TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: Introduction to Fiction Writing, 9 Week Class UCLA

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Introduction to Fiction Writing, 9 Week Class UCLA

I'm teaching an Introduction to Fiction Writing at the Writers' Program at UCLA Extension, beginning September 30 and ending December 16, 2009. Contact 310-825-9416 if you're interested.

Course Description:

It has been said that all of us have locked inside at least one good story to tell. This course is designed to tap into that story--and others--in a positive atmosphere. Through lectures on craft, short writing exercises, assignments, and discussion of student work, apprentice fiction writers learn the nuts and bolts of fiction writing, such as plot, conflict, characterization, dialogue, narrative voice, and point-of-view. This course focuses on short fiction but includes principles that students use in X 462.71 Novel Writing I: Writing the First Novel. The course goal is to draft one short story or a chapter of a novel. This course is a prerequisite for students who are continuing in either the short- or long-fiction sequence.

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books.. Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized. Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines. She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.