Introduction to Creative Writing

English 223.018: Fall 2009

Instructor: Ben Gunsberg

TuTh 1-2:30 in 3010 SEB

Office Hours: TuTh 2:30-3:30 (or by appointment) in 3091 Tisch Hall

Email Address: beg@umich.edu

Class Website: http://www.umich.edu/~eng223/Eng223/223_Home.html

Poetry is vocal painting, as painting is silent poetry.

--William Shenstone

Let’s get one thing clear right now, shall we? There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers; good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky.

--Steven King

Who casts to write a living line, must sweat.

--Ben Jonson

Welcome to English 223

Course Description: This course is designed to help you become better readers and writers of poetry and fiction. We will discuss student work as well as published poems and stories by established writers.  Class discussion will focus on the craft of writing—how pieces work (or don’t work) within their respective genre.  In addition to the readings, emphasis will be placed on writing exercises and the development of a critical/literary vocabulary. Students will be expected to participate in class discussion, complete writing assignments, and discuss work of their peers.

Required Texts 

The Seagull Reader: Poems, 2nd Edition. Edited by Joseph Kelly.

The Seagull Reader: Stories, 2nd Edition. Edited by Joseph Kelly.

Recommended Resources

•A grammar/style handbook

•A dictionary & thesaurus

•Sweetland Writing Center: Room 1139 Angell Hall: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/swc/

Workshop and Audience: One component of this course will be peer workshopping, which is when we read and discuss writing produced by students within our class. This means that the entire class or a group of your peers may read any assignment you turn in, so always put forth your best effort and never submit something that you don’t want others to read.

Revision: Expect to revise five poems and one short story during the semester.  We will talk more about revision during class, but keep in mind revision means more than simple proofreading or the deletion of a confusing passage. Revision is about reimagining what is possible for a piece of writing.

Format for Assignments: Assignments must be typed, with one-inch margins in 12-pt font.  Please don’t include a title page (waste of paper), but clearly center your title a few lines up from your first paragraph.  Include your name, the date, and the name of the assignment in one of the upper corners of the first page.  Please insert page numbers and staple anything over one page.

•Poems and reading responses should be single-spaced.

•Fiction should be double-spaced.

Reading Responses: Some of you have had literature classes in college or high school where you’ve been asked to analyze poems or stories by looking at themes or symbols.  While this work is valuable, in this course I would like you to pay close attention to how the author has constructed the text, sentence-by-sentence, word-by-word.  This kind of reading is sometimes called “reading like a writer,” and we’ll talk quite a bit about what it means throughout the semester.

The “Reading Responses” are short papers (between ½ and 1 single-spaced page) that discuss some aspect of a poem or story that your find interesting and/or useful. You might want to discuss one or more of the techniques you recognize (perhaps referring to the craft elements discussed in class).  You might focus your attention on any number of issues (diction, phrasing, plot, setting, etc.).  In short, reading responses are meant to encourage you to attend to authors’ techniques so that you might emulate those techniques in your own writing.

You will be responsible for turning in a total of six reading responses—three responses to poetry and three to fiction—which you may submit (in hardcopy) at any point during the semester.  Responses earn either a (+), which means you met the minimum length requirement and addressed technique, or a (-), meaning you did not.

Note on Writing Assignments:  To really improve as a writer, your must write and write, and write, and—you get the idea.  To this end, you might try writing several different responses to an exercise, producing a set of completely different poems or fictional vignettes. You’ll no doubt learn a great deal by experimenting and reflecting upon your attempts.

Late and Missing Assignments: As noted in the grading policy (below), an assignment turned in late results in a one-point deduction. If you have to be absent on a day work is due in class, it won’t be considered late if you email the assignment to me in Word format before the class period begins.  Any student with three or more missing assignments should not expect to pass the course.

My Written Comments: Since you will be revising a large portion of the work you produce for this class, my comments on your assignments will focus primarily on those areas I think can be improved upon.  Often these comments will take the form of questions, asking you to consider certain ideas your writing has raised or important things you may have left out.  What this means is that I’ll spend less time congratulating you on what you’ve done well and more time pointing out what can still be improved.  If you ever have questions about my comments please come see me.  My comments are always intended to be helpful.

Class Participation: This class depends upon collaboration, workshops, and discussions. Therefore, participation is key. I expect you to come to class ready to contribute your ideas and to actively participate in the day’s activities. Some of you are shy, and you might find contributing to class discussions difficult. Please talk to me early on in the semester if this is the case so we can find ways to ensure that your voice is being heard. On the other hand, some of you enjoy talking in class. In this case, I ask you to avoid talking merely for the sake of talking and to be constructive when you do offer comments or questions. If yours is the only voice you hear, take a break so others who would like more time to process or who don’t immediately raise their hands have a chance to contribute.  We want to create an environment where we are attentive to the social dynamics and where everyone feels like they are recognized and heard.

Public Readings:  You will be required to attend two public readings (one poetry, one fiction) and write a single-spaced page response to each.  There are many opportunities to attend public readings in Ann Arbor.  The Neutral Zone regularly invites guest authors to read in Ann Arbor.  The MFA program in Creative Writing hosts bi-weekly readings (find the schedule at: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/english/grad/mfa/webmaster.asp)  You might also check out the UM’s renowned Zell Writing Series (http://www.lsa.umich.edu/english/grad/mfa/mfaeve.asp).  Local bookstores, such as Borders and Crazy Wisdom, also schedule readings throughout the year. Note that the due dates for your responses are Tuesday, November 10th and Thursday, December 3rd.

