Dr. Alison Umminger
Syllabus for Creative Writing 3200
T/Th – 12:30-1:45, TLC 1204
Introduction to Creative Writing (Fiction & Poetry)
OFFICE HOURS: TLC 9:30-10:30 a.m. & 2-3 p.m. T/Th or by appointment
“Imagination is More Important than Knowledge” – Albert Einstein
Course Description:
3200 is an introductory level course in the writing of Poetry and Fiction. This course is designed to make you better readers of poetry and fiction, as well as competent writers in both genres. In this class we will discuss poetry and fiction writing, and use assigned materials as well as in-class exercises to discuss the basic problems (and solutions) in writing poetry and fiction. These discussions and in-class exercises are for your benefit, and might lead to stories and poems that you never expected. Creative writing involves dedication, imagination, and hard-work. No matter what your “skill” level entering this course, you will do well if you put in obvious effort and keep an open mind.
My assumption in teaching this course is that each of you takes your writing seriously, and that you would like to be treated as artists-in-the-making. I expect for you to be dedicated to what you are doing and to yourselves. I will trust you to read & keep up with coursework. If I do not feel that trust is deserved, I will quiz you on material & the like. Please, please keep up.
Course Goals:
· Students will learn to write in the genres of poetry and short fiction and become conversant with issues of technique in both disciplines.
· Students will develop an understanding of the defining characteristics of both genres
· Students will become more adept readers and writers as they consider model texts from a writer’s perspective
· Students will learn to offer and receive constructive criticism in a public forum.
Course Texts:
Bowman, Catherine. Word of Mouth
Addonizio & Laux. The Poet’s Companion
LaGuin, Ursula. Steering the Craft
Charters, Ann. The Story and its Writer
Grade Breakdown:
20% -- Participation (includes participation in discussions, workshops, weekly responses, in-class writing,
and take-home assignments, as well as your Journal)
30% -- Short Critical Papers (15% poetry, 15% Fiction)
50% -- Portfolios (25% Poetry; 25% Fiction)
On the “micro” level – poems and short stories are graded on a “check system” as you write them. Checks should serve as progress markers, and do not “equal” grades in that checks are not static like grades: you have a chance to improve your checks with each revision. Only checks on final, portfolio drafts translate into exact points:
Minus: Technically incomplete (did not meet requirements of assignment)
CheckMinus: Technically complete, but minimally so: clearly undeveloped
Check: Meets requirements of assignment, shows understanding of basic W103 concepts
CheckPlus: Well developed, successful execution on multiple levels, effort is obvious
Plus: Superior; usually reserved for revisions
Portfolio: If 5 poems = 250 total points, then each poem is worth 50 points, Story is worth 250 points
Final (Poem) Drafts: Checks Translated to Points:
Plus = 49-50/50; CheckPlus = 44-48/50; Check = 37-43/50; CheckMinus = 32-36/50; Minus =0-33/50
Final Draft of Your Short Story
The Story is worth 250 points. Your grade will reflect not only the quality of the final draft as it reflects concepts taught in 3200, but the obviousness of your effort as well J
Short Papers: Each of the anthologies features the work of various writers. I would like for each of you to read ONE additional collection of poetry and THREE additional short stories (or more if they’re extremely short) by the author of your choice, and then write a short paper (3-4 pages) on some aspect of craft or theme that you believe resonates through that person’s work. This is to encourage you to look with some depth at the artists of your choosing, rather than just reading a poem or two, or a single story.
The only way to flunk an assignment is to PLAGIARIZE. If you attempt to pass off the work of another writer as your own, you will receive NO CREDIT for that portion of the class – no make-ups, no exceptions. If you do the math, you will see that the class will then become very hard for you to pass. So turn in your own work – no matter what.
“I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.” Duke Ellington
Weekly Responses:
Each week, you should come to Monday’s class having read the poems/stories assigned for that week. You should turn in to me an insightful question or response to that week’s readings. You may be asked in class to read your response or ask your question – try to be thoughtful, not superficial. This is part of your participation grade.
Student Writing:
First and Foremost: Late work of ANY KIND will not be accepted. If you are having a problem completing an assignment, notify me well in advance of the due date. I may or may not grant you an extension.
Everything you turn in as a formal assignment MUST be typewritten in a standard font. If your story or poem is being critiqued, you are responsible for making copies for all of your classmates. When the stories and poems are received, they should be read well in advance of class. You should come to class with your copy of the student work marked up (critiqued), ready to provide helpful commentary for the writer.
Participation:
The success of this course depends on your participation. Take an active role in your artistic development. Class participation in discussions and in workshop is very, very important. A portion of your grade will be based on this participation. Try to make at least one insightful comment per class.
With regard to attendance: Any student missing more than three classes will see their grade affected negatively.
Conferences:
My office hours are for your benefit. I will have mid-semester conferences with each of you. At any other time, you are welcome to set up a conference to discuss any questions or concerns you might have about your writing.
Final Portfolio:
At the end of the semester you will turn in a portfolio comprising all drafts of your stories and poems. You should also keep in-class excercises in a folder for me to look at, as well as copies of your critiques. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you have ALL drafts of your work in this protfolio, as it will help me monitor your effort and improvement (which are the basis of this class & progress as a writer). Effort and improvement count more than perfection.
