Fantastic Literature and Science Fiction Itinerary Course

How to write fantastic, science fiction and horror

Centaurs beyond Orion is a three-level curriculum — distributed over three school years — designed to train fantasy literature writers.

This itinerary is designed for all those lovers of fantasy genres who want to train as writers and find a welcoming environment in which to share their stories and tastes with classmates and teachers. In these three courses, you will learn to function as a writer, to correctly use stylistic resources and tools, and to plan and carry out the writing of a literary project (storybook or novel) of the fantasy genre.

You will also know how to work specifically in each of the fantasy genres; term coined by one of our teachers that brings together all those genres that are not realistic, such as fantastic terror, epic fantasy, science fiction, marvelous literature, magical realism, steampunk, fantastique, etc.

Thanks to this approach, you will be able to develop your facet as a writer in any of the genres mentioned. Therefore, if you like to write science fiction, this is your home, even when your partner is enthusiastic about magical realism.

Objectives of the Itinerary

The main objective is for you to leave the itinerary with sufficient ability to manage future literary projects and carry them out with the security and confidence that every writer needs and that having completed a project with the help of a tutor will give you. You will also acquire a work method and discipline appropriate to your needs and your project.

For this, we will also have talks by authors, publishers, literary agents... who will come to share their experiences, which we understand will help you strengthen the acquired practice and enrich your knowledge about the world of books.

The three courses of the itinerary

Each one of the novel courses lasts for an academic year (more than eight months each course). This table includes the characteristics for each of the modalities that we offer (the face-to-face modality is taught in Madrid).

Virtual mode

• Duration: 8 months (approximate dedication: 160 hours)
• Price: 1,200 euros
• No. of students: 12

Face-to-face modality

• Duration: 90 hours (divided into 32 classes of 2.5 hours plus 10 hours of activities and extraordinary meetings)
• Price: 1,200 euros
• No. of students: 12

First year: Initiation to fantasy literature

On the Internet / in Madrid

The course will have two subjects taught in alternate weeks: Applied Narrative Techniques I and Fantasy Genres I.

In the first one, we will learn about the essential narrative resources and techniques to improve your writing and your style, and we will apply them to the writing of fantasy literature. We will also work and delve into, in the second one, in each of the genres: marvelous, fantastic, science-fiction literature, etc.

Both subjects will have a practical part of individual writing in the form of proposals that will be discussed by the group and the teachers and in which we will apply the theory seen in each session. In the monthly reading forums we will analyze and see all the theory of the course applied.

The course will be completed with meetings with professionals from the publishing world of fantasy literature.

Second Year: Advanced Fantasy Literature

In Madrid

In this course we will take another step towards the knowledge of fantasy genres (fantasy epic, marvelous realism, fantastic horror, etc.) during the Fantasy Genres II subject.

We will also deepen, in the subject of Applied Narrative Techniques II, the essential narrative resources for any writer and we will enter another stage in which experimentation will allow us to transgress the limits that were set in the previous course.

We will continue to cultivate the narrative voice and polish the writing style. During the individual writing proposals we will continue advancing in the theoretical application of the techniques and genres and we will begin to plan and structure the projects (novel or book of stories) that we will write in the third year.

As in the first year, we will enjoy new meetings with fantasy literature professionals and we will analyze new readings.

Third Year: Fantastic Projects

In Madrid

We will dedicate this course entirely to finish planning and writing a genre project, be it a book of short stories or a novel. The tutor and classmates will comment on each project week by week as they progress. The readings that we will work on will be specific for the student according to their project. We will also have hours of meetings and conferences related to the world of fantasy literature.

More information and registration

In Internet

• Beginning: Initiation: October

In Madrid

• Beginning: Initiation: October 11; Advanced: October 20
• Hours: Wednesdays, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Fridays, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Course content

First year: Initiation to fantasy literature

Fantasy genres I

• fantasy literature
• The effects in fantasy literature
• believable worlds
• reading forum
• Fantasy without clichés
• Magic, science and reality
• The fantasy element
• reading forum
• wonderful literature
• Fantastic literature
• Science fiction
• reading forum
• build a world
• The map
• Fantasy settings
• reading forum

Applied narrative techniques I

• fact and fiction
• The voices of the text
• The pact with the reader
• The fantastic style and its virtues
• plasticity and visibility
• The construction of history
• Character Creation
• Conflict and change: a story where something happens
• The narrator
• Keys to the narrative space
• Narrative tense keys
• the narrative structure
• The composition of the story
• action and plot
• atmosphere and setting
• Narrative tension: intrigue, suspense and rhythm

Second Year: Advanced Fantasy Literature

Fantasy genres II

• fantastic epic
• marvelous realism
• The story in fantasy
• reading forum
• fantastic horror
• Trips
• Science fiction subgenres
• reading forum
• political intrigues
• narrate battles
• The races and their languages
• reading forum
• Humor and eroticism in fantasy
• borderline genera
• Back with the genres
• reading forum

Applied narrative techniques II

• Empathy and identification
• plot and theme
• narrative speeches
• The dialogue
• Heroes, Antiheroes and Antagonists
• Continuity and precision
• The beginning and the end of a story
• Singularization and estrangement
• Some rhetorical figures
• imaginary time
• turning points
• The subplots
• The correction
• Written language, narrative language and poetic language
• experimentation
• We start our project

Third Year: Fantastic Projects

• individual project