Ideas in fiction? Fiction of ideas?

Conference: Great Writing

Dates: 13-14 July 2024

Abstract:

This paper discusses the process of writing a novel, the sort of novel that some critics might label “literary fiction,” and others a “novel of ideas.” Drawing on the analysis of philosophically engaged fiction in Nordberg (2023), I discuss the issues involved in writing the critical component of a thesis for a PhD in creative writing, which pushed the boundaries of the regulations of the University of Exeter. The project was consciously one of exploration – of the personal history that shaped the outline of the novel, and of the ideas of pragmatism that, among many other things, influenced so much the outcomes of the orphanage sector in America in the mid-20th century and so much else besides. This paper summarizes that exploration and the unexpected outcomes from exploring. It then discusses the issues that arise for the development of academic research in creative writing and the development of such programs of study.

Source: Manual