Applying literary theory in creative writing.

摘要

Although creative writing is a spontaneous and even wild enterprise, analyzing fiction is vital for a beginning writer who aspires to achieve a mature style. This research applies the criticisms of reader-response, poststructuralist, and deconstructionist theories to selected works by four prominent fiction writers: Joseph Conrad, Vladimir Nabokov, William Faulkner, and Tobias Wolff. The analysis focuses on the impact of theory on a writer's style to demonstrate that writers can benefit from critical study of master authors. Furthermore, I discuss philosophical links between the ideas of nineteenth-century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer and the fictional characters in each story. The purpose of this project is to examine the methods of several authors as preparation for a creative project and to determine the extent to which novice writers can strengthen their skills for story development by performing such an analysis on their own. The thesis concludes that, provisionally, formal study combined with informal exercises and intuitive impulses can successfully lay the foundation for short story and novel development and revision. An original short story and notes on the creative process follow in the appendices.