Forgotten chapters of Jane Austen’s Emma. Illustration: Tom Gauld
You will be expected to write a short piece of fan fiction (5-7 pages) as well as an even shorter critical introduction (1-2 page) to your creative work. The introduction should situate your project within the larger Austen canon (i.e. the novels, criticism, and film, etc. that inspired your own work and authorial perspective).
Guidelines for the Critical Introduction
- No more than 1 double-spaced page; Times New Roman 12, or similar
- Provide an overview of what decisions you made when crafting your creative work (i.e. which text? Which “canon”? Did you choose an alternate universe? Why? Did you choose to write a scene (or character) not in the Austen primary text? Did you change a scene or character? In short, what were the rules of the “canon” you chose to employ when writing your fan fiction?
- If a particular piece of literary criticism influenced your creative work, please note it appropriately. The same holds true if you are working within the parameters of a particular adaptation or set of adaptations.
- Please use the MLA format when referring to critical works, primary sources, and film.
Guidelines for Fanfiction
- 5-7 double-spaced pages; Times New Roman 12, or similar
- Your fanfiction should be coherent and engaging. It may be useful to model your own work on a piece of fanfiction that you found to be particularly successful. If you have done this, please note its influence in your critical introduction.
- It should reflect the vast reading you have done this semester in the Austen canon more broadly. If influenced by a piece of literary criticism, for example, you should note its importance in your critical introduction
- Your submission should be carefully edited and proofread prior to submission.
- If your fanfiction requires illustration or hypertext, please let me know what form you’ll be submitting it in.
- No more than an “R” Rating and let’s keep it classy.