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Don’t get it right, just get it written.—James Thurber

Lower your standards and keep writing.—William Stafford

INSTRUCTO R : Instructor’s Name: Lisa Norris Phone Number: 509-963-1745 (Please note: I don’t check voicemail when I’m not on campus) Email address: NorrisL@cwu.edu (Email is the best way to get in touch) Office hours: Tuesday 11:30-12:45 pm; Wednesday 3:45-4:30 pm; Thursday 2-2:45 pm and by appointment

CO URSE DES CRI PTION : This workshop-based course for advanced writers of fiction requires students to write and revise their new work.

Along with review and discussion of published stories, the class will do in-class writing exercises, attend a live

performance, perform their own work in class readings, and spend most of the quarter providing feedback for each

other’s original work. Students will also be asked to co-lead workshop discussions and report on a story collection of

their own choosing. They should be prepared to spend considerable time and effort responding to published work and

peers’ writing as well as doing their own original fiction writing.

LEARNE R O UTCOM ES AND ME THODS OF ASSES SMEN T :

Outcome Assessment

Compose original literary fiction that

demonstrates a thorough knowledge of character

development, dialogue, exposition and setting.

Write and submit stories for group review.

Experiment with point of view, diction and

syntax to achieve a distinctive voice.

Imitate published models via written exercises.

Apply revision techniques modeled in the text to

clarify and deepen original passages and scenes.

Revise workshopped stories for the portfolios.

Analyze contemporary collections of stories

and/or novels, taking advantage of visiting

writers particularly, to consider how such books

are structured and arranged, and read individual

stories, analyzing them from a writer’s point of

view, considering tools of the craft.

Students’ oral participation in the workshop

gives them practice in articulating what

does/doesn’t work in stories.

ADVANCED FICTION WRITING

ENG 464 | W IN TER 2013 3-6:20 P M I N L A ND L 223

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Students will learn to use revision techniques

based on reviewers’ and instructor’s comments.

Read/perform original works of fiction, and/or

lead class discussions and/or offer individual

analyses/reviews of individual stories.

Analyze the literary market and develop

strategies for publication.

Complete quizzes on relevant reading/lecture

material and prepare original work for

submission to literary markets.

CO URSE RESO URCES :

Blackboard

Blackboard is a Learning Management System which we will use for our course. You can login to Blackboard at

http://courses.cwu.edu Your username and your password are the same one you use for Novell/Safari.

The “Blackboard Help and Support” section of the Online Learning web site at,

http://www.cwu.edu/~avpugrad/OnlineLearning/support.html, is provided to give you and your students vital

information on teaching and learning online with Blackboard.

You are required to read the information provided in both the “Getting Started” page and the “Blackboard Support”

page.

Software and Hardware

The “Technical Requirements” page provides information on the software and hardware you need for Blackboard.

Please be sure to use the correct browser specified for your operating system and computer. Also run the browser

check to be sure that you have the necessary browser settings. A plug-in check is available to be sure you have

multimedia support for audio and video in your web browser.

Some documents in this course will be presented in .pdf formats where possible. You will need Adobe Reader view

these files, which you can obtain for free at http://get.adobe.com/reader/ .

Written assignments may be presented as a Microsoft Word document (.doc). If you do not have Microsoft Word

installed on your computer, you can use Open Office Writer instead, which you can obtain for free at

http://www.openoffice.org/.

Textbook(s)

LaPlante, Alice. METHOD AND MADNESS: The Making of a Story. NY: Norton, 2009.

Egan, Jennifer. A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD. NY: Anchor, 2011.

Your peers’ and your own original work. (Set aside money to print copies from the Blackboard site: you will

be required to bring them to class as your text.)

Occasional handouts/online texts

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Presentations

Occasionally, I will make online lectures/presentations available on Blackboard.

CO URSE ACTIVI TIES : Drafting Creative Work All work in the class should be NEW—that is, hot off the press, written this quarter for this particular class. No work

done for other classes will be accepted. Please note that while lots of action and/or fantastic and/or science fiction

elements of stories can be imaginative, they do not, by themselves, make good quality literary stories. Whatever genre

you choose must include the elements of a literary fiction (see rubric below for stories).

Readings

You should have completed readings from texts assigned on the schedule by the date they appear there. Assignments

related to the readings will include quizzes, presentations and peer reviews.

Group Leadership

Twice during the quarter, you will be required to lead class discussion with a small group. You can find the assignment

for this activity under “Assignments” on the Bboard site.

Oral Performance and Presentation

Twice during the quarter, you will be asked to perform (read) your original fiction. Once you will report orally on a

book of short stories you’ve read. .

Quizzes You will be required to complete five quizzes. The lowest score of the five will be dropped.

Drafts and Revisions of Original Work

You will turn in two story drafts for whole-class peer review. Drafts should be a mininum of 2,000 words and no more

than 3,500 words. Using your peers’ and the instructor’s comments, you will revise that work for the midterm and

final portfolios. Revisions must be a minimum of 3,000 words. There is no maximum length for the revisions.

