World Building Class

This comprehensive course aims to deepen students' understanding of the fantasy genre while honing their critical reading and writing skills. I provide creative feedback about the storytelling, and we share all writing as a group so students get feedback from their peers, but this isn’t a mechanics class at all.

World Building is an elective dedicated to building writers up, teaching them the hows and whys of creativity, and showing the blueprint of how all stories work.
If you are looking for a more academic experience, this is not that. Maybe think of it as an artist's retreat for writers stuck staring at the blank page. We get them over that fear and teach the adage, “You can’t build a sandcastle without sand.” The words on the page are sand, and getting them on paper so we can play with them is the main goal.

Learning Objectives:

• Create a fantasy world using geography, cartography, and anthropology concepts.

• Learn the essential elements of storytelling.

• Design a detailed map of a fantasy world.

• Construct profiles of civilizations.

• Write short stories featuring heroic characters from the fantasy world. By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Discuss the fantasy genre dynamically, identifying its conventions, subgenres, and developments and evaluating its limitations.

• Apply various prewriting techniques to improve the initial stages of the writing process.

• Enhance critical reading skills by acquiring relevant literary vocabulary and refining close reading practices.

• Develop creative writing skills through interactive activities, writing challenges, and feedback sessions.

• Strengthen collaborative skills by engaging in writing workshops, practicing active listening, providing constructive criticism, and integrating feedback into their oral and written work.

• Assessment: Instructors will evaluate students' work by providing constructive feedback on each assignment.