Program structure
What you'll go through
- What Literary Fiction Actually DoesDefining it by technique rather than prestige
- Voice and RegisterHow narrators signal intelligence, unreliability, and emotion
- Image and PatternBuilding thematic resonance through repeated visual detail
- Time and MemoryNonlinear structure and the logic of how memory works in prose
- Endings Without ResolutionHow to close a story that does not solve its central problem
- WorkshopRevision of a personal scene using techniques from the course
About this program
Full overview
Literary fiction is not a genre defined by subject matter. It is defined by how much weight the writing itself carries. Sentence rhythm, image patterns, and narrative voice do work that plot would do in genre fiction. Neither approach is superior, but they require different skills.
This course looks at contemporary and classic literary fiction to identify what specific technical choices produce what effects. You will read passages closely, identify the choices being made, and practice replicating and then departing from those techniques in your own writing.
- Free indirect discourse and interiority
- Image systems and recurring motifs
- Ambiguity as structural device
- The use of white space and silence
Ready to read between the lines?
Fiction isn't just stories — it's a structured way of thinking about character, tension, and world-building. Getting started with a trial means zero pressure to decide right away.