Spring 2013 Syllabus

Required Texts

All required short fiction and any other handouts not given out in class will be emailed to your student email address.  You must be able to refer to each reading in class.  You may either print a copy of each reading and bring it to class or access readings via tablet or laptop.  You may not refer to required class readings during discussion with a smartphone. 

Course Description

Introduction to Creative Writing provides you with an introduction to the craft of fiction writing.  We will discuss the major components of fiction and will analyze the ways these elements come together in a variety of contemporary short fiction.  You will have the opportunity to experiment with the elements of fiction craft, read other writers’ work, and give and receive constructive criticism.  The workshop is a community, and our goal as members is to support and challenge one another so that we may grow as writers. 

Class Blog

The URL for the class blog is http://spring2013fiction.blogspot.com/.

Visit the blog for announcements, schedule changes, an electronic version of the syllabus, and more. 

Learning Outcomes for 3150B (Introduction to Creative Writing: Fiction)

To earn a grade of C or better for the semester, a student must be familiar with the following foundational terms and concepts of prose fiction, and should be able to demonstrate her or his familiarity with these terms and concepts in all examples of her or his creative and critical writing:

1) Character

2) Plot

3) Conflict

4) Point of View

5) Setting

6) Dialogue

7) Description

8) Exposition and Scene

In addition, to earn a grade of C or better for the semester, a student must be familiar with the following proofreading rules for acceptable manuscripts, and should be able to demonstrate her or his familiarity with these rules in all examples of her or his creative and critical writing:

1) No misspelled words.

2) No excessive typos.

3) No lazy mistakes (changing a character’s name in the middle of a story, for example).

4) No grammatical errors, including homophone errors (there/they’re/their, your/you're, its/it’s, who’s/whose, etc).

5) Paragraphs must be formatted correctly (indented, new paragraph in dialogue to indicate a new speaker, etc).

6) Students must select and maintain a uniform verb tense.

7) Dialogue must be formatted and punctuated correctly: 

·      New paragraph in dialogue to indicate a new speaker

·      Commas, question marks, and exclamation points with dialogue tags

(“Go,” she said.  “Go!” she said. “Go?” she said.)

·      Periods with complete sentences (“Go.” She pointed to the door.)

·      Quotation marks around all spoken words.

·      Commas with interjections and direct address (“Yeah, dude, use a comma.”)

Course Requirements:

There are eight required components to this course.

1.     Creative Exercises (15%)

2.     Reading Responses (10%)

3.     Two short stories of at least 7 pages and no longer than 15 pages (1750 – 3000 words), one written in first person point of view, one written in third person attached point of view (30%)

4.     Critiques of your classmates’ stories (10%)

5.     5 Elements Assignments (10%)

6.     Class Participation (10%)

7.     Revision Plan (5%)

8.     Revision of one of your workshop stories (10%)

One: Creative Exercises (15%)

Creative exercises allow you to experiment with the craft elements we will discuss in class.  Your grade for each creative exercise will be based on how well you adhere to the exercise’s instructions and the creative ways you meet the exercise’s challenge.  I will ask you to respond to six prompts during the first weeks of the semester.   The prompts will be handed out in class and will connect to the day’s discussion. 

Please title each exercise and clearly indicate to which exercise you are responding.  (See the “Formatting” Section of the syllabus for details.)

You may not do any of the following in your creative exercises:

·      No porn (sexual, violent, etc.)

·      No fan fiction

·      No psycho killers

·      No characters with the instructor’s name or names of students in the class

·      No talking animals 

·      No stories in which the main character wakes up to discover “it was all a dream”

·      No alarm clocks that wake up the central character

·      No imagined enemies or friends

·      No stories about having to write stories for class

·      No stories about or by characters on death row or in an execution chamber and no stories in which the narrator commits suicide

·      No stories about or by narrators who journey to heaven or hell or any other version of the afterlife

·      No stories ending in homicide, mass murder, natural disaster, or apocalypse

·      No stories ending in the main character being committed to a psychiatric hospital or ending by revealing the story has been narrated from such a hospital all along

As writers, we seek to portray a fresh depiction of the human experience.  You may not include these elements in your work because they inhibit the kind of character and conflict development that will allow you to “Make it new,” as Ezra Pound wrote.  Fiction that includes any of these elements will not meet assignment requirements.  These guidelines are Creative Writing Program policy.

Two: Reading Responses (10%)

Each reading response should be a typed one – two page (250 – 500 words) informal essay.  In each Reading Response, you should discuss what you learned from the assigned stories by “reading as a writer.”

