READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF MAY 1-7, 2006:

Tuesday, May 2, 2006:

Important!! Don't forget to bring in 5 copies of a 3-4 page excerpt from your short story for small-group workshopping today. Select your excerpt carefully in terms of choosing a part of the story that you would particularly like to receive peer/audience feedback on. (This activity is worth 20 points).

Thursday, May 4:

Important!! Please be prepared to read a 3-4 page excerpt from your short story in class today. You will want to introduce your story and tell us enough about the general narrative/plot and the characters so that we can contextualize the excerpt. Once again, don't forget to take your time reading, and present in a way that's engaging for your audience. (Thyis activity is worth 20 points).

Also important!! Don't forget that your Writerly Immersion #2 paper is due in class today. Guidelines follow below:

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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Your final round of blogs will be due by midnight on Sunday, May 7. Since we won't be doing in-class exercises, and since I'm out of memoir prompts, you can post one process post, and two "freestyle" posts for this week.

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Important!! Your final creative writing portfolio 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.

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.

* * *

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.

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF APRIL 17-23, 2006

Tuesday, April 18, 2006:

Please read Chapter 7 (Call Me Ishmael: Point of View, Part I) in Writing Fiction.

Important!! Fiction Scene #2 (3 pages – 750 words) is due today! (See post below for complete guidelines.

Thursday, April 20, 2006:

Please read Chapter 8 (Assorted Liars: Point of View, Part II) in Writing fiction.

Important!! There will be no class today; instructor giving an out-of-town poetry reading. Please use the extra time to make sure you’re caught up on your reading and, most importantly, to work on the rough draft of your full-length short story, which will be due on Thursday, April 27!.

Finally, here is your memoir prompt for blog posts due on Sunday, April 23, 2006:

Do you recall taking a strong political position? Was there a single moment you can recall when you felt motivated to join a political body, and did that moment lead you down a path through life that embraced those politics? Can you remember when you became "politicized"? Was it accompanied by a strong sense of justice or injustice? Was something wrong that needed to be rectified?

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF APRIL 10 – 16, 2006:

Tuesday, April 11, 2006:

If you haven’t done so already, please make sure to read Chapter 4 – The Flesh Made Word: Characterization, Part II in Writing Fiction.

Thursday, April 13, 2006:

Award-winning poet Julie Sheehan will be visiting our class, giving a reading, and answering questions today!

Please come prepared to ask questions, and enjoy her visit!

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Don’t forget that the next installment in your short story will be due on Tuesday, April 18, 2006. The guidelines are as follows:

Your short story scene should be approximately 3 pages, or 750 words.

The scene can take place at any point in your story that you wish. In other words, it doesn’t have to be the scene that occurs immediately after the opening scene (exposition) that you turned in last week. So perhaps you might like to try writing a climactic scene in your story, or take a stab at writing the ending/closing scene. The choice is up to you.

The scene should reveal aspects and traits of the characters who are in the scene.

The scene should explore and move forward the dramatic situation/narrative tension/central conflict in your story.

Your scene should attempt to skillfully weave together different elements of fiction writing (action/dialogue, narrative summary, scene setting/description, etc.) in ways that work best for the scene.

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And finally, here is your memoir prompt for blog posts due on Sunday, April 16, 2006:

Who was your best friend at seven years old? Who was your best friend at 11? At 16? At 20? At 30? And who was your biggest enemy at each of these ages? Describe them.

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF APRIL 3 – 9, 2006:

Tuesday, April 4, 2006:

Please read Chapter 4 - Building Character: Characterization, Part I in Writing Fiction.

Important!! Don’t forget that your first fiction assignment, an exposition (opening scene(s)) of approximately 3 pages (750 words) is due in class today!!

Thursday, April 6, 2006.

Please read Chapter 4 - The Flesh Made Word: Characterization, Part II in Writing Fiction .

Finally, here is this week's memoir prompt, for blog posts due on Sunday, April 9, 2006:

Describe a significant event that brought you closer to, or further away, from your religious devotions. The spiritual life can come upon a person in a sweeping moment or over the course of a long period of time. Have you ever experienced visions or other moments of a spiritual nature? If you had a single moment that you can recall, describe the details leading up to and following that epiphany. How did it change your life afterwards? If you slowly gravitated to a religious tradition or a way of thinking about the divine, show in a series of snapshots how you were brought closer and closer to the spiritual over that time.

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF MARCH 27 – APRIL 1, 2006

Tuesday, April 28, 2006:

Please read Chapter 6 (Long Ago and Far Away: Fictional Time and Place) in Writing Fiction.

Thursday, April 30, 2006:

Jim Reese will be visiting our class today!

Please read Chapter 10 (I Gotta Use Words When I Talk To You: Theme) in Writing Fiction.

(Sorry these reading assignment posts went up a little bit late this week. Just make sure that you get the chapters read at some point during the week, okay?)

And here’s this week’s memoir prompt, for blog posts due on Sunday, April 1, 2006:

Remember something or somebody you pursued with a passion. How old were you when this happened? Does it seem a rite of passage, or a turning point in growing up? Did you get the thing or that person? If so, was it worth it? If not, do you have regrets?

Finally, don’t forget that your first fiction assignment (write the opening scene/exposition) of your short story is due on Tuesday, April 4. Guidelines are located in the post below.

Also, here’s a listing of this week’s literary events (either for your Writerly Immersion Paper #2 – which requires attendance of a minimum of one literary event/reading outside class – or for extra credit to replace an absence):

Thursday, March 30, 4:00 p.m., Old Main, Farber Hall – Jim Reese, Poetry Reading

Thursday, March 30, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Coffee Shop Gallery – VLP Women’s History Month Poetry Slam

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF MARCH 20-26, 2006

Tuesday, March 21, 2006:

Class canceled today; instructor giving out-of-town reading.

Thursday, March 23, 2006:

Please read Chapter 2 (The Tower and the Net: Story Form, Plot, and Structure) in Writing Fiction.

Important! Your first Writerly Immersion Paper will be due in class today! (See guidelines below)..

Looking ahead a bit, here are the guidelines for your next formal assignment, which will be due on Tuesday, April 4, 2006:

The assignment is to write an opening scene (or exposition) for a short story.

Your short story scene should be approximately 3 pages, or 750 words.

The scene should reveal aspects and traits of the characters who are in the scene.

The scene should set up a dramatic situation/narrative tension/central conflict.

Your scene should jump right in and begin in medias res and attempt to engage the attention of your reader right off the bat.

Your scene should attempt to skillfully weave together different elements of fiction writing (action/dialogue, narrative summary, scene setting/description, etc.) in ways that work best for the scene.

And finally, here is this week’s memoir prompt from The Autobiography Box for blog posts due on Sunday, March 26:

Write down a story that you tell people that didn't really happen the way you usually tell it. So many times we have a good story we embellish with exaggerations, switch events for the sake of timing or humor, all kinds of things. Come on, it's fun! But after you write down the story you tell everybody, tell the same story in its bare-bones, no-frills, true version. Think about the reasons why you twisted the facts around.