“Read
to know others; to know self; to know things; to find a difficult ple
asure;
to share with readers and writers.”
Imaginative Writing—The Novel
English 207—Beginning Workshop in Imaginative
Writing
Course Description, Competency, Requirements,
& Policies
Instructor: Jude Roy
Office: JHG 345A
Office Telephone: (270) 824-8624
Email: jude.roy@kctcs.edu
Website: www.madisonville.kctcs.edu/jroy
Textbook: Sherry Ellis, Ed. Now Write.
Supplies: Paper and copying access.
“I’m writing a book.
I’ve got the page numbers done.”
Steven Wright
Course Description: English
207 (Beginning Workshop in Imaginative Writing: Novel) is "a beginning
course in the craft of writing, teaching students how to read critically and
how to revise work in progress. The students provide an audience for each
other's work. Exercises involve practice in aspects of craft and promote
experimentation with different forms, subjects, and approaches; outside
readings provide models and inspiration. May be repeated under different
subtitle to a maximum of six credit hours. Prereq: Consent of
instructor." (
“Times are
bad. Children no longer obey their
parents, and everyone is writing a book.”
Goal: The purpose of ENG 207 is to
give students a direct forum in which to write and critique their own work and
the work of their peers. Our objectives
are to develop increasingly sophisticated strategies for writing and revising
fiction and to establish a context for serious discussion of contemporary novel
writing.
Plagiarism: Submit only work that is
a product of your own blood, tears and sweat.
If you plagiarize, you fail the course.
“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”
Groucho
Marx
Attendance: Due to the nature of
this class, your attendance is essential and indeed mandatory. I need you here and your classmates need you
here. I also realize that as writers, we
sometimes want to go off and be by ourselves; we have that innate need to be
alone. A workshop is designed to put you
face-to-face with other writers and as my friend Greg Hagan states, “Iron
sharpens iron.” Your fellow writers will
help you become a better writer, but in order for that to happen, we must all
be in the class together. I realize
circumstances will arise that are beyond your control. I will allow three absences without penalty. More than three will result in the lowering
of a student’s final grade.
“The man who
doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read
them.”
Mark Twain
Peer Review:
“There is no
such thing as a moral or an immoral book.
Books are well written or badly written.”
Oscar Wilde
Grading: Good writing grows out of
an inner necessity antithetical to the grading process. Because ours is a college writing workshop
grades are inevitable. It is my policy
to reserve the grade of A for those students who not only work hard but who
show ability for writing. Criteria for
grading include:
1.
The
quality of the work, (a final packet of no less than twenty five double-spaced
pages and no more than fifty)
2.
The
quality of workshop assignments (you must workshop at least two pieces of ten
or more double-spaced pages)
3.
Class
attendance, the level of engagement in class discussion, effort and progress,
and the extensiveness of your comments on your peers’ work—remember, as you
judge others, so shall you be judged (or something like that)
4.
The
quality of your oral report (a brief report on your favorite writer and your
favorite book) and the quality of your journal (basically a working journal
that reflects your semester effort)
You have
one additional requirement:
·
You must
research at least three agents and publishers who might be interested in your
“book”
“...and before I knew what I was doing, I had kicked
the typewriter and threw it around the room and made it beg for mercy. At this point the typewriter pleaded for me
to dress him in feminine attire but instead I pressed his margin release over
and over again until the typewriter lost consciousness. Presently, I regained consciousness and
realized with shame what I had done. My
shame is gone and now I looking for a submissive typewriter, any color, or
model. No electric typewriters please!”
Rick Kleiner
Instructional
Activities: Students will write at least twenty-five (double-spaced) pages of a
novel during the course of a semester that reflects revision of the workshopped
material. The class will read and
discuss work turned in by class members—two pieces of at least ten
(double-spaced) pages—with an eye toward both craft and vision. Students will also be asked to write
additional pieces that grow out of writing exercises. Students will give a brief report on their
favorite writer and their favorite book.
Students will keep an informal journal during the course of the semester
that reflects their semester effort in the class.
“I wrote a few children’s books...not on purpose.”
Steven Wright
Please
note: On the day a work is due, students
should bring enough copies for everyone in the class. ALL WORK MUST BE TYPED. One final note
on this: Students may if they wish email
copies of their works to other members, but it must be done in a timely
manner. We must have ample time to read
and consider the work.
Late Work
Policy: If you notify me before the due
date that your work will be late, I will accept late work, but only if it is
timely. Please remember that this is a
workshop. If you don’t have your work
ready when you promise, we cannot workshop it.
Your classmates have busy lives, too.
Be considerate.
(In a
letter)”Thank you for sending me a copy of your book. I’ll waste no time reading it.”