Reading as a writer can provide you with examples to emulate and pitfalls to avoid in your own writing.  Reading as a writer is different than reading for pleasure or reading for a literature class.  When you read for pleasure, you give yourself up to the world created by the text.  When you read for a literature class, you look for a text’s meaning or the significance of its historical or cultural contexts.  When you read as a writer, however, you read to see how the story is constructed.  You examine what the writer does to make the story moving/interesting/boring/predictable/etc., and how the writer uses (or fails to use) narrative techniques to build the story’s meaning.  Your responses should focus on issues of craft: how the writer develops his or her characters, how he or she establishes and suspends tension, how the writer moves the plot forward, how he or she uses dialogue to deepen conflict, and so on, connecting the writer’s techniques and his successes and/or failings to your own work. 

Some helpful guidelines for writing these essays:

·      Refrain from using phrases such as “I like” or “I don’t like.”  Examining a writer’s success in using a particular technique is different from liking or not liking the particular technique.

·      Focus on one craft element per essay.

·      These essays are arguments, so offer a clear thesis (For example: “The writer of story A successfully uses craft element X, but the writer of story B does not,” or “Writer M’s use of craft element Y is interesting in this story because…”)

·      Be sure to use specific examples from the text and/or quotations to support your ideas.  Avoid general statements that do not prove your points: “This story sucks!” or “He does a great job!”

·      Use present tense when writing about literature.

·      “Informal Essay” means you can use the first person and can write in an informal, conversational tone, not that you can turn in sloppy, unorganized, and/or unfocused work.  These informal essays should receive as much careful consideration as formal essays. 

Remember that Reading Responses are due at the beginning of the class period.  Reading Responses turned in after we have discussed the stories in class will not be accepted. 

Three: Workshop Stories (30%)

You will write two workshop stories this semester.  Both stories should be no less than 7 and no more than 15 pages long (1750 – 3000 words).  Both stories should be original work created during the course of the semester.  One should be written in the first person point of view and one should be written in the third person attached point of view.  It does not matter which story you write first, but one of your stories should be an outgrowth of one or more of your creative exercises.  This story can be an expansion, complication, and/or hybridization of work you created in response to one or more of the creative exercises.  For example, you might want to continue working with a character you’ve created or a setting you’ve developed. 

Workshop stories are due the class period before your work will be discussed.  You will need to bring enough copies for each member of the class, including me.  The copies should be clean, proofread, and stapled.  Neither your fellow students nor your instructor should have to collate or staple your story.  Do not wait until the last minute to copy your story so that you can avoid any technical difficulties.  If you do not come to class with adequate copies of your stories, you will lose your workshop slot, and your grade will be negatively impacted.  Emailed stories will not be accepted.  In addition, do not assume you may ask a fellow student to distribute your story for you.  You must be in class to hand out your story. 

On the day of your first workshop, come to class with a list of three questions addressing aspects of your story about which you have concerns. For example, you may have questions about whether your story’s ending resolves the story’s conflict or if your protagonist needs more development.  Your questions will ensure I address your concerns about your story during our discussion.  Prior to your second workshop, you should prepare two things.  The first is the list of three questions you have about your story.  The second is a brief “inspiration paragraph.”  In this paragraph, briefly discuss what inspired you to write the story and what you hoped to accomplish.  You will share your inspiration paragraph with the class before your story is discussed and will give your questions to me so I can use them in our discussion.  Plan to talk for no more than five minutes about the inspiration for your story. 

You may not do any of the following in your workshop stories:

·      No porn (sexual, violent, etc.)

·      No fan fiction

·      No psycho killers

·      No characters with the instructor’s name or names of students in the class

·      No talking animals 

·      No stories in which the main character wakes up to discover “it was all a dream”

·      No alarm clocks that wake up the central character

·      No imagined enemies or friends

·      No stories about having to write stories for class

·      No stories about or by characters on death row or in an execution chamber and no stories in which the narrator commits suicide

·      No stories about or by narrators who journey to heaven or hell or any other version of the afterlife

·      No stories ending in homicide, mass murder, natural disaster, or apocalypse

·      No stories ending in the main character being committed to a psychiatric hospital or ending by revealing the story has been narrated from such a hospital all along

As writers, we seek to portray a fresh depiction of the human experience.  You may not include these elements in your work because they inhibit the kind of character and conflict development that will allow you to “Make it new,” as Ezra Pound wrote.  Fiction that includes any of these elements will not meet assignment requirements.  These guidelines are Creative Writing Program policy.

