Creative Writing Syllabus 10/19-11/9
Creative Writing: Short Fiction
Jane Belton
Syllabus – Trimester I 2009
http://blog.lrei.org/jbelton
Monday 10/19
Class: Exercise 6 due. Discuss “Kew Gardens”: perspective, description, what binds the characters together, and how small details gain significance. Exercise 7: “Significant Objects”: Each of you will choose a “significant object” in class. Choose two characters who you feel are very divergent and have very different perspectives. Then write a narrative (or two interweaving narratives from each perspective) in which both characters encounter the “significant object” you have selected. The characters need not be in the same place or time, but the object must come into their view/thoughts at least once in the piece.
Assignment: Finish Exercise 7 for Tuesday (2-3 pages, typed, double-spaced).
Tuesday 10/20
Class: Exercise 7 due. Read excerpts of “Chrysanthemums” and other pieces. Discuss setting.
Assignment: Complete Reading (TBA). Complete Setting Exercise (Exercise # 8): Describe a setting from the perspective of someone who has just experienced some sort of change or realization. The change can be a loss or perhaps even a gain. The place can be a room in a house, an empty barn, a beach at night, a hospital room, a spaceship, a post-apocalyptic city, etc. Think about what things have changed in this space and what things are changing in the moment in which the scene takes place. Try to convey the changes or shifts in the character through the description space without referring directly to those words (“change”, “realization”, “loss”). How can the description of the setting convey those feelings? How can the character’s interaction with the setting convey those feelings? In your exercise you might choose to write a scene in which the setting is explored as the backdrop, rather than writing pure “description” without characters (2-3 pages). Ultimately, this setting piece should serve as inspiration for your next portfolio piece, so as you write, pay attention to the risks and challenges you still want to explore in your writing.
Wednesday 10/21 – Friday 10/23: Minimester
Monday 10/26
Class: Focused workshop on setting exercise: moments that pull you in, moments for expansion and exploration.
Assignment: Read and annotate Jhumpa Lahiri’s “A Temporary Matter.” What devices does Lahiri use to convey the subtext or tension in the relationship between husband and wife? Explore a specific passage in the story that revealed some striking aspect of their relationship. How does her use of “setting” help to convey or add to those tensions? Use your freewrite to explore what you might gain from that passage about writing that you would like to work on in your own piece. In other words, how can this piece, or that specific passage you’ve chosen, teach you as a writer? (This is focused freewrite # 4).
Tuesday 10/27
Class: Focused freewrite # 4 due. Discuss Jhumpa Lahiri’s “A Temporary Matter”. Lessons we can learn from the piece. Beginnings; weaving memory and present action; using the space the characters inhabit to convey meaning, subtext, tension.
Assignment: Begin your next portfolio piece from your setting exercise. Bring in an early draft (at least 4 pages, for Thursday)
Wednesday 10/28 – No Class
Thursday 10/29
Class: Sharing and responding.
Assignment: Revise and shape your piece according to feedback from your peers.
Friday 10/30
Class: Sharing and responding
Assignment: Revise and shape your piece according to feedback from your peers. Complete focused freewrite # 5: Part I: What aspects of the character or characters in your story resonate most with you? Which characters or which aspects of the characters do you connect with most? Why? Which characters do you feel most distant from? Why? Part II: Now explore the contents of one or more of your characters’ bags/backpacks/purses/briefcases/suitcases. What is inside? Regardless of whether you plan to use any of this freewrite in your final piece, you must complete this freewrite.
Monday 11/2
Class: Sharing and responding
Assignment: Revise and shape your piece according to feedback from your peers.
Tuesday 11/3
Class: Sharing and responding
Assignment: Revise and shape your piece according to feedback from your peers.
Wednesday 11/4 – No Class
Thursday 11/5
Class: Sharing and responding
Assignment: Revise and shape your piece according to feedback from your peers
Friday 11/6
Class: Sharing and responding
Assignment: Revise and shape your piece according to feedback from your peers. Bring TWO COPIES of a full draft of your work to class on Monday for peer editing.
Monday 11/9
Class: Peer editing