Moses Hadas
Make-up
Policy: Please see the Late Work
Policy. Late assignments will be
workshopped at the first opportune time.
Withdrawal
Policy: The instructor of this course
adheres to the schedule published in the Madisonville Community College
Calendar—see Course Calendar for specific schedule.
Incomplete Grade Policy: A grade of "incomplete" will be given only in cases involving emergency or illness. If an "incomplete" is assigned, a student will have thirty days to complete all missing work to have the "incomplete" changed to a letter grade.
“My girlfriend does
her nails with white-out. When she’s
asleep, I go over there and write misspelled words on them.”
Steven
Wright
Manuscript
preparation: Copies must be legible: use a dark black ink. All written work
must be typed. Place your name on every
page and date and title on the first page. No title pages necessary. Use
standard size (12 pitch) font type (Times New Roman or similar).
Themes: Grading Distribution:
Oral report, & Journal = 10%
Workshop (Two ten page pieces –
double-spaced) = 30%
Final Packet (Twenty-five pages
double-spaced)* = 30%
Class Participation & Attendance =
20%
Exercises & research = 10%
(*Please no more than fifty
pages. I have a life too.)
A=100-90
B= 89-80
C= 79-70
D= 69-60
E= 59 and below
“Politics is
not a bad profession. If you succeed there
are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.”
Ronald Reagan
General
Education Competencies:
1. Students should be able to read with comprehension
A. Students will improve their ability to read published literary texts
B. Students will learn to offer oral and/or written constructive criticism of their classmates’ writing
a. Students will analyze, summarize, and interpret a variety of reading materials
2. Students should be able to interact cooperatively with others
A. Students will learn to offer constructive criticism of their classmates’ writing
a. Students will demonstrate a respect for and an understanding of other students’ opinions/ideas during class discussions
3. Students should be able to demonstrate information processing through basic computer skills
A. Students will learn to write and edit their work using computers.
a. Students will compose their work using word processing
1. Students should be able to interpret creative expressions, resources and/or data
A. Students will learn to employ basic approaches to the analysis of a literary
text.
a. Students will analyze and interpret literature, including the creative
writing of other members of the class.
b. Students will participate in class/group discussions, workshops, and
write short papers of analysis and interpretation
c. Students will use literary terminology in their analysis
1. Students should be able to apply learning.
A. Students will practice the process of writing, from invention to
proofreading and make appropriate rhetorical decisions in the writing
process.
a. Students will revise the majority of the imaginative literature they
produce for this class
2. Students should be able to think creatively
A. Students will practice the process of synthesizing ideas and information in
an original way
a. Students will produce original creative work in the form of fiction,
poetry, and/or drama
Disability Statement: "If you have a documented disability and need any type of accommodation, you are required to register with the Disability Resource Coordinator. Contact Valerie Wolfe, Disability Resource Coordinator, Room 112 LRC, (270) 824-1708.
"Writing is easy. You just sit down at the
typewriter and open a vein."
Red
Smith
Calendar
79178 ENG207 11:00-12:15 MW 213JHG
Office Hours
1:00 – 2:30 TR
8:00 – 11:00 MW
8:00 – 10:00 FRI
Or by Appointment
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Note: This course calendar is subject to change, (in fact, you can count on it) and students are responsible for noting any changes. Jan 14 Class
work begins. Students may add class with faculty approval only Jan 16 Last
day to register for a class WITH faculty approval. Jan 21 Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday – No Classes. |
Week 1 (Plot)
Jan. 14 & 16
Introduction
Discussion and Exercises: Why write a book? Writing habits? Publications?
Read for Week 2: “Wedding Pictures” Jayne Ann Philips, pp 3-4; “Through the Senses” Robert Olen Butler, pp 5-7; “My Pet” Alison Lurie, pp 8-9; “Two People Come Out of a Building and Into a Story” Alice Mattison pp 10-11; “The Seed”Alexander Chee pp 12-15; “Truthful Dare” Diana Abu-Jaber pp 16-18; “The Photograph” Jill McCorkle pp 19-20; “The Prefab Story Exercise Rick Hillis pp21-23; “The Upside-Down Bird: Hybridizing Memory, Place, and Invention” Maria Flook pp 24-30; “A Map to Anywhere” Paul Lisicky pp 31-32; “Starting with the News” Chuck Wachtel pp 33-35; “Wedding Cake Assignment” Debra Spark pp 36-38; “A Tabula Rasa Experiment” Katherine A. Vaz pp 39-42; “Collage” Karen Brennan pp 43-44; “The Five Senses” Dan Wakefield pp 45-46; “Birth of a Story in an Hour or Less” Crystal Wilkinson pp 47-51; “Surrealism Exercise, or Thinking Outside the Box” Laurie Foos pp 52-53; “Overcoming Dry Spells” Leslie Schwartz pp 54-56; “Field Trip” Virgil Suarez pp 57-58; “Smushing Seed Ideas Together” David Michael Kaplan pp 59-62; “The Writing Exercise: A Recipe” Kathleen Spivack pp 63-64; “Elements of a Successful Novel;” “Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire;” “The Inciting Event;” “What is Plot?” “Writing Pattern”
Assignment: Complete the Philips exercise for Wednesday Jan 23. Bring the one page exercise and the picture to class.
