|
English 246, Spring
2016 |
Prof. Michael Filas
|
Introduction
to Creative Writing
|
Office: Bates 07, ph. 572-5683 |
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Section 004 TR 2:15-3:30 B04 |
Hours: TR 1:00-2:00, T 8:30-9:30,
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Course Description:
In this class you will write, read, critique, revise, and perform your own poetry and fiction and the work of others. You may also have the chance to explore other forms such as creative non-fiction, and to practice experimentation. We will explore the effects of various formal strategies and writing methods as you each develop your individual writing voice, and sense of structure. This course emphasizes elements of craft, the creative and workshop processes and practices, and cultivation of your imagination. Each writer must be willing to experiment, to open her or his mind, take chances and to have fun as we explore our imaginations and the various ways to represent ideas in creative writing.
You are all individuals with diverse interests and passions. The goal of this course is to help you recognize those passions and combine them with your particular talents of voice, imagination, and narrative inclinations so that you each achieve a new level of writerly maturity and understanding. This cannot be accomplished without substantial independent work on your part. I will give a constant stream of exercises and focused discussion, primarily on of the elements of fiction and poetry, however, it is largely left to you to practice these techniques in your stories and poems, and to emulate the best imaginative writing that you read; and to make a habit of revising multiple times.
This course is a prerequisite for all 300-level creative writing courses, and as such it is structured around workshop practices and protocols for all forms of creative writing. The two rounds of workshop provide a practical exposure to the methods of studio writing workshops, and individual conferencing, as indoctrination into creative writing at the university level. YouÕll receive valuable feedback on your own work, and learn to give and receive public constructive criticism about your creations when your writing is the focal point for the entire classÕs discussion. This exchange of constructive criticism of your and your classmatesÕ work-in-progress provides collaborative practice that translates well into other disciplines. You should emerge from this course with a refined confidence in yourself as an author and recipient of critical feedback, which often takes courage and tact. You will also learn to own your ideas. Writing is a deeply personal and individualized enterprise—successful students will emerge from this class with a stronger sense of your unique voice and creative scope.
Required Texts and
Materials:
¤ Burroway, Janet. Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft. Penguin Academics.
¤ Course readings (provided)
¤ Each writer will incur regular copying expenses for workshop submissions, and every person must staple all multiple-page submissions before the start of the class at which they are due. There may also be small costs associated with assigned attendance at a cultural event, film rental, or campus play.
Course Grading and
Requirements:
Participation (10%): Arrive to class on time, prepared with all required workshop copies, critiques, and course materials. Grade is based on active and attentive contribution to class discussions of workshop materials, assigned reading, and other writing as assigned for in-class discussions. This part of your grade also includes your contributions to discussion of the assigned readings.
Turn your phones off while in class.
Attendance is required. We learn through doing in this class and you canÕt grow without partaking of the process of critiquing, discussing, and workshopping. Attendance at two pre-scheduled conferences is also required.
If you miss class, it is your responsibility to contact a classmate for the assignment and any schedule changes.
Perfect attendance contributes to an above average course grade. Your course grade is affected by all absences after the first and affected severely once you accumulate more than four absences in the semester. Students seeking an above-average grade are encouraged to attend all classes. More than four absences results in a course grade below C. Three accumulated late arrivals and/or early departures are equivalent to an absence.
Workshop Submissions (15%): Each
student is required, on two pre-scheduled dates, to submit a selection of
original work to the class for workshop. Your workshop submissions are to be
culled from completed assignments or other new work youÕve done for this class.
The submission must be between 3-5 pages of poetry, 4-7 double-spaced pages of
fiction. The student is responsible
for making sure his or her selection is always polished, well proofread, typed
and copied, bound with a staple, and ready at the start of class.
Please notify me as soon as possible, well in advance, by phone and email, if
you must miss on a day when you are scheduled to be workshopped, to critique,
or if you are scheduled to deliver workshop copies.
Everyone will submit to workshop two times during the semester.
Workshop Critiques (15%): On two
occasions, each student will lead discussion on scheduled workshop days and
provide two copies (one for the writer, and one for me) of their one-page (500
word), single-spaced, type-written critique. The copies submitted for a grade
are to be stapled and turned in together. So, Student Critic A prepares remarks
for Student Writer X and Student Writer Y. On the due date, Student Critic A
returns the workshop poems or stories to Student Writers X and Y with the typed
comments attached. Student Critic A also submits to me one copy of each typed
critique, those for Student Writers X and Y, stapled together. I will return
these critiques to the student critic with a grade for those critiques.
Students pursuing an above average grade may have the opportunity to write and
deliver additional critiques. Your original, thoughtful, verbal contributions
to workshop also affect this portion of the grade.
