Creative Writing Program Handbook
“Talent is insignificant. I know a lot of talented ruins. Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but most of all, endurance.” – James Baldwin
Welcome to the Fine Arts Center’s Creative Writing Department! Here is some department-wide information to consider as you pursue your own individual writing goals. Please read carefully. The following information, guidelines and policies apply to students at all levels and at all stages of their progression through the program.
Progression:
Students will begin the program in Honors Creative Writing III, regardless of their age/grade level when entering the Fine Arts Center. The CW III section meets during the morning period, from 9:15-11:05 with either TJ Beitelman or Sarah Blackman depending on the year. CW III is an advanced fundamentals course in which students will be expected to write in all three genres, complete a midterm exam and a portfolio of creative work for their final exam grade, in addition to the regular weekly, quarterly and semester long assignments.
Second Year students will advance into Honors Creative Writing IV. Some years, when there are a large number of rising tenth graders, a special section of Honors Creative Writing IV will be created for the morning period (9:15-11:05) which will be composed entirely of tenth grade students and taught by either Beitelman or Blackman depending on the year. All Second Year FAC Creative Writing students who will be in either eleventh or twelfth grade at their home high schools will be placed in the themed afternoon class of their preference. They will still be enrolled in the CW IV section, but it will be taken concurrently with Creative Writing V and VI students who have signed up for that themed class. CW IV students have more autonomy in regard to genre, though they are still expected to engage with all forms. They will complete a substantial critical response in essay form at the midterm, and an extended, cohesive writing project for their final exam at the end of the year, in addition to the regular weekly, quarterly and semester long assignments.
Third Year students will be enrolled in Honors Creative Writing V which meets in the afternoon period, from 1:20-3:15. At the end of their second year, (or the end of the first year for rising eleventh and twelfth graders) all students will be given their choice between two themed classes. Sometimes these themes will be genre specific, but more often they will incorporate a larger conceptual theme to guide advanced students’ more self-directed courses of study. Some past examples have been: ‘The Real World of Monsters,’ ‘Eco-Literature,’ ‘Modern Myth Making,’ and ‘Emerging Voices.’ Every effort will be made to match the student with their first choice of themed class, with the caveat that priority will be given to graduating seniors and students who are choosing to work with an instructor with which they haven’t yet had an opportunity to study. Placement in these themed classes is entirely at the discretion of the instructors. CW V students will complete substantial piece of literary criticism or craft essay at the midterm, as well as an extended, cohesive writing project of at least chapbook-length and a substantial creative project that somehow transcends the page by the end of the year’s course of study, in addition to the regular weekly, quarterly and semester long assignments.
Fourth Year students will be enrolled in Honors Creative Writing VI which meets in the afternoon period, from 1:20-3:15. Fourth year students will be given priority in their choice of afternoon themed class and will be expected to complete the same sequence of midterm and final assignments as CW V, in addition to the regular weekly, quarterly and semester long assignments. In addition, CW VI students are expected to engage in their FAC Capstone experience which consists of both participation in the planning, development and implementation of the Creative Writing Department’s Guest Artist Series, Momentum, and participation in a Senior Reading which will be held in the spring of each year.
Please note: CW IV, V and VI classes run concurrently in the afternoon and are taught by both instructors, separated by the student’s choice of themed class rather than chronological sequence.
Attendance:
Please see the Fine Arts Center Handbook for our official attendance policy, but as a general note please remember that this class will not help you if you are not here to participate in it. Don’t mistake the studio atmosphere for an “easy class.” If you are not here on a regular basis you are not only cheating yourself of an opportunity, you are cheating someone on the waitlist who could have made better use of your spot. The same general rule applies to tardiness which is disruptive to the class environment. Again, please see the Fine Arts Center Handbook for our policy on repeatedly tardy students. A Creative Writing studio specific addendum to the FAC Attendance policy reads as follows: Any student with excess absences equaling or exceeding 10 per semester for any reason short of homebound status will be evaluated by the instructors and administration to determine whether or not they will be readmitted to the program for the next semester of instruction. This evaluation will take place even if the absences are medically excused, with the exception of district supported medical homebound status.
