The Creativity of a Narrative Arc

Outlining and creativity are often seen as diametrical. In writing a story, creativity is not enough. In

this workshop, we will learn how to use the traditional narrative arc to outline and write stories. We

will identify key points integral to story making, such as the conflict, the climax, and the rising

action. We will also engage in outline writing exercises. As time permits, some of these outlines will

be critiqued. At the end of the class, you will have an outline for one of your stories, along with the

knowledge of how and why to use an outline.

Ivelisse Rodriguez’s debut short story collection Love War Stories was a 2019 PEN/Faulkner finalist and a 2018 Foreword Reviews INDIES finalist. Love War Stories has been a recommended read in O Magazine, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping,  and numerous other publications. She has taught creative writing to  graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Arizona, the  University of Missouri-St. Louis, the U.S. Coast Academy, and other  institutions. She has served as a fiction judge for contests for the Boston Review and Kore Press. She was also a senior fiction editor for Kweli journal.  She earned a B.A. in English from Columbia University, an M.F.A. in  creative writing from Emerson College, and a Ph.D. in English-creative  writing from the University of Illinois at Chicago. To learn more about  Ivelisse, visit: www.ivelisserodriguez.com.