Sometimes in workshop classes, classmates become lazy or complacent about
providing written feedback to the workshop writers except on those days when it
is their turn to turn in typed responses to me and the
writer. I want to ensure that everyone contributes regularly and generously
with written workshop feedback, even when it is not your turn to be a
designated workshop respondent. Therefore, I will collect, on unannounced and
random occasions, the written feedback from everyone and give credit before the
workshop copies are returned to the writer.
Performance (10%): Some material lends itself well to being read out loud. You will each be required to read your own work and the work of others out loud to the class. You will demonstrate your willingness and talent for doing this with conviction and authority, for keeping our classroom activities lively and engaged. The shy neednÕt panic, however. Other elements of performance include submission to a literary journal for publication and public display of your work.
Typed Assignments (15%): Throughout the semester, I will assign various responses, or writing queues, formal exercises, or other provocation. Some will be short, others more substantial. These, and other writings you do over the course of the term will be edited and typed as your formal Òdevelopmental workÓ and submitted with your final portfolio.
Journal (10%): Bring it with you every day to every class. A number of brief journal entries will be specified and required for each reading assignment from the Burroway text and for other assigned readings. These and other handwritten observations will be accumulated in a journal. The journal will be collected and graded at announced times during the semester.
Comprehensive Final Portfolio (25%): By design, much of the work you will write this semester will not be workshopped, some not even graded until the end. Save everything you do or create for this class and everything you get back from me. Your final portfolio will include all the assignments and developmental work you generate, all of it typed and proofread, much of it revised, with some work edited and submitted for publication. The best portfolios will be a product of steady and regular development and organization over the course of the semester rather than last-minute productions.
Grading:
10% Participation
10% Performance
10% Journal
15% Workshop Submissions
15% Workshop Critiques
15% Typed Assignments
25% Final Portfolio
Grade Conversion Table:
|
a |
a- |
b+ |
b |
b- |
c+ |
c |
c- |
d+ |
D |
|
4.0 |
3.7 |
3.3 |
3.0 |
2.7 |
2.3 |
2.0 |
1.7 |
1.3 |
1.0 |
|
100.0 |
92.5 |
82.5 |
75.0 |
67.5 |
57.5 |
50.0 |
42.5 |
32.5 |
25.0 |
|
25.0 |
23.1 |
20.6 |
18.8 |
16.9 |
14.4 |
12.5 |
10.6 |
8.1 |
6.3 |
|
15.0 |
13.9 |
12.4 |
11.3 |
10.1 |
8.6 |
7.5 |
6.4 |
4.9 |
3.8 |
|
10.0 |
9.3 |
8.3 |
7.5 |
6.8 |
5.8 |
5.0 |
4.3 |
3.3 |
2.5 |
|
7.5 |
6.9 |
6.2 |
5.6 |
5.0 |
4.3 |
3.7 |
3.2 |
2.4 |
1.9 |
|
5.0 |
4.6 |
4.1 |
3.8 |
3.4 |
2.9 |
2.5 |
2.1 |
1.6 |
1.3 |
|
2.5 |
2.3 |
2.1 |
1.9 |
1.7 |
1.4 |
1.3 |
1.1 |
0.8 |
0.6 |
Tentative Schedule: This schedule is partial and likely to change as we go, so please do not refer to it for missed classes without checking with a classmate or Dr. Filas for specifics and modifications to the plan below.
|
|
Date |
Homework |
Class Plan |
|
|
|
1 |
T
1/26 |
Read
Burroway Ch. 2 Image; write exercises in journal; Write Identity/Muse
Statement, due 1/28. |
Review
syllabus, class, texts, methods; plundering exercise. |
|
|
|
2 |
R
1/28 |
Read
and write Clerihew & List assignments, due R 2/4. |
Discuss
List; share journal work; workshop signup; collect identity statements; discuss Burroway. |
|
|
|
3 |
T
2/2 |
Read
Burroway Ch. 3 Voice; write exercises in journal; write voice POV assignment
(love/hate), due R 2/18. |
Discuss
workshop process and requirements; discuss Chant as voice journal option. |
|
|
|
4 |
R
2/4 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques. |
WS1
distribution; collect List assignment; discuss Burroway. |
|
|
|
5 |
T
2/9 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques; read Burroway Ch. 4. Character; write
exercises in journal. |
WS1
discussion; WS2 distribution. |
|
|
|
|
R
2/11 |
***NO
CLASS*** |
PH |
||
|
|
T
2/16 |
***NO
CLASS*** |
Follow
Monday schedule |
||
|
6 |
R
2/18 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques; read Burroway Ch. 6 Story; write
exercises in journal—collected for grade R 2/25. |
WS2
discussion; WS3 distribution; collect POV assignment; discuss Burroway. |
||
|
7 |
T
2/23 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques; write Plot assignment, due R 3/3. |
Discuss