Response to Live Performance of Fiction

You are required to respond to one live literary performance, preferably by a fiction writer--I have suggested a couple

of readings in the class schedule. Using one or more techniques you observe in the writer’s presentation, you will

write a fictional piece of your own.

Graduate Students Only Graduate students are required to do something extra to earn their advanced credits. They will be asked to present an

extra oral report to the class--either on the literary marketplace (by examining five top national literary magazines) or

on the MFA/PhD programs (by examining five of the top programs in the country).

CO URSE POLICIES :

Instructor Feedback/Communication

I will be writing comments on your story drafts and revisions and scoring quizzes, peer reviews, oral presentations,

and group leadership materials.

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I will announce changes to the schedule in class and use Announcements tool in Blackboard to offer those and other

course-related information.

Student Feedback/Communication I welcome all feedback on the course. My preferred method of communication with individual students is via email. I

am also available for office hours as noted above.

If you experience a legitimate emergency (according to my standards) which will prevent you from completing

required coursework on time, I expect you to communicate with me at the earliest reasonable opportunity. Please

state the nature of the emergency, and when you expect to turn in the coursework.

Submitting Electronic Files

All electronic files must be submitted in .doc or .pdf format. If you do not have Microsoft Word, you can download

Open Office Writer for free at http://www.openoffice.org/. This will allow you to open the instruction files, make

changes and save in .doc or .pdf. I will ask you to upload some of your assignments to the Blackboard site.

Late Work

Late work is not accepted. If extenuating circumstances exist, contact instructor.

Missed course requirements are entered into grades as “0” points.

The due date and time associated with each quiz, discussion, exam and assignment are stated clearly in Blackboard

and on the Course Schedule. You have the opportunity to do up to two points of Extra Credit to make up for missed

work, if you turn in a response to a live literary performance, in fictional form.

The Writing Center Tutors at the Writing Center are available to help you with your work. See the website for further details:

http://www.cwu.edu/~writingcenter/

Diversity

In my classroom, diversity is welcomed and celebrated. I will not tolerate any forms of prejudice or discrimination,

including those based on age, color, disability, gender, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual

orientation, or veteran status. We are here to learn in a climate of civility and mutual respect.

We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.—Anne Frank

To find out more about diversity, contact the Diversity Education Center at X1685 or see the website at:

www.cwu.edu/~diversity

Revisions

Revisions are built into the class plan as part of the final portfolio. No revisions will be accepted beyond the given due

dates for them on the class schedule.

RUBRI CS

Oral Class Participation

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The class participation grade is a subjective grade I give you based on your “performance” in our general class

discussions. Typically, a bad grade can be earned in one of three ways: 1) by not taking part in our discussions, 2) by

not preparing enough to take part, and/or 3) by not being in class enough to take part in a substantive way. A vital

part of our class involves responding to writing by your peers both out loud and in writing.

Score

Grading Narrative

A

Someone who has been a reliable and constant positive force in class and who likely has

never missed more than one class and whose comments reflect excellent consideration of

the class readings.

B A reliable and constant positive force who may have missed two classes and whose

comments reflect a good, but not thorough, consideration of the readings.

C

A mostly positive force in class, but sometimes unprepared to fully engage us. Someone

who has likely missed more than two classes and whose comments reflect some

familiarity with the readings.

D Someone who has not contributed enough to be a positive force through poor

attendance, poor participation, or poor preparedness.

Story Evaluation Rubric

UNIVERSI TY POLI CIES :

An excellent story can be evaluated in terms of its ENERGY, TENSION, STRUCTURE, IMAGES and

INSIGHT. You may also recognize the quality of a story by using the following criteria:

1. Believable, consistent and engaging plot or, if the story is nontraditional, some other kind of

structure that works to move the story and connect events

2. Fully developed, consistent and engaging characters

3. Interesting voice

4. Well controlled and appropriate point of view

5. Well-evoked settings

6. Clear and interesting themes which provide insight about human lives

7. Excellent prose rhythms

8. Clear and interesting word choices

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Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity is a standard set for this course. Students are expected to complete all of their coursework and

assignments using their original words and ideas and will properly cite the words and ideas of others. Students are

also expected to be honest in their interactions with the instructor. A student found to have not upheld these

expectations is subject to failing this course and shall be subject to disciplinary action or sanction. The University

catalog defines the term “academic dishonesty” in all its forms including, but not limited to:

cheating on tests;

copying from another student’s test paper;

using materials during a test not authorized by the person giving the test;

collaboration with any other person during a test without authority;

knowingly obtaining, using, buying, selling, transporting, or soliciting in whole or in part the contents of an

unadministered test or information about an unadministered test;

bribing any other person to obtain an unadministered test or information about an unadministered test;

substitution for another student or permitting any other person to substitute for oneself to take a test;

plagiarism" which shall mean the appropriation of any other person's work and the unacknowledged

incorporation of that work in one's own work offered for credit;

"collusion" which shall mean the unauthorized collaboration with any other person in preparing work offered

for credit.