Plagiarism Policy:  Plagiarism—that is, using material from other sources without giving appropriate credit to those sources—is a form of stealing and carries severe consequences within and beyond academia. Submitting the same paper to more than one course without the instructors’ permission and cutting and pasting text from the Internet without properly citing the source are two examples of violations of the University’s academic honor code. When you use sources (books, articles, websites, interviews, etc.) you must correctly document them. Please review the University’s statement on plagiarism: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/English/undergraduate/plag.htm

Attendance: The collaborative nature of our studies and the emphasis on discussion and in-class writing activities make attendance crucial in this course.  We have a lot of material to cover this semester. I expect you to come to class prepared and ready to participate. You are allowed two absences. (Note: I do not distinguish between excused or unexcused absences unless there is a medical or family emergency and I receive notification from the University.) More than two absences will result in the deduction of three points. Also, note that three tardies (more than five minutes late) equal one absence. I ask that you please communicate with me if you are having trouble getting to class. We will decide together how to coordinate your class responsibilities with your personal situation. Five absences will result in a failing grade for the course.

Computer Lab Etiquette: We have the luxury of being in a classroom with computers. For many of you, the temptation to log onto email, Facebook, or ESPN.com during class will be hard to resist. Nevertheless, I urge you to respect our learning community and the tasks we have to complete this semester by being vigilant in your resistance to these distractions.

Also note that because we each have access to a computer that we will attempt to go paperless as much as possible. This means that you need to check your email and our CTools site every day so that you don’t miss important deadlines, messages from me, etc. Please remember that that it’s common courtesy to silence (and ignore) personal electronic devices (cell phones, etc.) as soon as you walk into a classroom.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: In accordance with University of Michigan policy, I will provide accommodations for students with learning disabilities, and I will protect the confidentiality of students’ individual learning needs. I work closely with the Office for Students with Disabilities (SSD), and if you have not already contacted them, I encourage you to do so. Please email me by the second week of the term if you would like to set up a confidential meeting to show me your letter from SSD describing approved accommodations and to discuss ways we can meet those accommodations.

Religious Observances: If a class session or due date conflicts with your religious holidays, please notify me ASAP so we can make alternative arrangements. In most cases, I will ask you to turn in your assignment ahead of your scheduled absence. However, in accordance with UM policy on Religious/Academic conflicts, your absence will not affect your grade in the course.

Grading: Grading in this course will be quite different than in most (if not all) of your other courses.  While I will be keeping track to make sure you’ve turned your assignments in on time and reading your work carefully so that I can give you constructive feedback, you will not receive a letter grade from me on any of your assignments.  Instead, you’ll receive comments on how you might proceed with revision.

Your final grade for this course will be determined by a system of points that are earned and lost depending on your work and the choices you make throughout the semester.  The idea behind this unconventional system is that I want each of you to have an equal opportunity for success in the course regardless of your previous writing experience.  I don’t want any of you to start with a disadvantage because you haven’t had much experience with creative writing.  At the same time, I don’t want you to be so worried about your grade that you fail to take risks with your writing.

You need to take risks in your writing.

What I keep track of, then, in terms of grades, is solely the number of points you gain and lose throughout the semester.  Your cumulative point total alone determines your final course grade.  I would like our focus to be on improving your written work and helping you learn as opposed to a strict focus on grades.  An advantage for you is that at any point in the semester you can total up your points and know exactly what your grade is and what you can do to raise it.  Another advantage is that if you lose points—for example, by turning an assignment in late or missing a third class—you still have a change to earn them back.  The following lists describe how you earn and lose points.

Opportunities for Positive Points

1. Attend every class session throughout the semester. 1 pt

2. Turn in every assignment on time. 1 pt

3. Write three extra reading responses (poetry or fiction) [up to four times]. 1 pt

4. Attend a 3rd public reading and write a 3rd response. 1 pt

5. Pair up with a classmate and exchange, read, and comment on four of each others’ poems (turn in copies of the comments to me) [up to two times]. 2pts

6. Read and comment on the short story of a classmate who isn’t already in your workshop group (turn in copies of the comments to me) [up to two times]. 2pts

7. Read one collection of poetry or short fiction (by a single author) and write a three-page review. 2pts

8.  Organize a public reading (See me first. You can work in groups). 3pts

Reasons for Negative Points:

1. Each late assignment. –1 pt

2. Each assignment that doesn’t fulfill the minimum page requirement. –1 pt

3. Any revision that does not display a substantial amount of effort (this is my judgment, but one I make after counseling with you). –2 pts

4. Two reading responses earning (-). –2pts

5. Each additional reading response earning (-) after the first two. –2pts

6.  Every additional absence beyond the allotted two absences. –3pts

Everyone enters the class with a “B” grade. If your point total is positive at the end of the semester, your overall course grade will rise one grade for every three points (the full three points must be earned to go up a grade).  For example, a student having 3, 4, or 5 positive points would see their grade rise from a B to a B+.  A student with 6, 7, or 8 positive points would earn an A-.

Similarly, if your point total is negative at the end of the semester, your overall course grade will drop one grade for every three points (there must be the full three points to go down a grade as well).  For example, a student having 3, 4, or 5 negative points would see their grade lower from a B to a B-.  A student with 6, 7, or 8 negative points would earn a C+.