This is not a literature course, per se, but we do need to understand
how a novel is created in order to create a novel.
Week 2 Jan. 23 (Plot)
Discussion and Exercises
Read for Week 3*: “Fictional Building Blocks” Dan Chaon pp 155-157; “Keep the Engine Running” Renee Manfredi pp 158-159; “The Riff” Fred Leebron pp 160-161; “Sticking to the Structure” Sean Murphy and Tania Casselle pp 165-167; “What am I Writing About? Clarifying Story Ideas through Summary” Kirby Gann pp 168-170; “The Richness of Resonance” Douglas Bauer pp 171-172;”Storyboard Your Story” Brent Spencer pp 162-164; “Beginnings;” “Storyboarding;” “Ten Points on Plotting;” “The Philosophy of Plot;” “Assessment of Plot” “Plot Scenario Exercise”
Assignment: “A Four-step Exercise in Plot Development.” Complete exercise and bring one-page result to class.
*
Week 3 Jan 28 & 30 (The Last Words on Plot)
Discussion and Exercises
Assignment: “Plot Scenario Exercise” due Jan 30.
Assignment: “The Photograph” pp 19-20. Complete McCorkle’s exercise and bring one-page result to class along with photograph. Due Feb 4.
Week 4 Feb 4 & 6 (Character)
Discussion and exercises
Assignment: “Character Interview.” Conduct character interview and bring to class. Due Feb 6.
Assignment: “Paw Through Their Pockets, Rifle Through Their Drawers: A Character Exercise” pp 107-108. Complete Basch’s exercise and bring the one-page results to class. Due Feb 11
Week 5 Feb 11 & 13 (Character)
Discussion and exercises:
Workshops.
Assignment: “Language Portrait” pp 105-106. Complete Abani’s exercise and bring one-page result to class. Due Feb 20.
In class exercise Feb 11: Write a list of your earliest memories including all the colors, shapes, movements, tastes you can recall.
Week 6 Feb 18 & 20 (Setting)
Discussion and exercises
“The Character of Setting” Jim Heynen pp 177-178; *“Animating the Inanimate” Joan Leegant pp 179-180; “Learning to Layer” Venise Berry pp 181-183; “A Sense of Place” Patricia Powell pp 184-185; “Be the Tree” John Smolens pp 186-187; “A Very, Very Long Sentence” Geoffrey Becker pp 188-189; *“Most Memorable Food: Using Sensory Detail” Karen E. Bender pp 190-192; “Like Water for Words: A Simile Exercise” Bret Anthony Johnson 193-196;
Workshops
Assignment: “A Very, Very Long Sentence” pp 188-189. Complete Becker’s exercise and bring result to class. Due Feb 25.
Assignment: “Like Water for Words: A Simile Exercise” pp 193-196. Complete Johnson’s exercise and bring result to class. Due Feb 27.
Week 7 Feb 25 & 27 (Setting)
“Snoop ‘Da Dialogue” Steven Schwartz pp 137-138; “Dialogue Without Words” Sands Hall pp 139-141; “Hearing Voices” Lon Otto pp 142-144; “Dialogue Exercise: The Non-Apology” Thomas Fox Averill pp 145-147; *“Levels of Dialogue” Douglas Unger pp 148-151;
Discussion and exercises
Workshops.
Assignment: “Learning to Layer” pp 181-183. Complete
Assignment: “Snoop ‘Da Dialogue” pp 137-138. Complete Schwartz’ exercise and bring results to class. Due Mar 05.
Week 8 Mar 03 & 05 (Dialogue)
“A Story to Tell” Nina de Gramont pp 67-68; “First-Person Point of View: Imagining and Inhabiting Character” Maureen McCoy 69-70; “You-Me-I-You in the Cafeteria” Clyde Edgerton pp 71-72; “Getting Characters’ Ages Right” Martha Cooley pp 73-75; “What are They Thinking? A Point-of-View Exercise” Paula Morris pp 76-77; “Third-Person Narration and ‘Psychic Distance’” Daphne Kalotay pp 78-81; “Look Backward, Angel” Eileen Pollack pp 82-83; “Let the Dead Speak: An Exercise in First-Person Narration” Laura Kasischke pp 84-86;
Discussion and exercises.
