Creative Writing: Advanced Fiction
MALA 60223-080
Reed 331
Williams, Spring Semester 2011

Course description:
Advanced Fiction is intended to help students improve their skills in fiction writing. The course will be primarily conducted as a workshop, and students will be expected to submit their submit their fiction for class discussion at least twice during the semester. In addition to the workshops, there will also be discussions of fictional elements and techniques, and there will be assigned readings to illustrate the discussions.

01/12, W
introduction

01/19, W
Fiction Workshop
“Up in Michigan,” Hemingway [internet]
“Sources of Fiction,” 9-25, FWW

01/26, W
Fiction Workshop
“Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway [internet]
“Setting,” 26-44, FWW

02/02, W
Fiction Workshop, with Jim Lee
“It’s the Law,” Lee [class distribution]
“Character,” 45-63, FWW

02/09, W
Fiction Workshop
“Weekend,” Beattie, 33, ASSM
“Plot,” 64-86, FWW

02/16, W
Fiction Workshop, with Jim Lee
“Rock Springs,” 190, ASSM
“Point of View,” 87-109, FWW

02/23, W
Class Cancelled

03/02, W
Fiction Workshop
“Water Liars,” Hannah, 267, ASSM
“Dialogue and Scene,” 110-129, FWW


03/09, W
Fiction Workshop
“Shiloh,” Mason, 311, ASSM
“Beginnings and Endings,” 130-150, FWW

03/16, W
Spring Break

03/23, W
Fiction Workshop
“Where Are You Gong, Where Have You Been,” Oates, 378, ASSM
“Description and Word Choice,” 151-169, FWW

03/30, W
Fiction Workshop
“Redemption,” Gardner, 223, ASSM
“Voice,” 170-189, FWW

04/06, W
Fiction Workshop
“”The Used-Boy Raisers,” Paley, 393, ASSM
“Revision,” 190-206, FWW

04/13, W
Fiction Workshop
“The Heavenly Animal,” Philips, 399, ASSM

04/20, W
Final Presentations

04/27, W
Final Presentations

Requirements:

1. Short Stories. During the semester you will be required to write two short stories and submit them for class discussion. These stories must be submitted by their due dates.

2. Short Writing Assignments. Throughout the semester you will be given creative prompts, such as a quotation, question, or challenge, and asked to write responses. These assignments might be sketches, scene descriptions, character studies, or remembrances, and they will be in prose, poetry, and dramatic dialogue. The short assignments will primarily be written in class.

3. Workshops. The class will primarily be run as a workshop in which students will help each other improve their fictional work. At different times during the semester you must submit your two short stories (or fictional equivalent) for peer review. Before the scheduled workshop dates, you must post your stories online for the rest of the class to read.

We will use a course blog for our postings and distributions. In order to do this you must
first create your own individual blog. With the help of technology at Blogger
(http://www.blogger.com?), you will build your own web log, or “blog,” and throughout
the semester when you are scheduled for peer review you will upload your stories to your personal blog, which will then be linked to our central course blog.

In addition to posting your stories, you will also use the course blog to respond in
writing to the stories submitted by your fellow students. You do not have to comment on
every story, but by the end of the semester I expect that you will have responded in writing to a minimum of 10 stories (out of a total of 30 stories that we will be generating as a class). What you write is up to you. You do not have to write a complicated textual analysis. Your purpose is to offer constructive, supportive suggestions to help your classmate improve her or his draft. I ask that you offer specific suggestions for revision and improvement. Comment on what you like in the story and then offer specific ideas for further revision. Please do not simply write: “I think this is really great as it is. Doesn’t need a thing.” And please do not write: “I just don’t get it. Better start over.” Always be polite and helpful. We are working together as collaborators. No one writes alone in a vacuum. Your responses should be from a paragraph to a page in length. At the end of the semester your responses will receive a cumulative grade according to how helpful and constructive they were.

Additionally, I also ask that you respond in writing to 4 of the assigned stories that we will read as a class (out of a total of the 11 stories listed above). These responses can range from a paragraph to a page in length, and they should comment on your experiences as a reader—what you liked or disliked about the story.

You are also welcome to use your blog to reflect on your experiences throughout the
semester, as a writer, as a student, as an individual living in a complex world, commenting on whatever moves you to write. But please remember that a blog is not a personal—and private—diary.

Blogging is a less formal form of writing than an essay, and thus blogs are a good forum to reflect, analyze, vent, explore, and consider. But blogs are also a more public form of writing and, because of the technology, an excellent way of sharing, collaborating, and responding. But please keep in mind that blogs are a public forum, accessible to anyone who has internet access, so please do not post anything that you would not share with the classroom and internet communities. I do not formally restrict or limit subjects or language, but please bear in mind that what you post—as a writer or responder—reflects who you are. By no means do you want to be perceived as ignorant, vulgar, or obscene.
If you think you want to test the boundaries of decorum and civility, and are unsure if you should post, please see me ahead of time.

The course blog will be our forum for dialogue and exchange.

