Syllabus

THEME“Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.”

This famous first line from Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude immediately pulls the reader in. How do you come up with great first lines? How do you keep the reader reading? How do you make your characters come alive on the page? We’ll explore these questions—and many more—in this course on creative writing. In specific, we’ll study the fundamental elements of fiction (characterization, plot, setting, dialogue, pacing, point of view) and do exercises designed to develop your skills in these areas. We’ll also read stories and novel excerpts from famous writers, analyzing their fiction for technique, learning how writers create the effects they do. On occasion, I’ll also ask you to do written analyses of the texts we’re reading. Finally—and most importantly—every student will craft their own fiction. This course, above all, is dedicated to creativity and to developing a strong and powerful voice that is uniquely your own.

TEXTS

We will use Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft as our primary text. To supplement it, I will share stories with you from time to time (as PDFs).

COURSE OBJECTIVES

    • To learn about and explore your process as a writer.

    • To study and develop the basic tools for writing fiction.

    • To create your own works of fiction.

    • To learn to revise and edit your work.

    • To give thoughtful and respectful feedback on other students' writing.

    • To read literature closely as a writer and analyze it for craft.

    • To enjoy literature and the discussion of it.

    • To develop your own authentic and powerful voice.

You need have no prior experience with creative writing to succeed in this class. I do, however, expect you to participate actively and to keep up with the weekly reading and writing assignments. These assignments will vary in length and difficulty so I encourage you to budget your time accordingly. Come talk to me in advance if you anticipate problems getting an assignment in on time.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Participation: Since this is a seminar and a workshop, participation is an extremely important component of the course and everyone must be prepared to talk. It is my firm belief that everyone has important and interesting ideas to voice in class and that a seminar works best when its members explore these ideas together rather than worry about being “right” or “wrong.” Furthermore, because from time to time you will be discussing each other’s writing, it is VERY IMPORTANT to be as respectful and thoughtful as possible. Giving constructive, helpful, and positive feedback is absolutely essential.

Most days, I will appoint a scribe to record that day’s discussion. The scribe will write down points made and questions raised. I will also keep track of participation in class.

Writing: Because this is a creative writing class, the emphasis will be on writing rather than reading. Therefore, expect to write frequently! Assignments will consist of formal stories, writing exercises, and journal entries. You will also be required to read short stories as well as lessons on craft (from our textbook and PDFs).

Formal Writing: Your final project will consist of a substantial revision of an earlier story. Please note that points will be taken off of this submission for errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation unless you are making those errors consciously and for a specific reason (e.g. a character or narrator speaks in a certain manner). In this case, it is necessary and important to break the rules.

***Note: I grade quite hard on mechanical errors in stories (grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc.). I will grant you a TWO week period after you receive a story back in which to revise mechanical errors for a higher grade. After this two week period, if you have not fixed these errors , then you will receive the grade as marked on your story.

  • To submit a mechanical revision of the story (in which only the mechanical errors are fixed), please do the following:

    • Submit a paper copy of the old draft with the mechanical errors highlighted.

    • Submit a paper copy of the new draft with the mechanical errors fixed and the corrections highlighted.

Writing Exercises: Depending upon the text and our schedule, I will assign you writing exercises based on the day’s or week’s assignment. Writing exercises will be graded on a satisfactory and non-satisfactory basis. You must write no fewer words than the word count I give you otherwise you will not receive credit. Note that you may be called upon to read your work in class, and you will be asked to post your work on the class website.

Journal Entries: You will be asked to keep an online journal that will be closed to all readers except me. Generally speaking, I just glance over the journal entries to make sure you're doing them, so you're basically writing for yourself, not for an audience (of course, if there's anything super private, you might not want to write it there). Journal entries will be due weekly and must meet the assigned word count. Unless I give you a specific topic, you may use your journal to write anything that you think is useful to you as a writer. For example, you could transcribe conversations you've overheard or jot down little descriptions of people you've encountered or strange behavior you've observed. You might also record events from your own life or use the journal to discuss the week's reading--whatever is most helpful for you in your development as a writer. Remember that a writer is simply one who writes--and the journal will help keep you in good writerly shape. Journal entries do not have to be proofread carefully; it's okay if they're written quickly and contain mechanical errors.

Writing Format: All written work should be typed, double-spaced, in a 12-point script no larger than “New York” and no smaller than “Times Roman”; pieces should be indented 1.25” on both left and right-hand margins, with headers and footers of 1”.

