Creative Writing Syllabus 11/9-11/20
Creative Writing: Short Fiction
Jane Belton
Syllabus – Trimester I 2009
https://blog.lrei.org/jbelton
Monday 11/9
Class: Finish workshopping. Peer editing
Assignment: Work on revising your piece according to peer feedback. Your final piece should be 4-6 pages long.
Tuesday 11/10
Class: Complete Exercise # 9: Soap Opera Dialogue in class
Assignment: Read and annotate Hemingway’s “The Sea Change.” As always, try to make note of his habits as a writer. Also note the moments that pull you in and push you out. Complete Focused Freewrite # 6: In a 1-2 page freewrite, explore your observations about Hemingway’s style and/or habits as a writer and about how he reveals character, tension, and conflict in this story.
Wednesday 11/11: No Class
Thursday 11/12
Class: FFW # 6 due. Discuss effective use of dialogue to reveal characters and tensions.
Homework: Read excerpts of Richard Price’s Lush Life. Pay particular attention to how he uses and incorporates dialogue. Complete Exercise # 10, which has TWO parts. Part I: Spend at least 1 hour observing and recording different people and conversations over the weekend. In your notebook, record details, gestures, actions and interactions, and dialogue you overhear. Invent and imagine as you observe as well, and write down your imaginings. Once you have observed several sets of people, reread your work, and underline or highlight specific details about characters that draw you in, that make you want to know more, that intrigue you. Part II: Choose ONE of the character sketches or dialogue snippets you recorded. Then work on shaping, expanding, and developing this into your next story. One way to do this is to imagine the subtext beneath the dialogue you overheard; imagine the story that is being told and the story that is not being told, the motivations, desires, tensions, or fears beneath the surface. Imagine the scenes that led up to this moment, and the scenes that will ensue. Your exercise should clearly delineate between Part I and Part II (at least 3 handwritten pages).
Friday 11/13 – Parent Conferences
Monday 11/14
Class: Hand back drafts. Conferences/work period
Homework: Continue to work on your portfolio II. Bring in an excerpt (1 page at the most) from your Portfolio II piece you want specific feedback on in terms of language, word choice, character, etc. You might bring in the opening of your piece, or a short scene/interaction you want more specific feedback on. You may want to schedule a meeting with me to talk about your Portfolio II piece.
Tuesday 11/17
Class: Sharing and workshopping excerpts from Portfolio II pieces in small groups
Assignment: 1) Work on Portfolio II. You may want to schedule a meeting with me to talk about your Portfolio II piece. 2) Begin to shape your character/dialogue exercise (Exercise # 10) into the first draft of a story. In your initial writing, give particular focus to developing characters and letting them come into focus on the page through the techniques we have discussed in class. Please note: If you do not want to use Exercise # 10 as a starting point for your final piece, you may also choose to write from other characters or ideas that have emerged this trimester (including any other exercise we have completed). However, your writing should reflect work with “character” and ways to reveal, develop, and convey character on the page.
Wednesday 11/18 – No Class
Thursday 11/19
Class: Sharing and responding (Portfolio III pieces):
Assignment: Complete Portfolio II due Friday 11/20. Continue to work on shaping your portfolio III piece.
Friday 11/20
Class: Portfolio II due. Sharing and responding (Portfolio III pieces):
Assignment: Continue to work on shaping your final piece.