4. Final Presentations. During the last two class sessions you will be expected to present
what you consider your best story back to the class. You will have a 5 to 10 minute slot for your presentation. How you present is up to you. You may give a reading, use PowerPoint, create a video, act out a part, or stage a dramatization. The possibilities are numerous, and you may ask the help of your classmates if you need another reader, actor, or stage hand. I ask three things. First, consider carefully what you think is your best story and how best to present it as a reflection of your semester’s work. Tell your classmates what you think your story is about and what you hope they will experience when reading your story. Second, put some creative thought into your presentation. I would like the presentations be engaging and interesting. And third, please keep in mind the time limit. Though ten minutes seems like a long time, it’s really not. The average page of prose read quickly takes around 2 minutes, so without any gestures or effects a prose reading will max out at 5 pages. Please check your time beforehand. Along with your presentation, I ask for a one-page explanation stating why you think this is your best story and what you hope readers will gain from reading your story.

5. Final Portfolios. At the end of the semester, no later than our last class on April 27
you will be required to submit a final portfolio of your two stories in their final drafts.
In addition, you will also be required to write a brief 1 to 2-page self-reflective introduction describing yourself as a writer and discussing the strengths of your two stories. This portfolio will showcase your creative writing skills.

6. Attendance and Participation. You are required to take an active part in this course and
to assume responsibility for its success. Both attendance and participation are required.
Missing more than three classes will result in failure. Borderline grades will be
affected by participation. Those who actively contribute will always receive the benefit of doubt.

7. An appreciation of irony and a sense of humor are required.

Grading Scale:

Two Stories 40% (20% each)
Written Blog Responses 20%
Final Presentation 15%
Final Portfolios-- 15%
Short Assignments-- 5%
Oral Participation-- 5%

Required Text:
Lamotte, Bird by Bird: Instructions for Writing and Life
Carver, American Short Story Masterpieces
Novakovitch, Fiction Writer’s Workshop

Dan Williams
Reed 414D or TCU Press (3000 Sandage)
Office hours: Friday, 10-noon, and by appointment
Phone: #6250 (Reed Hall office), #5907 (TCU Press)
Email: d.e.williams@tcu.edu

Course Outcomes:

--gain a familiarity with the craft and techniques of fiction writing
--develop advanced skills in fiction writing
--produce a final portfolio of original fiction

Academic Conduct: An academic community requires the highest standards of honor and integrity in all of its participants if it is to fulfill its missions. In such a community faculty, students, and staff are expected to maintain high standards of academic conduct. The purpose of this policy is to make all aware of these expectations. Additionally, the policy outlines some, but not all, of the situations which can arise that violate these standards. Further, the policy sets forth a set of procedures, characterized by a "sense of fair play," which will be used when these standards are violated. In this spirit, definitions of academic misconduct are listed below. These are not meant to be exhaustive. I. ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT Any act that violates the spirit of the academic conduct policy is considered academic misconduct. Specific examples include, but are not limited to: A. Cheating. Includes, but is not limited to: 1. Copying from another student's test paper, laboratory report, other report, or computer files and listings. 2. Using in any academic exercise or academic setting, material and/or devices not authorized by the person in charge of the test. 3. Collaborating with or seeking aid from another student during an academic exercise without the permission of the person in charge of the exercise. 4. Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in its entirety or in part, the contents of a test or other assignment unauthorized for release. 5. Substituting for another student, or permitting another student to substitute for oneself, in a manner that leads to misrepresentation of either or both students work. B. Plagiarism. The appropriation, theft, purchase, or obtaining by any means another's work, and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of that work as one's own offered for credit. Appropriation includes the quoting or paraphrasing of another's work without giving credit therefore. C. Collusion. The unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing work offered for credit. D. Abuse of resource materials. Mutilating, destroying, concealing, or stealing such materials. E. Computer misuse. Unauthorized or illegal use of computer software or hardware through the TCU Computer Center or through any programs, terminals, or freestanding computers owned, leased, or operated by TCU or any of its academic units for the purpose of affecting the academic standing of a student. F. Fabrication and falsification. Unauthorized alteration or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise. Falsification involves altering information for use in any academic exercise. Fabrication involves inventing or counterfeiting information for use in any academic exercise. G. Multiple submission. The submission by the same individual of substantial portions of the same academic work (including oral reports) for credit more than once in the same or another class without authorization. H. Complicity in academic misconduct. Helping another to commit an act of academic misconduct. I. Bearing false witness. Knowingly and falsely accusing another student of academic misconduct.

Disabilities Statement:

Texas Christian University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding students with disabilities. Eligible students seeking accommodations should contact the Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities in the Center for Academic Services located in Sadler Hall, 11. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations. Further information can be obtained from the Center for Academic Services, TCU Box 297710, Fort Worth, TX 76129, or at (817) 257-7486.

Adequate time must be allowed to arrange accommodations and accommodations are not retroactive; therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the academic term for which they are seeking accommodations. Each eligible student is responsible for presenting relevant, verifiable, professional documentation and/or assessment reports to the Coordinator. Guidelines for documentation may be found at http://www.acs.tcu.edu/DISABILITY.HTM.

Students with emergency medical information or needing special arrangements in case a building must be evacuated should discuss this information with their instructor/professor as soon as possible.



If there is a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it. --Toni Morrison

As to the Adjective: when in doubt, strike it out. --Mark Twain

Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines, a machine no unnecessary parts. --William Strunk