Whether we’re writing high fantasy or gritty realism, we cannot construct story without also building a world for it to live in. How can we convey a vivid, lived environment on the surface of a page? How can we turn that two-dimensional space into a home for our four-dimensional worlds?

In this course, we will practice the magic trick of using words to construct worlds. Through outward analysis of existing works of narrative, collaborative acts of imagination, and the careful cultivation of individualized storytelling aesthetics, this course will help students craft fiction that both inhabits and enacts rich, complex imaginative environments.