Mysterious Fictions: writing about secrets

Mysterious Fictions: writing about secrets is an Interdisciplinary Arts course taught by Nathalie Arnold.

This course requires instructor permission.

Course Description
Why are secrets so fascinating? Is every story a mystery at heart? When should the hidden remain hidden, or all truths be told? This introductory course assumes that managing the tension between the said and the unsaid can be central to any story's success. We will read stories about different styles of secrets: family secrets, unsolved secrets, terrible secrets and different kinds of characters who keep, reveal, and actively seek to discover secrets of their own or those of others. Inventing and writing about various types of secrets, class members will acquire skills for balancing the hidden and the known in stories of their own. Through focused writing exercises and short fiction assignments, students will learn to create believable characters who keep, discover, or spill secrets; and write effective scenes in which the implications of a secret are felt but not told, as well as convincing depictions of secrets revealed. Student should have taken at least one 100 or 200-level creative writing course that featured significant peer reviews/workshops.