creative Writing: Ideas and Practice

106-202 Short Fiction

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

In this subject students will explore principles of the craft and theory of writing short fiction including graphic narrative. Students will read a variety of fiction texts from the beginning of the modernist era to contemporary fiction, ranging from Gogol to Chekhov, Hemingway, Faulkner, Munro, Garner, Keret and others.

On completion of this subject students should have:

• demonstrated a sophisticated and substantive understanding of recent developments and changes in published short fiction;
• made independent and discerning application of the poetics of fiction-writing in producing their own pieces of short fiction;
• understood through self-reflection and application of skills the context for influences, aims and aesthetic decisions underlying their own creative work;
• the ability to interact effectively with peers in a semi-structured group in order to achieve group goals.

Written work totalling 4000 words comprising: 2500 words of fiction, with additional brief notes on influences and aims (due at end of semester) 55%; brief weekly responses to electronically delivered lectures (submitted online during semester) 15%; 1500 word online essay responding to examples of contemporary short fiction (48-hour exam during the final week of semester) 20%; participation in tutorial-workshops throughout semester 10%. This subject has a minimum hurdle requirement of 80% attendance at tutorials (10 out of 12). Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day (50% per week). In-class and online tasks submitted late without approval will not receive feedback. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

A subject reader will be available.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Students who successfully complete this subject should:

• be able to apply analytic, independent, and critical skills to written texts;
• apply problem-solving skills to creative and critical tasks;
• complete written tasks to a high level of literacy and communication;
• tackle unfamiliar problems with confidence and develop cognitive skills;
• plan and develop their own work;
• work effectively with others while respecting individual differences.

Students who have completed 760-202 Short Fiction or 760-104 Writing Fiction are not eligible to enrol in this subject. This subject is available to Bachelor of Arts (Continuing) and Bachelor of Creative Arts students and may be credited towards a major in Creative Writing in either course.