Four: Workshop Critiques (10%)

You will write a critique of each of your classmates’ stories prior to workshop. Your critiques should identify and explain what you believe is working well in the story and what is not working well.  Identify at least two things you believe to be strong in the story and two you believe to warrant improvement.   Specifically explain each one, using examples from the story in your description.  Your critiques should be at least 250 words and should be typed.  Critiques are due the day the story is workshopped.  Bring two copies of your critiques to class, one to give to the writer, one to give to me.  Emailed critiques will not be accepted. I will provide you with sample student critiques as the workshop approaches.

Five: Five Elements Assignments (10%)

As part of our class goal to improve our understanding of fiction craft, over the course of the semester you will write two essays describing the five elements of fiction you believe to be essential to ensuring a story’s success.  Your first Five Elements essay will be written in class on the first day of the semester and may be little more than a list.  Your second essay, which is due as part of your final portfolio, will be more extensive.  This second essay should be two to three pages (500 – 750 words) in length. Include an introduction and conclusion. In your introduction, identify your five elements and offer the overarching reason you feel these elements to be the most vital for a story’s success. Then write a paragraph or two explaining why you feel each element is important.  Your second list may be different than your initial list, and if it is, you should address this in your essay.  Regardless, make sure you discuss how your thinking about these five elements has evolved over the semester. Use examples from the stories we’ve read in class and your own writing to help you explain the importance of each element.  You should also discuss successes you achieved and challenges you faced working with particular elements.  In your conclusion, reflect upon your goals for continuing to work with these elements in your writing. 

Six: Class Participation (10%)

The active participation of every member of the class is essential to a vibrant workshop.  Therefore, you are asked to attend every class meeting, to be on time, and to remain in class until you are dismissed.  I ask that you be present for the duration of the class period.  The success of the workshop (and your participation grade) depends upon your active engagement in class activities and discussions, your willingness to be open to new ideas, your ability to offer constructive comments to your fellow classmates, and your ability to actively listen to others’ comments.   

You may miss one class without affecting your participation grade.  Any other absences will have affect on your grade.  Please note that class begins at 11:00.  If you are more than ten minutes late, you will be considered absent.  If you leave class early, you will also be considered absent.  Arriving late or leaving early will impact your participation grade.

Seven: Revision Plan (5%)

Your revision plan should have two parts.  In the first part, you should explain the global issues you plan to address in your revision: “I want to make my protagonist more complex and I want to introduce more conflict into the story,” for example.  Make overall comments about what you’d like to do to make the story stronger.  In the second part, detail the specific changes you plan to make to your story: “Scene 1: Tighten the dialogue and make sure I consistently maintain the past tense; Scene 2: Take out the flashback and instead move forward to the party where the protagonist spills her wine on her best friend’s white carpet,” etc.  You may also comment on what you found helpful, surprising, etc. from the criticism you received in workshop and from reading your classmates’ and my written critiques.  Your revision plan is due one week after the workshop of your second story.  You can email your revision plan to me at cnadon1@gsu.edu or can bring it to me in class or during office hours.  Before beginning your revision, you should wait for me to approve your plan.  I will probably offer some suggestions. 

I also encourage you to schedule a time when we can meet to discuss your story and your revision.  This will give us the opportunity to talk one-on-one about your work. You can email me to set up a time or schedule a time in class. 

Of course, you are welcome to meet with me at any time to discuss your work, not just after it is workshopped. 

Eight: Revision of One Workshop Story (10%)

The revised workshop story is due as part of your final portfolio.  The goal of revision is to improve the story, and in order to make the story more successful you should do your best to address the story’s surface issues and global concerns.  A revision is a reshaping; simply adhering to the Minimal Revision Requirements and/or making minor changes does not constitute an acceptable revision.  Only adding a list of details about a character to attempt to make her more complex or a description of the weather to try to better develop the setting are examples of minor changes that do not improve the overall trajectory of the story.  Your revision plan should guide your revision, but you do not have to strictly adhere to your revision plan as you revise your story.

Following are the Minimal Requirements for Revised Fiction.  Because they are minor, you do not need to address them in your plan, although you do need to adhere to them in your revision.

1.     The writer selects and maintains a verb tense for the entire story. 

2.     The writer establishes and maintains a uniform point of view for the entire story.

3.     The writer tags dialogue when needed and correctly punctuates all dialogue:

a.     Commas should be included with dialogue tags.  (“I don’t want any,” he said.

b.     Periods should be placed at the end of complete sentences.  “I don’t want any.”  He turned away.

c.     Quotation marks should be placed around all spoken words.

d.     Commas should be used with interjections and direct address.  “Why, Marge, I didn’t think you liked butter beans.” 