Workshopping:
We will critique everyone’s writing at some point during the semester. When making suggestions or critiques, remember that the comments should be helpful. Remember that you are making your classmates into stronger writers, not advancing your career as a colorful critic. I would never want you to hold back any sincere criticism that you wish to make. We cannot have a class if everyone is too shy or overly cautious in their comments. But remember your purpose in making any critiques: to lend help to your classmates. And don’t be afraid to emphasize what you LIKE about someone’s work as well.
“Creativity cannot be comfortably quantified in intellectual terms. By its very nature, creativity eschews such containment. In a university where the intellectual life is built upon the act of criticizing – on deconstructing a creative work – the art of creation itself, the art of creative construction, meets with scanty support, understanding or approval. To be blunt, most academics know how to take something apart, but not how to assemble it.” Julia Cameron
SCHEDULE:
August 17th -- Intro to Class
August 21st -- READ: “Poetry of Place” (PC) and Intro to (WOM)
August 23rd-- “I am From” Poem READ “Writing and Knowing” (PC) and Quincy Troupe poems
Self-Introduction – your “I Am From” poem
August 28th-- IMAGE AND SIMILE: Read “Images” “Simile and Metaphor” (PC) and
Paul Beatty and Naomi Shihab Nye poems (WOM);
August 30th- In-class exercise/ Discussion.
POEM #1 DUE IN SECTION (Poem should be an extended Simile – your choice
Modeled after the “Dib Dab” poem)
September 4th -- VOICE AND DRAMATIC SITUATION: Read “Witnessing” “Voice and Style” (PC)
and Belle Waring and Maura Stanton)
September 6th -- POEM #2 DUE IN SECTION (Poem about a Dramatic Situation – should cover
one brief scene or moment in time)
September 11th -- Read “The Music of the Line,” also “Writing the Erotic” (PC) and
Marilyn Chin’s “Rhapsody in Plain Yellow” and Wang Ping’s “Of Flesh and Spirit”
And CD Wright poems (WOM)
September 13th -- Discussion/ In Class Exercise – Work on Revision/Short Papers!
September 18th-- REPETITION AND RHYTHM: Read “The Family, Inspiration and Obstacle”
& “Repetition, Rhythm, and Blues” (PC) and “Meter, Rhyme and Form”
Also – poems by Denise Duhamel, Kevin Young, and Hal Sirowitz (WOM)
September 20th-- In Class Workshop – Small Groups
POEM #3 – DUE IN SECTION (Write an poem in the style of either
Duhamel or Sirowitz – either a Barbie or a “mother (or father) said” poem
September 25th-- RE-SEEING THE WORLD: “The Shadow,” “Stop Making Sense” in (PC)
And Russell Edson, Campbell McGrath, Charles Harper Webb (WOM)
September 27th-- In-Class WORKSHOP – Small Groups – HAVE CHOSEN POET &
COLLECTION FOR SHORT PAPER BY TODAY
POEM #4 – DUE IN SECTION (Write a poem that reverses or makes surreal
Something either ordinary or taken for granted – Kevin Young’s poem “negative”
Is another good example)
October 2nd POETRY OF PRAISE: Read “the Energy of Revision” (PC) and
Poems by Lucille Clifton, Yusef Komunyakaa, and Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill
October 4th -- INTRO: LaGuin – Chapters 1&2; Charters anthology – Read Chekhov “the Darling” and
Related commentary, and Cisneros.”The House on Mango Street”
October 9th -- Conferences – No Class
October 11th -- FALL BREAK – No Class
October 16th -- Read all Flannery O’Connor and related commentary
POETRY SHORT PAPERS DUE -- All Poetry Revisions Due (until end of semester)
October 18th -- O’Connor discussion -- continued
MINI ASSIGNMENT: Write a “short short” – one or two pages, paying attention
To language but using the conventions of
prose – tell a little story or scene.
October 23rd-- POINT OF VIEW – First Person – Read LaGuin Chapters 7&8, Read
“Cathedral” (Carver), “A&P” (Updike), and “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere”
(Packer)
October 25th-- Discussion, in-class writing (Character Exercise)
Read “Where are you Going, Where have you been” (Oates)
MINI-ASSIGNMENT: Write 3 pages in First Person – possible story opening
October 30th -- CHARACTERIZATION: Read LaGuin Chapter 9; Also “The Things
They Carried,” (O’Brien) “What we talk about when we talk about love” (Carver)
MINI-ASSIGNMENT: Write 3 Pages in 3rd Person – possible story opening
November 1st--- Discussion of Stories
Read “Miles City, Montana” (Alice Munro)
November 6th PLOT, THEME – Read La Guin Chapter 6, “The Lottery” (Jackson), “Everyday Use”
(Walker) – First Five Pages of Story DUE – 4 copies IN Class workshop
November 8th-- SETTING, DIALOGUE –
“The Hills Like White Elephants” (Hemingway)
FIRST STORIES HANDED OUT FOR WORKSHOP
November 13th-- WORKSHOP
November 15th -- WORKSHOP
November 20th-- WORKSHOP
November 22nd-- NO CLASS THANKSGIVING RECESS
November 27th -- WORKSHOP
November 29th-- WORKSHOP
December 4th-- Evaluations/ Reading
FINAL PORTFOLIOS DUE TO ME December 6th by NOON!
(Please note that all activities are tentative, and subject to revision)