Plot assignment; WS3 discussion; WS4 distribution. |
||
|
8 |
R
2/25 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques. |
WS4
discussion; WS5 distribution; collect journals; discuss Burroway. |
||
|
9 |
T
3/1 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques; write assigned exercises in journal. |
WS5
discussion; WS6 distribution. |
||
|
|
Date |
Homework |
Class Plan |
|
|
|
10 |
R
3/3 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques. write and revise
poetry package, due T 3/22; |
WS6
discussion; WS7 distribution (3); collect Plot assignments; poetry assignment
explanation |
||
|
|
T
3/8 |
See
3/3 |
No
class, conferences |
||
|
|
R
3/10 |
None |
No
class, conferences |
||
|
|
T
3/15 |
***NO CLASS*** |
Spring break |
||
|
|
R
3/17 |
***NO CLASS*** |
Spring break |
||
|
11 |
T
3/22 |
Read
Burroway Ch. 11 Drama; write exercises in journal; dialogue exercises. |
WS7
discussion; collect Poetry package; non-fiction assignment explanation. |
||
|
12 |
R
3/24 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques; write creative non-fiction assignment,
due R 4/7. |
WS7
discussion; WS ROUND TWO: WS1 distribution |
||
|
13 |
T
3/29 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques. |
WS1
discussion; WS2 distribution. |
||
|
14 |
R
3/31 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques. |
WS2
discussion; WS3 distribution. |
||
|
15 |
T
4/5 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques. |
WS3
discussion; WS4 distribution. |
||
|
16 |
R
4/7 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques; write flash fiction, due T 4/19. . |
WS4
discussion; WS5 distribution; collect non-fiction assignment; explain flash
fiction. |
||
|
17 |
T
4/12 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques. |
WS5
discussion; WS6 distribution. |
||
|
18 |
R
4/14 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques. |
WS6
discussion; WS7 distribution (3); Journals collected for grade. |
||
|
19 |
T
4/19 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques. |
WS7
discussion; collect flash fiction assignment; conference sign up; discuss
portfolio assignment. |
||
|
|
Date |
Homework |
Class Plan |
|
|
|
20 |
R
4/21 |
Read
WS submissions; write WS critiques; revise portfolio; write fame/frame and send
submission. |
WS7
discussion; discuss fame/frame assignment; discuss submission. |
||
|
|
T
4/26 |
Revision
for portfolio and fame/frame. |
No
class meeting—Conferences; |
||
|
|
R
4/28 |
Revision
for portfolio and fame/frame; portfolio organization; practice for reading |
No
class meeting—Conferences; |
||
|
21 |
T
5/3 |
Printing,
proofreading, printing again, and final touches on portfolio and fame/frame;
practice for reading. |
In-class
performance readings |
||
|
22 |
R
5/5 |
Last
day of class; portfolios due. |
In
class performance readings; course evaluations; collect portfolios; share
fame/frame. |
||
Workshop
Signup Sheet (Round 1)
Creative
Writing, Spring 2016, Dr. Filas
Writer brings stapled copies (approximately 4-7 pages, depending on form) for each class member and Dr. Filas (Dr. FilasÕs copies must be single-sided).
|
Due Date for Copies |
Writer Bringing Copies (will be discussed in following class) |
|
R 2/4 |
1. 2. |
|
T 2/9 |
3. 4. |
|
R 2/18 |
5. 6. |
|
T 2/23 |
7. 8. |
|
R 2/25 |
9. 10. |
|
T 3/1 |
11. 12. |
|
R 3/3 |
13. 14. 15. |
Workshop Signup Sheet (Round 2)
Creative
Writing, Spring 2016, Dr. Filas
SIGN UP FOR ONE WORKSHOP:
|
Due Date for Copies |
Writer Bringing Copies (will be discussed in following class) |
|
Thursday 3/24 |
1. 2. |
|
Tuesday 3/29 |
3. 4. |
|
Thursday 3/31 |
5. 6. |
|
Tuesday 4/5 |
7. 8. |
|
Thursday 4/7 |
9. 10. |
|
Tuesday 4/12 |
11. 12. |
|
Thursday 4/14 |
13. 14. 15. |
SIGN UP FOR ONE WORKSHOP AND ONE CONFERENCE
|
Due Date for Copies |
Writer Bringing Copies (will be discussed in following class) |
|
W 10/24 |
1. 2. |
|
M 10/29 |
3. 4. |
|
W 10/31 |
5. 6. |
|
M 11/5 |
7. 8. |
|
W 11/7 |
9. 10. |
|
W 11/14 |
11. 12. |
Conference sign up (Bring identity statement to conference):
Monday 10/15:
3:10 _____________________________________________
3:20 _____________________________________________
3:30 _____________________________________________
3:40 _____________________________________________
3:50 _____________________________________________
4:00 _____________________________________________
Monday 10/22:
3:10 _____________________________________________
3:20 _____________________________________________
3:30 _____________________________________________
3:40 _____________________________________________
3:50 _____________________________________________
4:00 _____________________________________________