AustLit

This subject offers students the opportunity to develop advanced skills in writing short works of fiction. Generally, this work is in prose, as are the exemplary texts considered. However, other forms and mixed genre work may be considered and encouraged. Students gain practical skills in writing in the short fiction form as well as develop skills for workshopping and editing both their own work and that of their class peers.

Subject objectives/outcomes

At the completion of this subject, students are expected to:

* demonstrate creative, imaginative and fluent practices as writers;

* develop their self-reflective critical and editing skills;

* gain an insight into their own writing habits;

* hone their skills in analysing the writing of others;

* possess a greater appreciation of the short story;

* have a clear understanding of the limits and possibilities of the short story, of where it differs from other prose forms, and of the range of structures it can accommodate

This subject combines practical writing exercises, workshopping, and the reading and discussion of a range of examples and critical material relating to the process of writing. Craft skills are developed through attention paid to the elements of narrative, subject and form.

Students will critically examine the international and Australian short stories from the earliest proponents of the form to contemporary writers. Authors studied include those of the 19th century European tradition including Poe, Balzac, Chekov, the innovators of the twentieth century including Joyce, Mansfield and Baldwin and contemporary voices including Tokarczuk, Ishiguro and Malouf.

As its main objective, the subject provides students with both a workshop environment for producing and revising new creative work and a space for reflection on the writing process. The aim of the subject is to develop and sharpen students' skills as creative and professional writers.