Donald Wolff

Writing 342:  Intermediate Fiction Writing

Office Hours:  TR 11-12, W 10-12, and by appointment

Office:  153 Loso. 

Office Phone:  962-3527. 

Email:  dwolff@eou.edu

Homepage:  http://www.eou.edu/~dwolff/DonaldWolff.html

Course will meet in LH 114, TWR 12:00pm — 12:50 pm.

This syllabus subject to minor changes during the term.

Writing 342:  Intermediate Fiction Writing

Required Texts:

Bernays, Anne and Pamela Painter.  What If:  Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers.  New York:  HarperCollins, 1990.

Grimes, Christopher.  Public Works.  Normal/Tallahasse:  FC2, 2005.

Halpern, Daniel, ed.  The Art of the Story:  An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories.  New York:  Penguin Books, 1999.

Catalog Description:

WR 342 – Intermediate Fiction Writing

Credits:  3.00

Intensive study of fictive theories and techniques in the belletristic tradition, with an emphasis on the writing and criticism of student stories, and the study of ancient, modern, and international writers. Prerequisite: WR 241 or equivalent.

Course Description: 

     Intermediate Fiction is a course for the serious and inquisitive writer.  The course continues the discussion of issues of craft, technique, and the writing process with regards to contemporary literary fiction begun in WR 241, Introduction to Imaginative Writing: Fiction.  If your introductory course in Imaginative Writing was other than fiction, please plan to assist me in providing introductory background to you by your asking lots of questions.

     Please come into the course intending to do a prolific amount of reading, thinking, discussing, writing and revising.  Good writers read other writers’ work.  The course's main focus is to develop the creative writer so that she or he may continue her or his exploration of craft and feel confident in guiding others as they explore written creative expression.  

     You will be sharing your work for critical review not only with me, but also with your peers in the class via workshop and smaller peer response groups.  All good writers live in glass houses, so expect comments from classmates and the instructor that are meant to be helpful but also critical, in the best sense of the term.  The class is designed to offer you critical feedback with the premise that the work you turn in for review is work in progress.  Criticism and revision are key components of the course.  You will be expected to turn in stories that have had a class peer review and that you have re-worked.  If you are not satisfied with your peer review, it’s up to you to see the instructor for further comment.

     Again, Intermediate Fiction Writing is a second step in the creative writing sequence for Writing Majors and other potentially serious, inquisitive writers.  The course continues the study of a variety of forms in contemporary literary fiction.  Students should expect to do a considerable amount of reading, thinking, discussing, and writing.  Especially writing.  Typically, we will spend our class time either discussing our reading assignments, participating in writing exercises and sharing the results, or workshopping one another’s stories.  Keep in mind that you will be sharing your work for critical review not only with me and with your peers in class, but also with an audience outside of class.  Thus, you will come to realize that fiction writing, like music, drama, and visual art, is ultimately a public matter.  For this reason, you will be required to attend an Ars Poetica Reading and asked to attend a workshop with the visiting writer, to review your work with the visiting artist, and to write a review of a short story collection.

Course Objectives and Requirements:

The course objectives in WR 342 are similar to those of the English/Writing Program.  Students in WR 342 will engage “in sophisticated analysis; clear, confident, and original writing; and [achieve a level of] tolerance for diversity, complexity, and ambiguity.”  Our specific goal is to expand your acquaintance with contemporary fiction writing and its aesthetic values, while at the same time giving you continued opportunities to explore your own writing in a contemporary idiom, with special attention to plot, characterization, setting, theme, dialogue, exposition, tension, and complexity.  Since WR 241 or an equivalent is a prerequisite, it is assumed you know how to find subjects to write about (although our readings will be suggestive and you should keep a Writing Journal or Notebook) and that you know how to conduct yourself in a writing workshop:

Fiction Workshop Outcomes

Students should be able to

• give critical but helpful responses to the work of classmates;
• accept the suggestions of peers and the instructor in good faith without being defensive;
• bring copies of your work for peer response;
• comment effectively on classmates’ work, “effective” defined here as giving concrete suggestions or compliments on each aspect of a story:  plot, characterization, setting, theme, dialogue, exposition, tension, and complexity;
• read critically and think deeply and professionally about assigned texts;
• be ready and willing to discuss assigned texts, including peer work, in class;
• revise as often as necessary;
• understand fiction writing as an art form requiring craft and discipline and not merely a medium for expressing easy or “hackneyed” resolutions borrowed from pop culture not subject to critique;
• develop an effective reading aloud style.

By the end of the course, I assume that students will have read a good deal of fiction by established authors, as well as by their peers, and will have drafted and revised two stories of at least 2500 words each.  Finally, our objectives are all focused on raising your level of awareness of and sophistication in regard to reading and writing contemporary fiction.

Fiction Assignments

     The requirements for WR 342 include reading assignments and discussion, and in-class exercises; a portfolio including two revised and polished stories, a book review, and a submission to Oregon East; a student reading (at the Final); attending an Ars Poetica reading and, if possible, a workshop with the author; and contributing to the student magazine, Oregon East.  For the first two weeks, we will be discussing readings in our texts, including those on distributed in class, doing in-class exercises in various forms, and discussing that work.  During the third week, in addition to continuing our readings and exercises, we will be workshopping a draft of a 2500-word story you must bring to class with enough copies for your peer response group.  A revised copy of that story is due for evaluation by the instructor a week later, with a revised and polished copy, with all drafts, due at the end of the course (in the portfolio). 