4.     The writer formats paragraphs correctly by indenting new paragraphs and beginning a new paragraph to indicate a new speaker, etc.

5.     The writer spellchecks his or her story.

6.     The writer proofreads his or her story, making it free of grammatical errors, including homophone errors such as their/there/they’re, your/you’re, its/it’s, whose/who’s, etc.

Final Portfolio

Your final portfolio is due via email on Monday 29 April by 1 pm.  Please email your portfolios to cnadon1@gsu.edu.  Your final portfolio should include the following:

·       Your revision of one of your workshop stories

·       Your final 5 elements exercise

·       Your revision plan, so I can refer back to it before reading your workshop story.

Due Dates and Formatting

All assignments are due at the beginning of the class period.  Workshop exercises and stories are due the class period before your work will be discussed.

All work should be typed, double-spaced with top, bottom, right, and left margins of at least one inch.  Please use 12 point Times New Roman or Garamond font.  Creative exercises and stories should be titled.  Pages should be numbered.  On the top of the first page please include:

·      Your name

·      Your email address (Not SS # or Panther ID)

·      The specific name of the assignment (Creative Exercise # 1 / 3 AM # 175; Reading Response # 3; etc.)

·      Word Count (use “Word Count” under the Tools drop-down in Microsoft Word or under the Review section in Word ’07)

·      ENGL 3150B / Spring 2013 / Candace Nadon

·      The date

Additional Information

·       Please ensure your cell phone’s ringer has been turned off before class begins.  Do not read or send text messages, play Words with Friends, Tweet, post photos to Instagram, or engage in any activity that will distract you from classroom activities.

·       Guests are not allowed in class. 

·      The goal of the course is to provide you with an opportunity to improve as a writer.  Do not recycle stories used for other classes.

Academic Honesty

Policy on Academic Misconduct and Plagiarism

The Department of English expects its students to adhere to the university’s code of student conduct, especially as it pertains to academic conduct, including plagiarism, cheating, and multiple submissions.  See www.gsu.edu/~wwwdos/codeofconduct.html for the policy.  Plagiarizing means you thwart your own education and forego your responsibilities as a writer.  Furthermore, you violate the ethical and academic standards of the academic community.  These standards include the value of research and informed argument, open and honest debate and sharing of ideas, critical thinking about evidence, the careful presentation of research, and acknowledgement of the sources of ideas. Students who violate

these policies in this course will receive a range of academic and disciplinary penalties. 

Accommodations for Students with Special Needs

Georgia State University complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Students who wish to request accommodation for a disability may do so by registering with the Office of Disability Services. Students may only be accommodated upon issuance by the Office of Disability Services of a signed Accommodation Plan and are responsible for providing a copy of that plan to instructors of all classes in which accommodations are sought. Students with special needs should then make an appointment with me during the first week of class to discuss any necessary accommodations. 

Student Evaluations of Instructors

At the end of the semester, you will be asked to fill out evaluations of your professors online. Your constructive assessment of this course plays an indispensable role in shaping education at Georgia State. Upon completing the course, please take time to fill out the online course evaluation.

Incompletes

Receiving an Incomplete: The notation of “I” may be given to a student who, for nonacademic reasons beyond his or her control, is unable to meet the full requirements of a course. In order to qualify for an “I”, a student must:

• Have completed most of the major assignments of the course (generally all but one); and
• Be earning a passing grade in the course (aside from the assignments not completed) in the judgment of the instructor.

When a student has a nonacademic reason for not completing one or more of the assignments for a course, including examinations, and wishes to receive an incomplete for the course, it is the responsibility of the student to inform the instructor in person or in writing of the reason. A grade of incomplete is awarded at the discretion of the instructor and is not the prerogative of the student. Conditions to be met for removing a grade of incomplete are established by the instructor.

For Creative Writing Majors or Potential Creative Writing Majors

If you are interested in Creative Writing/Fiction as your concentration for the English major, please note that the following are required courses and must be taken in order:

           

            ENGL 3150B: Introduction to Creative Writing

            ENGL 3160: Narrative Techniques

            ENGL 3180B: Contemporary Fiction Craft

            ENGL 4310B: Senior Seminar

Please note that the creative writing faculty does not allow overflows into filled classes.