Documented incidences of Academic Dishonesty will be referred to Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs.

Special Needs

If you have a disability that may prevent you from meeting course requirements, contact the instructor immediately to

file a Student Disability Statement and to develop an Accommodation Plan. Course requirements will not be waived

but reasonable accommodations will be developed to help you meet the requirements. You are expected to work with

the instructor and the CWU Disability Support Specialist to develop and implement a reasonable Accommodation

Plan. For contact information at Center for Disability Services (CDS) please visit http://www.cwu.edu/~dss/cms/.

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GRADING : Your grade will be based on the following:

Component Percentages Oral Class Participation 10

Quizzes 5

Group Leadership (2 @ 2.5 each) 5

Workshop Responses 10

Response to a live literary performance (fiction reading) in fictional form

5

Story Draft #1 10

Story Draft #2 10

Midterm Revision 20

Final Revision 20

Book Review/Oral Report 5 (2.5 for grad students)

Extra Report for Grad Students only 2.5 for grad students only

TOTAL 100

Extra Credit (for additional response to live literary performance)

2

Your grade will be calculated using the following scale:

Grade Percentange Range

A 100 – 93%

A- 92 – 90%

B+ 89 – 87%

B 86 – 83%

B- 82 – 80%

C+ 79 – 77%

C 76 – 73%

C- 72 – 70%

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SCHED ULE :

WEEK TO PIC CO URSEW ORK DUE THIS WEE K

Week I

Jan 3

Introduction: Literary vs Escapist Fiction, Sentimentality vs. Not Knowing, Details

Read LaPlante, Chpts. 1-3

MON Jan 7

Story Opening Story opening due (about 300 words or one double-spaced page in 12-point font) by midnight

Story opening due on Bboard

Week II

Jan 10

Story Form, Beginnings, Plot, Character and Dramatization

Read LaPlante, Chpts. 4-5, 9-11

Quiz #1

√Paragraph of comments due on story openings for each member of your leadership group (post on Bboard beneath the story opening itself)

√Title of book you want to review and partner’s name

Week III

Jan 17

Point of View, Dialogue and Theme/Insight

Read LaPlante, Chpts. 6-8, 12 Quiz #2

Week IV

MON JAN 19

Story due Story #1 due on Blackboard (Discussion Board forum for Story #1) by midnight

Story #1 due on Blackboard by Monday, Jan 19, at midnight

Week IV

Jan 24

Workshop for Story #1

Group 2 leads Group 1 stories + Barthelme

(LaPlante 491) Group 1 leads Group 2 stories + George

Saunders (handout)

Peer responses due

Group reports due for Groups 1 and 2

Week V

TUES JAN 29

Lion Rock VWS

7:30 pm, SURC THEATRE, Karen Spears Zacharias reads prose

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Week V

Jan 31

Workshop for Story #1

Group 4 leads Group 3 stories + Bass (LaPlante 499)

Group 3 leads Group 4 stories + Carter (LaPlante 512)

Peer responses due

Group reports due for Groups 3 and 4

MON FEB 4

Seattle reading by a post-modern master

George Saunders reads fiction at 7:30 pm in Seattle; info at townhallseattle.org; tickets $5

Week VI

Feb 7

Theme/Insight Revisited, Revision, and Performance

LaPlante Chpt 13 and revisit Chpt 12

Jennifer Egan: “Found Objects,” “The Gold Cure,” “Ask Me if I Care”

Midterm reading/celebration

Quiz #3

√MIDTERM REVISION DUE via Assignments on Bboard

3-4 minute oral performance of original fiction

Week VII

MONDAY FEB 10

Story #2 Story #2 due by midnight on Discussion Board forum for Story #2

Story #2 due on DB forum by midnight

Week VII

Feb 14

Story #2 Workshop

Group 2 leads Group 1 stories + Gowdy (LaPlante 519)

Group 1 leads Group 2 stories + McPherson

Peer Responses due

Group Reports due for Groups 1 and 2

First call for live literary performance response

Week VIII

TUES Feb 19

Lion Rock VWS

7:30, SURC THEATRE: Lion Rock Visiting Writers Series—Tom Wayman

Week VIII

Feb 21

Story #2 Workshop

Group 4 leads Group 3 stories + Orner

Group 3 leads Group 4 stories + Munro

Peer Responses due

Group Reports due for Groups 3 and 4

Week IX

Feb 28

Short Story Collections, Literary Marketplace

Jennifer Egan: “Goodbye, My Love,” “Great Rock and Roll Pauses”

Literary Marketplace

Book Reviews

Quiz #4

Oral Presentation of Book Review

Week X Short Story Collections continued,

Book Reviews and Graduate Extra Reports Quiz #5

Live Performance

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March 7 Final Performance

Jennifer Egan, “Pure Language”

Final Reading/Celebration

Responses due

Finals Week

March 14

FINAL EXAM Final Revision due by 5 pm Thursday, March 14, via Blackboard site.