READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF APRIL 24-30, 2006:

Tuesday, April 25, 2006:

Please read Chapter 11 (Play it Again, Sam: Revision) in Writing Fiction.

(Hey . . . sorry I forgot to post this earlier. If you could just make sure to read the chapter over the weekend prior to our next class meeting on Tuesday, May 2, that would be great!)

Thursday, April 27, 2006:

Important!! Rough drafts of your 10-12 page short stories were due today. Please make sure that I have them in hand (or via e-mail) so that I can get written comments/feedback to you at our next class meeting on Tuesday, May 2).

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Here is this week’s memoir prompt, for blog posts due on Sunday, April 30:

Write about your first kiss. Maybe it was with a friend, just practicing. Maybe it was with somebody you were afraid of more than you were in love with. Maybe it was a stolen kiss. Maybe you did the stealing. What were the circumstances leading up to the kiss? Or, start with the kiss and describe what happened after.

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Next, here are the guidelines for Writerly Immersion Paper #2, due on Thursday, May 4:

Your paper should compare and contrast two different poetry/literary readings or literary events. One event can be readings conducted by visiting writers who gave in-class readings (Jim Reese or Julie Sheehan), and the other event will need to be an outside literary event/reading attended outside of class time.

Your paper should consider both the quality and style of the written work, as well as the quality and style of the performance itself.

Your paper should be a minimum of 750 words (approximately three typewritten/word-processed pages).

You are welcome to use outside sources if you wish, but if you do, please make sure to cite them appropriately, and provide a bibliography using MLA style.

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And finally, here are guidelines/information for the final creative writing portfolio, which will be due on Tuesday, May 9, by 5:00 p.m.

Please turn your portfolio in to my mailbox in Dakota Hall 226, or if the office is closed, slide it under my office door in Dakota Hall 207. Make sure to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with adequate postage if you'd like your portfolio mailed back to you after grades have been posted to WebAdvisor.

Your portfolio should include the following:
(1) Rough draft versions of the three formal poetry assignments and full-length short story with my comments;
(2) Revised, final versions of these pieces; and
(3) 250-word process pieces for EACH of these sets of assignments/revisions (in other words, you’ll turn in four 250-word process pieces – one for each of the three poems, and one for the full-length shorty story) in which you discuss your revision process and assess how the piece has developed/evolved as a result of revising.

You will be graded on the thoughtfulness, care, effort, and overall improvement of your revisions.