In special cases, the Department of English might allow you to take simultaneously ENGL 3180B: Contemporary Fiction Craft and ENGL 3160: Narrative Techniques (if there are seats open in both classes), or to take simultaneously ENGL 4310B: Senior Seminar and ENGL 3180B: Contemporary Fiction Craft (if there are seats open in both classes), but you will have to get permission to do so. Contact Heather Russel, Assistant to the Director of Creative Writing, at heather@gsu.edu or at 404-413-5806 for more information. 

If you are a senior or a second-semester junior, it will be difficult (and perhaps impossible) to complete the fiction writing course sequence by your anticipated graduation date. Please note that the Literary Studies concentration allows more scheduling flexibility than the Creative Writing concentration. Remember that students can write creatively even when they are not in a creative writing class, and a student pursuing the Literary Studies concentration is welcome to enroll in as many creative writing classes as he or she wishes (as long as the student meets the prerequisites, and the classes have available seats). A student considering graduate study in writing might like to know that very, very few Georgia State graduate students have undergraduate degrees with concentrations in creative writing.

If you have further questions about the English major and any of the concentrations offered by the Department, you can make an appointment with a Department of English adviser at 404-413-5800.

Course Schedule

Note: the schedule provides a basic outline of the course; deviations may be necessary.  Reading assignments and other work are due the day they are listed on the schedule. 

January

Tuesday 15 January: Course Introductions.  In-class writing: 5 Elements Exercise #1.

Thursday 17 January: Character.  Discuss “The Proxy Marriage” (Maile Meloy) (e handout).  Reading Response #1 Due. 

Tuesday 22 January: Plot.  Discuss “To Reach Japan” (Alice Munro) and “A Portrait of Your Loveliness” (Amy Bloom) (both e handouts). Reading Response #2 Due.  Creative Exercise #1 Due.    

Thursday 24 January: Setting and Pacing.  Discuss “Hell Heaven” (Jhumpa Lahiri) and “A & P” (John Updike) (both e handouts). Reading Response #3 Due.  Creative Exercise #2 Due.

Tuesday 29 January: Point of View.  Discuss “How to Talk to Your Mother” (Lorrie Moore), “An Airplane Control” (Josh Russell), and “Eleven” (Sandra Cisneros) (all ehandouts). Reading Response #4 Due.  Creative Exercise #3 Due.  Guest speaker Josh Russell. 

Thursday 31 January: Dialogue.  Discuss “The Gangsters” (Colson Whitehead) (e handout) and “The Ice Melter” (Alissa Nutting) (online at http://thefanzine.com/ice-melter-a-short-story-from-unclean-jobs-for-women-and-girls/). Reading Response #5 Due.  Creative Exercise #4 Due. 

February

Tuesday 5 February: Description and Voice.  Discuss “War Dances” (Sherman Alexie) and “Pet Milk” (Stuart Dybek) (both e handouts). Reading Response #6 Due.  First workshop stories due.  Creative Exercise #5 Due. 

Thursday 7 February: Workshop #1. Workshop stories due.  Creative Exercise #6 Due. 

Tuesday 12 February: Workshop #2. Workshop stories due.

Thursday 14 February: Workshop #3. Workshop stories due.

Tuesday 19 February: Workshop #4. Workshop stories due.

Thursday 21 February: Workshop #5. Workshop stories due.

Tuesday 26 February: Workshop #6. Workshop stories due.

Thursday 28 February: Workshop #7. Workshop stories due.

March

Tuesday 5 March: Workshop #8. Workshop stories due.

Thursday 7 March: Workshop #9. Workshop stories due.

Tuesday 12 March: Workshop #10. Workshop stories due.

Thursday 14 March: Workshop #11. Workshop stories due.

Tuesday 19 March and Thursday 21 March: SPRING BREAK

Tuesday 26 March: Workshop #12. Workshop stories due.

Thursday 28 March: Workshop #13. Workshop stories due.

April

Tuesday 2 April: Workshop #14. Workshop stories due.

Thursday 4 April: Workshop #15. Workshop stories due.

Tuesday 9 April: Workshop #16. Workshop stories due.

Thursday 11 April: Workshop #17. Workshop stories due.

Tuesday 16 April: Workshop #18. Workshop stories due.

Thursday 18 April: Workshop #19. Workshop stories due.

Tuesday 23 April: Workshop #20.

Thursday 25 April: Last day of class. 

Final Portfolios due via email to cnadon1@gsu.edu by 1 pm Monday 29 April.