     Then we will have three more weeks of readings and exercises.  Then, in addition to continuing our readings and exercises, we will be workshopping a draft of a second 2500-word story you must bring to class with enough copies for your peer response group.  A revised copy of that story is also due for evaluation by the instructor a week later, with a revised and polished copy, with all drafts, due at the end of the course (in the portfolio). 

     The last day of class you will submit a portfolio containing your two revised stories and all their drafts; a 1,000-word review of a book of short stories; and the story you are going to submit to Oregon East, with a cover letter, and SASE. At the final, you will read one of your stories to the class. Each element in the portfolio is worth 25 points.

In addition to these assignments, are the weekly in-class exercises and the review of the Ars Poetica Reading and Workshop.

The work you turn in for your original fictions must be work composed and completed in WR 342 this quarter.  Fiction from other classes or other venues will not be considered for evaluation.

Means of Assessment

• Attendance, Participation, and Preparation, 5 pts. each class (150 points possible:  0 points for the day if you fail to be ready or to participate)
• 10 in-class exercises, 10 pts. each (100 points possible)
• 2 workshop stories, submitted on time for peer response workshops, and revised for teacher evaluation (100 points possible for each)
• Ars Poetica Reading Review:  attendance at reading, 500-word review, submitted on time and carefully edited, 100 points
• Participation in the Ars Poetica workshop, and 500-word review submitted on time and carefully edited, 100 points
• Book Review, submitted in the portfolio, carefully edited
• At least one polished story produced in this class, in clean copy, thoughtfully revised and carefully edited, submitted in the portfolio, with cover letter and SASE
• Portfolio Submission, on time, according to guidelines, 100 points (25 points for each element:  two revised stories, Book Review, Oregon East submission)

Points for each requirement will be averaged together and that average will be the final grade.  Averages will not we rounded off, so an 89.9, for example, is a “B,” not an “A.”  I will not be awarding pluses (“+”) and minuses (“-“), no “B+,” “C-,” etc.:

Grading Scale for 100-point assignments and for the Final Course Grade:

100-90 = A

89-80 = B

79-70 = C

69-60 = D

59-0 = F

Grading Scale for 25-point assignments:

25-22 = A

21-20 = B

19-17 = C

16-15 = D

14-0 = F

Grading Scale for 10-point assignments:

10-9 = A

8 = B

7 = C

6 = D

5-0 = F

Grading Scale for Attendance and Participation (150 points possible):

150-135= A

134-120 = B

119-105 = C

104-90 = D

89-0 = F

In-class exercises may not be revised, made up, or handed in late. Each in-class exercise is worth 10 points; there will be ten. Combined they are worth 100 points.  Total points earned for the exercises will be averaged with your other grades for your final grade. Out-of-class assignments are due in the first five minutes of class; assignments may not be turned in before class. At the end of the quarter, all grades will be totaled and then averaged and that average will be the course grade.  If you are consistently scoring below your expectations, consult with me and arrange for a tutor at The Writing Lab.

Fine print:  Assigned work can be made up if you or your children are very sick, and IF you have my permission to hand in your work late.   Athletes must make arrangements with me to get their work in on time prior to travel to their sports events.   Almost no other excuses are accepted.   Be careful:  In the past students with D and F averages for coursework--due mostly from not turning it in or missing class--tried raising their grades by acing the rest of their assignments.  That didn’t work very well.  This course rewards consistency of effort.  One danger in this course is to not take attendance, the in-class exercises, class participation, seriously.  Keep in mind too many 0’s affects your grade dramatically.

It would be wise to review carefully and print out this syllabus and the course assignments and keep them handy. 

Be sure to review the descriptions of WR 342 Course Assignments at:

http://www.eou.edu/~dwolff/WR342Assignments.html

Writing 342 Syllabus

Addenda

Disclaimer: 

Class schedule, syllabus, and assignments may be altered during the course of the term as needed.

Statement on Academic Misconduct:

Eastern Oregon University places a high value upon the integrity of its student scholars.  Any student found guilty of an act of academic misconduct (including, but not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, or theft of an examination or supplies) may be subject to having his or her grade reduced in the course in question, being placed on probation or suspended from the university, or being expelled from the university—or a combination of these.  (Please see the Students’ Academic Honesty Code at http://www.eou.edu/saffairs/handbook/honest.html

Accommodations for Disabilities:

If you have a documented disability or suspect that you have a learning problem and need reasonable accommodations, please contact the Disability Services Program in Loso Hall 234.  Telephone:  962-3081.

Final Comments: 

• It is understood that everything you turn in for evaluation will be grammatically and mechanically correct.  Tutors are available in the Writing Lab.  I can help also, with any aspect of fiction writing.
• All writers, live in glass houses, so prepare yourselves, or especially your uneasy egos!  Remember—according to Zen practice, an ego is a fiction—where is the ego, the you, now who was so fragile in seventh grade?  You should not operate under the belief that everything you write is worthy of being carved once and for all into stone.  Good writing, in all genres, is the result of great effort and constant revision. 
• The class calendar and assignments may be altered during the course of the term as necessary.