Creative Writing: Syllabus |
In addition, you will have the opportunity to "workshop" each other's creative work; that is, you will critique and discuss story drafts submitted for class review. You will also read and analyze the fiction of published authors as a way of learning how these writers achieve unity of content and form. We will accomplish this through journal entries, short fiction assignments, readings, and peer responses.
20% Readings
You will read and respond in the discussion page to one short story a week.
Part of learning how to write is learning how to read. You should be reading
a lot and often.
20% Journal Entries
Complete the assigned readings and write regularly in your journal (minimum
of 2 per week). Use your journal to reflect on the readings and prepare for
class discussions. If you do not know what to write, please consult the "100
Journal Ideas" page associated with this course. Feel free reflect on these
texts in your journal as well.
30% Responses to Peer Fiction
in Small Groups
Respond to each other's work and make detailed, constructive comments throughout
every piece using the criteria for the course (learning or creating the criteria
is part of your first assignment). Peer response to work is the key to the learning
process in this course. We are here in this class to create a learning community.
Your responses to other's work is graded for completeness.
30% Writing (in-class, exercises,
sketches, scenes, long fiction, revisions)
You will submit one short story or chapter of a longer work every other week.
You'll be writing a lot and constantly we learn and improve through practice.
All pieces are to first be proofread for grammar, mechanics, and spelling. You
will send a copy of your story via e-mail to your small group and to me. You
must discuss your work with your group and cc me in these discussions.
1. Technical proficiency (clarity, coherence, well-chosen language, clear sentence structure, consistent point of view, coherent use of metaphor, etc.)
2. Development/depth ("showing" rather than "telling," well-developed characters, well-developed plot, etc.)
3. Originality (risk-taking, stylistic innovation, independent thinking)
4. Personal/social insight (self-reflection, psychological depth, social/cultural perspective)
1. Read James Joyce's "Araby"; post to the discussion and comment on the postings of at least two others.
2. Read the "Criteria" page and be prepared to discuss it.
3. Begin Fiction Assignment #1 and send a draft to your small group and instructor by the end of the week for discussion.
4. E-mail your group and discuss your goals as a writer.
5. Write two entries in your electronic journal.
1. Comment on Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" using the criteria.
2. Turn in your revised Fiction Assignment #1 to the discussion area and comment on the postings of two others.
3. Make two entries in your journal.
1. Read Hemingway's "The Killers"; post to the discussion and comment on the postings of at least two others.
2. Begin Fiction Assignment #1 and send a draft to your small group and instructor by the end of the week for discussion.
3. E-mail your group and describe your writing practice and process (how often you write, what you write, etc.).
4. Write two entries in your e-journal.
1. Read the discussion on "setting" and respond to it and to the postings of two other classmates.
2. Turn in your revised Fiction Assignment #2 to the discussion area and comment on the postings of two others.
3. Write two entries in your e-journal.
4. Post a story or journal entry to the fourth week class discussion and comment on the work of two others not in your group.
1. Read: Virginia Woolf "Kew Gardens"; post to the discussion and comment on the postings of at least two others.
2. Begin Fiction Assignment #3 and send a draft to your small group and instructor by the end of the week for discussion.
3. Second online chat with instructor and class in chat room.
4. Write two entries in your e-journal.
1. Read the discussion on "Plot" and respond to it and to the postings of two other classmates.
2. Turn in your revised Fiction Assignment #3 to the discussion area and comment on the postings of two others.
3. Write two entries in your e-journal.
1. Read Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis"; post to the discussion and comment on the postings of at least two others.
2. Begin Fiction Assignment #4 and send a draft to your small group and instructor by the end of the week for discussion.
3. Write two entries in your e-journal.
1. Review your work for your portfolio and consult with your group about any final revisions on your work.
2. Turn in your revised Fiction Assignment #4 to the discussion area and comment on the postings of two others.
3. Write two entries in your e-journal.
1. Read Rudyard Kipling's "The Man Who Would Be King"; respond to the discussion and on the postings of two other students.
2. Meet with your small group to discuss your journal entries and stories for inclusion into your portfolio.
3. Write two entries in your e-journal.
4. Third online chat with instructor and class in chat room.
1. Revise your work based on the feed back from the rubics and critiques of your group.
2. Examine other groups online portfolios. Decide as a group what your best work is and select a story that represents the best of each portfolio.
3. Write two entries in your e-journal.
Bill Henderson, ed. The Pushcart Prize XXIII: Best of the Small Presses, Pushcart, 1999.
Nathalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. Shambhala Publishers, 1986.
Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird : Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Anchor, 1995.
Sol Stein, Stein on Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies. St Martin's, January 2000.
John Gardner, The Art of Fiction:
Notes on Craft for Young Writers. Vintage, 1991.
Geoffrey Cain
[email protected]
Last Updated 4/5/03