J262 Narrative Fundamentals

(This course was formerly called Intro to Narrative)

This course is for first-year students pursuing the narrative writing track and planning to completing short-form or long-form written master’s projects, which includes those who hope to specialize in short-form, feature, and/or enterprise writing in their careers after graduation. The class is open to students in other tracks as space allows. The tools taught in this class will enable you to produce reported stories employing narrative techniques that will capture and hold the attention of readers. You will learn how the structure of a narrative differs from the structure of a hard news story. You will learn how to use color, detail, characters, scenes, suspense and narrative arcs. You will also study and discuss examples of narrative ranging from the simple to the complex; employing multiple characters’ stories; written in different voices; and employing different tenses, transitions, pacing, pacing, scene-setting, depth of context and more. The tools taught and practiced in this class can be applied to short-form stories, news and magazine features, enterprise stories, longform narratives, and books, among other forms of writing.