CLHUMCW002 - Reading and Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy

Speculative fiction—an umbrella term encompassing science fiction, fantasy and other works with fantastical elements—is one of humanity’s oldest and most expansive forms of storytelling. From Homer to Heinlein, Shakespeare to Shelley, people love stories that push the boundaries of our imagination. Join established speculative fiction novelist Cassandra Rose Clarke in an exploration of the elements crucial to the genre, such as world-building, nonhuman characters and common speculative tropes. After reading important works of classic and contemporary speculative fiction, we will craft and share our own works of science fiction and fantasy. Writers of all levels are welcome in this workshop, as are readers who want to try their hand at writing stories of their own.

Course Details

Cassandra Rose Clarke, M.A., is a writer and teacher who holds a master’s degree in writing from The University of Texas at Austin and has attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop in Seattle. Ms. Clarke is former acting executive director and an instructor at Writespace and has also adapted novels for online gaming scripts. Her work has placed in the Rhysling Awards and been nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award, the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Pushcart Prize and YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults. Ms. Clarke’s short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons and Daily Science Fiction, and her most recent book is “Demon Song,” a paranormal novel from Carina Press.

Online--Synchronous
This course will be delivered in a synchronous format online. Participants will receive login instructions to the course page which will provide access to the virtual classroom link and other resources. All online classes are held at Central Standard Time.

History of speculative literature
Speculative fiction in conversation with classic works
Mining reality for the fantastic
Building our own worlds
Writing nonhuman characters
Subverting speculative tropes
Emerging directions in speculative fiction

Writers of all levels are welcome in this workshop, as are readers who want to try their hand at writing stories of their own.

Thank you for your interest in this program. Unfortunately, this course is either full or not currently accepting registrations.