Workshop.
Assignment: “Dialogue Without Words” pp 139-141. Complete Hall’s exercise and bring result to class. Due Mar 17.
Assignment: “You-Me-I-You in the Cafeteria” pp 71-72. Complete Edgerton’s exercise and bring one-page result to class. Due Mar 19.
Week 9 Mar 10-15
Spring Break. Stay home and write.
Week 10 Mar 17 & 19 (Point of View)
Discussion and exercises.
Workshops.
Assignment: “Let the Dead Speak: An Exercise in First-Person Narration” pp84-86. Complete Kasischke’s exercise and bring one-page result to class. Due Mar 24.
Week 11 Mar 24 & 26 (Craft)
“Finding a Larger Truth by Turning Autobiography into Fiction” Susan Vreeland pp 199-201; “Secrets of the Great Scene” Sheila Kohler pp 202-205; “Hemingway’s Caroms: Descriptive Showing and Telling” Tony Ardizzone pp 206-207; “How to Own a Story” Robert Boswell pp 208-210; “Object Lessons” Elizabeth Searle pp 211-213; “The Goldilocks Method” Rosellen Brown pp 214-217; “Big Scenes” Sandra Scofield pp 218-220; “Moving Through Time: A Four-Paragraph Short Short” Nancy Reisman pp 221-223; “Using the Retrospective Lens” Joy Passamante pp 224-225; “Water Buddies” Amy Bloom pp 226-227; “Listening to Sound to Find Sense” Victoria Redel pp 228-229; Entraces: Building Bigger Scenes” Lynne Barrette pp 230-232: “The Five Second Shortcut to Writing in the Lyric Register” Steve Almond 233-234; “Meaning Making Via Metaphor” Christopher Busa pp 235-238; “Soundtracking Your Story” Christopher Castellani pp 239-241; “Negative Capability” Robert Cohen pp 242-243;
Discussion and exercise.
Workshops.
Assignment: “Secrets of the Great Scene” pp 202-205. Compete Kohler’s exercise and bring result to class. Due Apr 02.
Week 12 Mar 31 & Apr 02 (More About Craft)
Discussion and exercises.
Workshops.
Assignment: “How to Own a Story” pp 208-210. Complete Boswell’s exercise. Come to class prepared to discuss it. Due Apr 09.
Week 13 Apr 07 & 09 (And Even More About Craft)
Discussion & exercises
Workshops.
Assignment: “Object Lessons” pp 211-213. Complete Searle’s exercise and bring result to class. Due Apr 14.
Week 14 Apr 14 & 16 (A Few Words About Revision—to
see again)
“Seven Drafts in Seven Days” Porter Shreve pp 247-249; “More is More: An Exercise in Revising Your Story” Ann Harleman pp 250-253; “Potholes” Brian Kitely pp 254-256; “The Dark Matter: Twenty Issues in Novel Revision” Jonis Agee pp 257-262;
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Loman C. Trover Library Reading Series featuring Ann Neelan and Greg Hagan. The reading begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Loman C. Trover Library. Drinks and snacks will be provided. I expect all you writers to attend this reading. If you can’t, you should have a good reason. |
Discussion & exercises.
Workshops.
Assignment: “Seven Drafts in Seven Days” pp 247-249. Complete Shreve’s exercise and come to class prepared to discuss it. Due Apr 18.
Week 15 Apr 16 & 18
Discussion & exercises.
Workshops.
Assignment: “The Dark Matter: Twenty Issues in Novel Revision” pp 257-262. Read Agee’s exercise and come to class prepared to discuss it. Due Apr.21.
Oral Report due Apr 21 until all class members have given a report. (A short report on your favorite writer. Give us a brief biography and read no more than one page from one of his/her novels: enough to give us a “taste” of his/her style.)
Week 15 Apr 23 & 25
Discussion & exercises
Workshops.
Assignment: Bring in your research of (no less than) three agents and three publishers who might be interested in your book. Briefly include a paragraph why each one might be interested. Due Apr 28.
Week 16 Apr 28 & 30
Discussion & exercises.
Workshops.
Week 17 May 5-10 (Finals Week)
Final for this class is May 5 at 11:00 a.m. (All students will come to class for the final day. We will workshop student work if there are any left. All students will turn in copies of their revised workshopped fiction totaling at least 20 pages and no more than 50 pages.)
“Sit down and put down everything that comes into your
head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own
stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of
it.”
Francois Mauriac