Syllabus
Engl. 301-01, Fiction Writing
T&TH 12:30-1:45
343 DBRT
Steve Tomasula
Office Phone: 631-7647
Home Phone: 232-0933
E-mail: Tomasula.4@nd.edu
Office Hours: 1:50-2:40 T&TH (or by appointment), 232 Decio.

Course Description:
This is a course in writing short stories. It is conducted through a discussion format centered on stories written by students in the class as well as notable contemporary writers. In either case, students will be encouraged to read stories in terms of the techniques used to create them. We will examine the ways in which technique creates aesthetic experience and conveys ideas. No one style or type of fiction is advocated over another; in fact, students are encouraged to find their own voice, their own subject matter. However, students will be expected to write stories that demonstrate an awareness of the difference between serious literature and formula entertainment. In general, the course load will consist of readings, critique of the readings, a number of brief exercises, short stories to be turned in for class discussion and a portfolio of re-written work. Regular attendance and individual conferences required.

Texts:
Assignments:
Over the semester, students will present two major 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 number of short writing exercises, detailed critiques of each piece submitted for discussion, a number of analysis of reading assignments, and attendance at readings given by visiting authors. 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 two classes, the grade on your final assignment (and if necessary, other assignments) will be lowered one 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, 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 average: a maturity of ideas and craft. B = Very Good; better than what can be expected from the majority of students in an intermediate 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. F= 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.

Week-by-Week Schedule
When possible, class discussions will be centered on the stories written by students and referenced to the work of established authors. I'll make an effort to blur lectures and class discussions, rather than discuss student work on one day and work from the anthology/handouts on another. In general, though, I'll try to raise the following thematic issues in the order shown even if circumstances lead us to revisit some issues and leap-frog others.

Wk.1: Course Introduction/What is a Short Story
    Reading: "First Love," Samuel Beckett.
Wk 2: The Uses of Made-up Stories
    Reading: "Shiloh," Bobby Ann Mason; "In the Heart of the Heart of the Country," William Gass.

Wk. 3: Art/Entertainment--Form/Formulas
    Readings: Postscript to The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco; Selection from Vampire Chronicles, Anne Rice; Selection from Frankenstein, Mary Shelly; Selection from Love Story, Erich Segal; Selection from Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway; Various Heritage Plates from the Franklin Mint; Selection of Paintings and Performance Art.
 
Wk. 4: Anatomy of a Dud
    Exercise: Writing a cliched story; First Round of Stories for Class discussion.

Wk. 5 & 6: Short-short Fiction
    Readings: "Knowing Things," "The Surprise," Lynda Barry; "Original Sin," Ken Nordine; "Billy's Girl," Gordon Jackson; Selections from Aesops Fables; "Sunday at the Zoo," Stuart Dybek; "Video Tape," Don DeLillo. First Round of Short Short Fiction for Discussion.

Wk. 7 & 8: The Semantics of Paper/Scissors/Rock
    Selections from The Rainbow Stories, William Vollmann. First Major Story for Class Discussion.

Wk. 9: Every Story Contains Its Own User's Manual
    Readings: Selections from The Thousand and One Nights, Richard Burton trans.; "Chimera," John Barth.

Wk. 10: Disco Clothes/Hip-Hop Party
    Readings: "Snow Crash," Neal Stephenson; "Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book," Maxine Hong Kingston.

Wk. 11 & 12: Fiction as a Conceptual Art
    Readings: "Memories of My Father Watching TV," Curtis White; Selections from Stories from the Nerve Bible, Laurie Anderson. Second Round of Stories for Class Discussion.

Wk. 13: Every Word Was Once an Animal
    Reading: Selections from In the Age of Wire and String, Ben Marcus; Selections from Exercises in Style, Raymond Queneau.

Wk. 14: Movement and Narrative Pull
    Readings: "Here" by McGuire; "Lady Godiva," Dave Hickey; Selection from Trout Fishing in America, Richard Brautigan.

Wk. 15: Rewriting: Or All You Have Are Words on a Page
    Readings/Listentings: "Original Sin," Ken Nordine; Selections from The United States of Poetry; Selections from The Time Is Now, Melody Sumner Carnahan.

Wk 16: Slop in the Schedule (for when we run over time limits for everything else)
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