 |
Fiction
Writing English 210
Welcome to Fiction Writing. This course is designed to introduce you to the practice and pleasures of writing fiction. As with most fiction writing classes, the short story will serve as our playground and learning ground. Studying and writing the short story can help us learn the elements which combine to create a fictional world. We will become familiar with the terms used in discussing the craft of fiction, and will learn to distinguish what makes good fiction successful. We will read and attempt to write “literary fiction;” to me, that term simply means fiction which is the best it can possibly be. Literary fiction may use elements of genres such as science fiction, fantasy, horror, or romance, but does not easily fit into any of these genres. Novelist Somerset Maugham once said something like “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” It’s true that I cannot give you a set of sure-fire “rules” for writing fiction; if anyone says they can, they aren’t to be trusted. Don’t despair; there are three steps which indisputably will help you with your writing. They are read, write, consider, and rewrite. (No one ever said I was a mathematician.) First, therefore, we will read carefully and analyze a few contemporary short stories. I won’t assign the entire book, but I hope you will take an interest and read more stories than are assigned. This anthology collects a group of what writers across the country have suggested are the most interesting and successful short stories written since 1970. As Roseellen Brown says in the introduction to the anthology: “ . . . if brilliance, like luck, favors a prepared mind, then it will be nurtured by a familiarity with what has gone before and an attention to pesky issues of technique best studied not in the abstract but on the page, in the most stirring examples.” From these stories I will assign short exercises, or “story starters,” to be due the next class day. These will be shared in small groups, and returned with my comments. You may develop these exercises into longer complete stories, which will be due on February 28th and April 4th. Both of these stories will be workshopped in class (one with the complete class, one in smaller groups), and both will be discussed in conference with me. The goal through both workshopping and conferencing is not just to criticize, but to find ways to develop the stories, to make them stronger, more full, more interesting and successful. Revision, therefore, is the backbone of this course, the ultimate outcome of any of our workshop discussions. You will choose one of these stories to be revised for your final paper. We are fortunate to have Kate Russell as Teaching Assistant for this course. Kate will attend classes as a participant, though she will not be doing the writing assignments; a senior in the Creative Writing Program and tutor in the Writing Center, she will help in class discussion, and help you with your story drafts. I will meet in conference with you during the semester, and will ask Kate to meet with you at least once also. She is available during her office hours and at other times to read extra story drafts, to give advice, to talk about your work. Make use of her; she can be very helpful. She can be reached at kate.russell@maine.edu. Since this is a workshop class, you have a responsibility to other students as well as to yourself. You need to be active in reading the work carefully—more carefully than you have read before—and in responding to it as fully as you can. As you read student work you will comment on it before class begins, and sign your name. Your absence hurts us all, so I have an attendance policy: two absences will be excused with no questions asked. More than this will lower your overall grade, unless you have a documented excuse. Conferences count as two classes each, and the three readings together count as two classes. You will be asked to attend readings by three visiting writers. The Visiting Writers Series brings nationally-known writers to campus to read. Lunchtime poetry readings and student readings can also fulfill this requirement; I will try to keep you informed of upcoming readings. Please write a brief reaction to the readings and submit it to the Discussion forum in blackboard. These reactions will serve as proof of attendance, so be specific in your comments. The final revised story will count for 30% of your final grade; the exercises and first drafts will count for 50% of your grade. Class preparation and participation will count for the remaining 20%. I don’t expect to see any plagiarism, but just in case, it should be noted that it would cause automatic failure of the course and referral to the Student Conduct Officer. The following schedule may change as the semester unfolds, but unless you hear otherwise, please use it as your guide. I want stories to startle and engage me within the first few sentences, and in the middle to widen or deepen or sharpen my knowledge of human activity, and to end by giving me a sensation of completed statement. -------- John Updike Tuesday, January 17: First class. Syllabus, in-class writing. Assignment for Thursday: read introduction to the Scribner Anthology, and two stories: “White Angel” (229) and “Brokeback Mountain” (256). Thursday, January 19: Discuss reading assignment. Assignment for Tuesday: Writing exercise. Tuesday, January 24: Share writing exercises in small groups or with class. Assignment: read “Cold Snap” and “Emergency.” Thursday, January 26: Discuss stories. Assignment: Writing exercise. Tuesday, January 31: Share writing exercises in small groups or with class. Assignment: read “The School” and “Gryphon.” Thursday, February 2: Discuss stories. Assignment: Writing exercise. Tuesday, February 7: Share writing exercises with small groups or class. Assignment: read “Silver Water” and “The Year of Getting to Know Us.” Thursday, February 9: Discuss stories. Assignment: Writing exercise. Tuesday, February 14: Share writing exercises with small groups or class. Assignment: read “Tall Tales from the Mekong Delta” and “The Man Who Knew Belle Star.” Schedule conference this week. Be working on your complete story. Thursday, February 16: Discuss stories. Assignment: complete story. Also read Sandy River Review. Week of February 20 to 25: BREAK Tuesday, February 28: First complete story due. Discuss Sandy River Review. Thursday, March 2: Discuss workshop procedure, distribute photocopied stories. Schedule a private conference with me at any time during the next few weeks after your story is workshopped. Also schedule a conference with Kate to talk about ideas for your second story, due April 4. Tuesday, March 7: Workshop two stories. Thursday, March 9: No class (I will be out of town). Tuesday, March 14: Workshop two stories. Thursday, March 16: Workshop two stories. Tuesday, March 21: Workshop two stories. Thursday, March 23: Workshop two stories. Tuesday, March 28: Workshop two stories. Thursday, March 30: Workshop two stories. Tuesday, April 4: Workshop two stories. Second complete story due. Thursday, April 6: Distribute photocopied stories for group discussion. Tuesday, April 11: Workshop stories in smaller groups. Wednesday, April 12: Symposium Day Thursday, April 13: Workshop stories in smaller groups. April 17-April 21: Second spring break Tuesday, April 25: Workshop stories in smaller groups. Thursday, April 27: Workshop stories in smaller groups. Schedule conferences with me for Wednesday, of next week, 5/3. Assignment: read Sandy River Review. Tuesday, May 2: Discuss reading assignment. Thursday, May 4: Last day of class. Final revision of story due anytime, Tuesday of finals week by the latest. Have a great summer! |