Student Code of Conduct:
All students are, of course, expected to abide by the guidelines for student conduct established by the Greenville County school system and by the Fine Arts Center (available in the FAC Handbook). In addition to this, however, there are specific classroom expectations for the Creative Writing Studios. These are as follows:
Students are expected to bring their journals, pens, assigned reading material and a fully charged Chromebook or other laptop to the class each day.
Students should be courteous in sharing classroom creative space. This means understanding that a certain level of space and quiet are required for the creative process. Voices should be kept low and everyone’s personal space respected. Under certain circumstances, students may leave the classroom and spread out into the Fine Arts Center at large to write or perform small group critiques. All students must ask permission from their instructor before working outside of the classroom, must respect the school space by acting appropriately outside of the classroom and may not leave the building under any circumstances. Students who are found to be abusing this privilege in any way (including by not getting their work done) will no longer be allowed to work outside of the classroom and may be responsible for getting this privilege taken away from the CW Department at large for the year.
Students must maintain a high level of professionalism in presenting and critiquing one another’s work in small-group settings, during whole class critiques and in digital commentary. Students should arrive in class prepared to discuss any assigned readings, willing to engage in class discussion and able to discuss peer work with the attention and respect their peers’ efforts deserve. Everyone has a voice in this class and those voices should all be heard on a regular basis; however, if you have not read your peer’s work before workshop for some reason, please do not compound the insult by attempting to discuss the piece as if you had! Please remember your workshop etiquette at all times. Workshops are not platforms in which to rewrite a fellow student’s piece, or to air personal grievances. Our job as readers is to try to understand the direction in which the author intends to go and help the work best attain those goals. This does not mean we cannot speak our minds, or that a piece of writing won’t sometimes change course in mid-journey. But it does mean we must be respectful of intent as well as actuality. Comments that are inane or so kind they actually say nothing (Don’t Change a Thing ☺) are just as unhelpful and inappropriate as those that are cruel or personally directed. Please remember, no artist improves without being able to view their own work critically. To this end, students should refrain from using the digital comment space for digressions or inside jokes (even if they are objectively funny). This is distracting to both the author and to fellow readers. All material submitted to workshop is considered confidential to the Creative Writing program and cannot be shared with anyone outside the program without the author’s express approval. Violation of this policy in any way will not be tolerated.
Students must refrain from eating and drinking in the classroom at all times (see Food Policy in the FAC Handbook for more details). The only exception to this policy is instructor organized celebrations or food related assignments, or if a student has a documented medical condition that requires snacks. Students who do not have access to a cafeteria due to full day FAC attendance, should see the instructor for a workaround policy at the beginning of the year. Otherwise, please leave your breakfast at home, your lunch put away until you leave and any and all drinks, including water!, in sealed containers. This does not mean cups with lids and straws.
Students will abide by the Creative Writing program’s zero tolerance policy on the use of AI. Any student who is determined to have used AI to make comments on another student’s work or to craft work they are passing off as their own will be put on probation after a first offence. A second offence will result in immediate expulsion from the program. The only exception to this rule is for advanced PM students in CW V or CW VI who may propose AI integration in conceptual projects if they can make a case for it to their instructor prior to the use of AI in the work.
The no phones policy is a state level law to which the FAC remains in compliance. All phones will be put away in a closed compartment or a bookbag or purse (NOT YOUR POCKET) prior to the beginning of class. The only exceptions to this policy are if a student has an IEP or 504 supported need for the phone to be present, or if the student has received permission from the instructor to have the phone out for a specific, curriculum related use. Students may use earbuds to listen to music during in-class writing time, but may not have headphones or earbuds in at any other point during the instructional period (with an exception for 504 documented noise-cancelling headphones). Students who are consistently at odds with the departmental phone policy may be put on probation until their behavior improves; or removed from the program if no other solution can be found.