***Include the page number of each subsequent page.

***Please make sure to give each story a title .

Reading: You must do all the reading for the day it is assigned. I will generally distribute the schedule of readings on a weekly basis. Assignments are subject to change. I expect you to know what you are responsible for. If I haven’t been clear, feel free to ask questions. Also, make sure to check the website regularly (I sometimes change the assignments).

Reading Quizzes: I may give you quizzes as prompts to classroom discussion and also to help you keep current with weekly reading assignments. These quizzes may be announced or unannounced. They will count toward your participation grade and will only require knowledge of a given day’s assignment.

Memorization of a Literary Passage: To help you learn the rhythms and inflections of good writing, I may ask everyone to choose a brief passage of between 150 and 200 words to memorize and recite in class.

Final: Assuming we have a final, the final will test your familiarity with readings and stories assigned in class and will have a creative component as well. I will provide a comprehensive review sheet towards the end of the semester.

Grading: Assigning grades is never an exact science (the exact percentages may change), but a rough breakdown is as follows:

Completion of Weekly Assignments (including journal assignments) thoroughly, accurately, and on time: 50%

Story Submissions thoroughly, accurately, and on time: 20%

Class Participation (including reading quizzes): 20%

Final Exam 5%

Memorization of a Literary Passage 5%

Reading quizzes will be graded numerically. Class participation will also be assigned a grade.

***Points will be taken off for not completing assignments on time or doing them only partially. Also, remember that grammar, spelling, and punctuation all count towards grades on major assignments!

POLICIES

Policy Towards Late Assignments: Because frequent writing assignments constitute an important part of this class and because your grade is largely determined by your ability to keep up with the work in a timely manner, you will lose points for assignments handed in late unless you give me a note from the doctor certifying you are sick. If you are having tech problems, then hand in a printed-out copy of the assignment on the due date, to be placed on the website by you at a later time. You must call a friend in the class if you cannot access the assignments online. I will no longer accept tech problems as an excuse for late work (unfortunately, too many students have used this as an excuse in the past and I have been forced to change my policy).

***Note: if you are late and have a valid excuse, you must include this in the "assignment comments" area of your assignment on Canvas, otherwise, I will deduct points from your homework.

Policy Towards Late Papers: As per English Department policy, your grade on a paper is lowered by a third every day the paper is late. If I have not received the paper in four days, you may have to write it as an in-class exercise (graded according to my expectations for the original assignment).

Note: If you have a serious conflict of interest or good reason to hand a piece in late, please discuss this with me ONE WEEK in advance of the deadline. Your grade will, in part, be determined by whether you hand work in in a timely manner.

Note: ALWAYS keep copies of all assignments turned in; you will be responsible if your work is lost or disappears. Students should also save pieces I’ve returned because they can be useful for future writing assignments and for conferences regarding your writing.

*A quick note about digital delivery: sometimes computers malfunction, sometimes hard drives fail, sometimes internet connections go down. None of these will be acceptable excuses for missing a deadline. Please store your files in multiple locations, and donʼt wait until the last minute to complete assignments; thatʼs when problems seem to occur.--from former colleague Adam Gonsalves's syllabus.

Policy Towards Plagiarism: Plagiarism occurs any time a writer copies either the exact phrasing or the general idea of another writer’s work without acknowledging and properly documenting the original source of the borrowed material. Your writing must be your own; for example, don't take language or specific characters from someone else's story or novel. If you have any questions, please see me. Also, please review the school’s policy on plagiarism in the CPS handbook. Keep in mind that plagiarism is an extremely serious matter. If someone has plagiarized—and trust me, I WILL know—I will do everything I can to track down the sources and bring this offense to light. If you’re feeling desperate or stuck, it is far better to talk to me than to risk the ramifications of this very grave offense.

Confidentiality: Please know that the stories you share with your classmates and with me are strictly confidential (the one exception being if I feel there's something in your story that suggests you might hurt yourself or others). The same applies to exercises, other pieces of work, and any stories or writings shared verbally in class and on the website. Of course, you're welcome to share your own work with anyone you want, but please don't share your classmates' work without their permission!

OTHER

Writing Resources:

1) Writing Center: The writing center is an excellent place to get help with your writing. Please look here for more information.

2) Online Resources: I would be grateful if you notify me of any websites you’ve found particularly helpful for your writing.

Appointments: Aside from the above resources, I am available to work with you individually during mutually free periods, lunch time, etc. The best way to schedule an appointment is to talk with me after class or send me an email.

Looking forward to working with you: I always learn at least as much from you as you do from me. I very much look forward to working with you this semester!