IMF 51662 Fiction: The Art of the Sentence

Instructor

Zachary Vickers

Class Type

Writing Technique

Course Description

In "The Art of the Sentence" we abandon the larger work of story to hyper-focus on the complexity of the writer's toils on a sentence-to-sentence level. Beyond how a sentence can "multi-task" by advancing or foreshadowing plot, developing character, establishing setting, and more all at once, we will discuss the value of word choice, structure, length, syntax, punctuation, and manipulations of grammar, among other elements of the sentence to create poetic lines that sizzle on the tongue when spoke, glint on the page, sing in the ears, and surprise and leave readers breathless. In addition to these discussions, we will practice sentence writing through prompts as well as rewriting former lines from student projects through the lens of the conversations and readings in this course. Students will leave with a new appreciation for the meticulous craft of sentence writing, and understand how this granular work--once compiled into paragraphs, and paragraphs into pages, and pages into a complete story--elevates one's art.