College Level Reading Alert
Students at the Fine Arts Center come from a wide variety of economic, social, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Our Creative Writing and Fine Arts studios are built on a foundation of mutual respect, where discrimination of any sort is not tolerated. This commitment to respect extends to the literary works we explore. Many of the readings in this course are selected to provide a rigorous, academic experience, introducing diverse viewpoints and complex themes. Our goal is to encourage thoughtful analysis and critical thinking, allowing us to understand how different texts and the perspectives they contain communicate with each other and with us.
While you may encounter texts that differ from your personal viewpoint, we encourage you to engage with them as a tool for developing your analytical skills and broadening your understanding of the diverse perspectives in our society. We aim to foster an environment where students can explore different ideas safely and constructively. If you encounter a text that you believe you cannot engage with, please speak with an instructor to discuss an alternative assignment, with the understanding that our departmental expectation is that you will at least consider the work before making such a request.
Crashtest
Every FAC Creative Writing student is also involved in the compilation and publication of Crashtest (www.crashtestmag.com) our online magazine for high school age writers and artists. CW III students will start as readers for Crashtest. As students move through the program, it will be possible for them to run for editorial positions with more responsibilities, if they so choose. Editorial positions for Crashtest include: Poetry Editor; Fiction Editor, Creative Nonfiction Editor; Managing Editor; Social Media Editor, Interviews & Reviews Editor and Design Editor. All students, whether in a reader position or in an editorial role, are expected to fully perform the duties to which they are assigned on a consistent basis. This is particularly important when we get to our twice-yearly design period in December and in May. If a student signs up to design a page for Crashtest and then either fails to work on the page or does so with minimal effort and little to no attention to the design standards laid out for them by the Design Editor, they will be prohibited from working on the magazine in a design capacity for the next issue.
Crashtest has its own Google Classroom to which students will all be added in the first week of school. New work will be assigned as it comes in as an assignment in your Crashtest Google Classroom. Please get in the habit of checking regularly and make sure you are getting notifications to your emails (which you should also get in the habit of checking regularly). You will be expected to respond to any assigned texts within a week of its assignment.
Readings/Events Attendance:
Over the course of the year, students will have the opportunity to engage with a number of cultural and artistic events, both on the FAC campus and out in the greater Greenville community. If the event is CW program related (a program reading, a guest artist reading, or other event) all students are expected to attend. We will try to promote and publicize these as far in advance as possible to ensure students have time to adjust their schedules and seek out transportation. If an emergency arises or a student is unable to accommodate the date and/or time of our scheduled event, the expectation is that they will communicate their absence to one of the program’s two instructors prior to the beginning of the event itself. If a student is consistently unable or unwilling to attend after school hours programming, they will be given an alternative assignment to ensure they don’t fall behind on the group’s cultural development. Students are expected to display proper behavior at all events either on or off campus. This entails: appropriate dress, respectful behavior and a general understanding that you are representing the FAC even when you are not inside its walls. Additionally, there is something happening at the FAC almost every day of the week during the school year! Please avail yourself of this cultural nexus by attending performances, openings, showcases and/or artist talks by members of other programs. Incentives may be offered over the course of the year to reward attendance, but our general expectation is that students who want to come to the FAC also want to be a part of the arts community at large. The best way to do that is to show up.
Probation Policy:
All students at the Fine Arts Center are expected to maintain their participation in the program to the highest standard. To that end, if a student’s quarterly grade in the Creative Writing program drops below an 80% at the completion of the quarter they will be placed on probation. Expectations for improvement will be communicated to the student and parent, and the student will have one academic quarter to improve their performance. If the performance does not improve, the student may lose their roster spot at the Fine Arts Center. This can occur at the end of Semester 1 or Semester 2. Other non-academic reasons for probation may include: excessive absences (see attendance policy), disruptive behavior (defined by the instructor), disrespect to the Fine Arts Center’s stated credo of collaborative community (defined by the instructor). Rest assured, if you are in violation of any of these non-academic standards for continued participation, you and your parent will be communicated with early and often before the probation policy is put into effect.