Writing Workshop #8: Secrets and Taboos

Secrets and Taboos:

“Taboo [is considered] the oldest unwritten code of laws. It is generally supposed that taboo is older than gods and dates back to a period before any kind of religion existed…

Properly speaking taboo includes only (a) the sacred or unclean character of person or things, (b) the kind of prohibition which results from this character, a (c) the sanctity or uncleanness which results from a violation of the prohibition.

The violation of a taboo makes the offender himself taboo…Certain of the dangers brought into existence by the violation may be averted by acts of atonement and purification.” (Freud, Totem and Taboo, 1913)

Writing Workshop #8: Secrets and Taboos

Choose ONE:

1. Write a story about a character who notices something that everyone else pretends not see, and actually refuses to acknowledge. How does the character start to realize that they’re not the only person who sees it?

2. Write a story where the only way to do something good/necessary is to break a horrific taboo, either one in our own society, or one in an alternative society that we don’t have. Make sure we understand why breaking this taboo is almost unthinkable for the character(s).

3. Write a story about an irrational fear that many people have, but in this case, is actually true and manifests itself in someone’s life.

4. Write a story where an ‘unclean’ object that was thrown away keeps turning up again, no matter how many times it’s discarded, destroyed, etc.

Comments

Examples of Cover Letters and Manuscript Format (for Story #1)

SAMPLE COVER LETER Dear Connor, Jessika, Kara, or Other Editor, (you can find the editors' names on the website) Please accept my story science-fiction story, "The Real Mona Lisa," for consideration in a future issue of Chatterbox Literary. The story is 6,051 words and has not been submitted elsewhere or published previously. (always give the genre, title, word count, and if you're sending it to other publications at the same time). I am a professor of English at a small university in Oklahoma, where I teach classes in writing (mostly to people who hate writing), British literature, and the Humanities. My stories have most recently appeared in After Dinner Conversation, Allegory, and The Lorelei Signal. (if you don't have any publications, you can just leave this blank, or add more of your bio--something colorful and interesting without being too cute) Thank you, Joshua Grasso SAMPLE MANUSCRIPT FORMAT Joshua Grasso ...

For Monday: Best American SF/F, Forward and Introduction

For Monday's class, read the Forward by John Joseph Adams, and the brief Introduction by the guest editor (and famous author) Nnedi Okorafor. These are both pretty short and are NOT stories, but they explain two important things: * How stories are chosen for a genre publication like this one: both where the stories come from and what the criteria for choosing them are * What genre means to both writers, and especially Okorafor, who writes speculative fiction. We also get an insight into how she markets her work, and whether or not genre distinctions are all that important to her. I won't give you any questions or quizzes over this reading, but we will talk about it in detail on Monday, and some of these ideas may factor into future writings in one way or another.

Welcome to the Course! Now Get Writing...

Welcome to the blog site for our Fall 2026 Creative Writing: Genre course, focusing on writing what is popularly known as "speculative fiction," which comprises genres such as science-fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, and their various subgenres. The goal of this class is to allow you to experiment with different styles and approaches to writing fiction, using the lens of the fantastic and the bizarre. Don't worry if you've never done this before, or if you don't even read sci-fi or fantasy literature--you don't need to! The point of this class, as in most college classes, is to grow, experiment, and have fun while doing so. The guilding quote for this class, borrowed from the great speculative fiction writer, Ursula K. Le Guin is: “The artist deals with what cannot be said in words. The artist whose medium is fiction does this in words . The [writer] says in words what cannot be said in words” (Ursula K. LeGuin, Introduction to The Left Hand of Darkness )....

ENG 3733: CW Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror

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