Fiction Writing is a course in inventing and crafting short
stories. In so far as is possible, we'll conduct the class as a workshop,
concentrating on stories written by students. In addition, we will draw
on a variety of other materials to use as a basis for discussion and as
examples of the types of solutions working writers have found for problems
encountered by students. The spirit of the course is eclectic: it is expected
that students will be working in a variety of genres. However, the standards
of the class will encourage everyone to work toward an execution that reflects
an understanding of "serious" art. That is, students will be
encouraged to find their own personal, cultural and historical relation
to literature as we go about discovering the way literature is created
from these same spheres of concern.
Texts:
Janet Burroway, Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft,
3rd ed.
Course Packet
Assignments:
Over the semester, students will present three short stories for class
discussion. Students should submit enough copies of their work so that
every other student can have one. Additional work will include: a detailed
critique of each piece submitted for discussion, reading assignments, attendance
at readings given by visiting authors and a number of exercises announced
on a day-to-day basis. At the end of the term, students will turn in a
portfolio of the stories they have written and revised during the semester.
Class Attendance: Much of the value of this course is derived from class
discussion. Therefore, you are expected to attend class regularly. Documented
illness and extreme emergencies are the sole acceptable reasons for missing
class. All assignments will be collected on the dates they are due whether
you were in class to receive the assignment or not. This means that if
you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed.
If you are absent more than 2 classes, the grade on your final assignment
(and if necessary, other assignments) will be lowered 1 grade for each
additional class missed.
Grades:
Your final grade will be based mainly upon the quality of the work
you submit. However, when calculating your final grade I will also take
into consideration your critiques of other student work, class participation
(about 10%), effort, and in-class assignments. Work turned in late for
discussion will not be accepted. All other work turned in late will be
lowered one grade for each day it is late. Incompletes are not given. Loosely
defined, I interpret letter grades as follows: A = Exemplary; distinctly
above very-good work: a maturity of ideas and craft. B = Very Good; better
than what can be expected from the majority of students in a beginning
writing class. C = Good; competent writing that shows signs of a conscious
attempt to make a serious, crafted story even though it might also exhibit
some problems. D = Substandard; exhibits more problems than might be expected
from a writer who is concentrating on the task at hand. E = Go Directly
to Jail, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200; in general it's hard to fall
into this category unless through some combination involving lack
of effort, participation and/or attendance.
Schedule
Wk 1
TU. 1/14
Course Intro and Theme Assign one paragraph description of a theme
for next class
TR. 1/16
Theme and Flash Fiction
Readings:
Chap. 10 "I Gotta Use Words...Theme"
John Wildman, "The Tambourine Lady."
Jamaica Kincaid, "Girl."
Gordon Jackson, "Billy's Girl."
Steven Schutzman, "The Bank Robbery."
Stuart Dybek, "Sunday at the Zoo."
Grace Paley, "A Man Told Me the Story of His Life."
Wk 2
TU. 1/21
Contemporary Realist Fiction
TR. 1/23
Showing vs. Telling Ancillary "Significant" Detail
Readings:
Ch. 3, "Seeing Is Believing: Showing and Telling"
Bobby Ann Mason, "Shiloh"
Wk 3
TU. 1/28
Contemporary Realist Fiction (cont.)
Direct Character Presentation Speech Thought Action
Readings:
Ch. 5, "The Flesh Made Word: Characterization Part II."
Toni Cade Bambara, "My Man Bovane."
TR. 1/30
Contemporary Realist Fiction (cont.)
Story Coherence/Credibility
Readings:
Ch. 2, "War Games: Story Form and Structure."
Ch. 7, "Call Me Ishmael: Point of View, Part I."
John Cheever, "The Wrysons"
Wk 4
TU. 2/4
Workshop (in-class critique of 1/5 the class)
TR. 2/6
Workshop (in-class critique of 1/5 the class)
Wk. 5
TU. 2/11
Workshop (in-class critique of 1/5 the class)
TR. 2/14
Workshop (in-class critique of 1/5 the class)
Wk.6
TU. 2/18
Workshop (in-class critique of 1/5 the class)
TR. 2/20
The Rhetoric of Representation and Its Objects (or content drives form)
Readings:
Homer, Selection from The Iliad.
Visual Aid: Laocoön
Boccaccio, Decameron, "Fourth Day, Ninth Story."
Visual Aid: Illustration from Illuminated Manuscript Page.
Shakespeare, Selection from Othello.
Visual Aid: Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam.
Abbé Prévost, Selection from Manon Lescaut.
William Wordsworth, "The World Is Too Much with Us."
Visual Aid: William Blake, Pity.
Frank Norris, Selection from McTeague.
Visual Aid: Courbet, The Meeting or Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet.
Virginia Woolf, Selection from To the Lighthouse.
Visual Aid: Pablo Picasso, Accordionist.
Jay Cantor, Selection from Krazy Kat.
Visual Aid: Peter Blake, The Meeting or Have a Nice Day, Mr. Hockney.
Wk. 7
TU. 2/25
Self-Conscious and Post-Self-Conscious Fiction (Neo-Realism/Slip-Stream
Realism)
Telling vs. Showing
Readings:
Ch. 4, "Book People: Characterization, Part I." (flat characters,
individuals and universal characters, authorial interpretation).
Samuel Beckett, "Imagination Dead Imagine."
Alfonso Reyes, "Major Aranda's Hand."
TR. 2/27
Self-Conscious and Post-Self-Conscious Fiction (cont.)
Allegory and Symbol
Readings:
Ch. 9, "Is and Is Not"
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings."
Jorge Luis Borges, "Borges and I."
Wk.8
TU. 3/4
Self-Conscious and Post-Self-Conscious Fiction (cont.)
Genres in Discourse and/or Hybrid
Readings:
Poetry/Prose: Michael Carroll, "The Information Age"
Theory/Fiction: Susan Daitch, "Killer Whales"
Donald Barthelme, "The Glass Mountain."
Hi/Low: Curtis White, "Bonanza"
TR. 3/6
Self-Conscious and Post-Self-Conscious Fiction (cont.)
Narrators
Readings:
Ch. 8, "Assorted Liars: Point of View, Part II."
Robert Coover, "The Babysitter."
Wk. 9
3/11 & 3/13
Mid-Semester Break; no class
Wk. 10
TU. 3/18
Workshop (in-class critique of 1/5 the class)
TR. 3/20
Workshop (in-class critique of 1/5 the class)
Wk. 11
TU. 3/25
Workshop (in-class critique of 1/5 the class)
TR. 3/27
Workshop (in-class critique of 1/5 the class)
Wk. 12
TU. 4/1
Workshop (in-class critique of 1/5 the class)
TR. 4/3
Style and Meaning
Readings:
"Narrative Place" in Ch. 6.
Raymond Queneau, Selections from Exercises in Style.
Wk. 13
TU. 4/8
Narrative Time
Readings:
"Narrative Time" in Ch. 6
Flannery O'Connor, "Everything that Rises Must Converge."