The intent of this class is two fold.
1. Provide you with the techniques of fiction in an attempt to make all of you better writers.
2. Provide practice for the strategies and techniques of professional writers.
Writers work solo. Writers work with communities.
The practice of putting together creative work and sharing with a group of peers for feedback is the basis of creative work. However, with the digital landscape, writers no longer are forced to move to larger cities or destinations where other writers reside. Writers now have the opportunity to share their work with peers in digital spaces.
How does this class work?
Every Monday and Wednesday I will post an online lecture which will provide that day's lecture, any additional readings, and writing prompts.
Freedom comes with a caveat. This level of freedom requires the writer to be self-disciplined, self-motivated and a self-study. Writers have to meet their deadlines without a professor coaxing them. Writers have to make time to write, read and edit regularly without an assignment looming. Writers have to engage in multiple platforms in order to make contacts and gain reader attention.
This class will provide tools on how to set up a writing routine, regular practice in sharing both low-stakes and high-stakes writing assignments for feedback, criticism and publication, how to provide constructive feedback in digital spaces, how to cultivate peer relationships in digital spaces and how to celebrate the works of other writers.
This class is your introduction to a professional digital online community. As students, you will be exchanging your work with like-minded individuals who are serious about writing led by a professional writer. After this course is complete, you will have made allies and associates who may be willing to continue the professional relationship you've already forged.
Writers' Twitter
Twitter is a writer’s medium. Ask the multitude of authors, writers, comedians, and literary magazines who utilize this social media platform every day. And you can ask them, because Twitter allows for that. Online classes allow a group of students to study the same thing under the same instructor at their own pace. However, without contact with other writers, the process can feel isolating. Writers’ Twitter will help eliminate that feeling of isolation. You will set up a Twitter account specifically for this class and follow me and your fellow classmates. Use this account to ask questions about the class, post craft articles about fiction techniques, links to new fiction that you think is well crafted. Primarily it will be to have conversations with your classmates. You are required to post a minimum of 10 times a week. Tweets are counted from Monday to Sunday.
Writers' Blog
You will keep an online writer's journal. Using Wix.com, you will post weekly about what you are reading, writing and observing in connection to what we are learning in this class. You should select a minimum of 8 works of fiction from outside of class which inspires you (novels, short stories or flash fiction -- no poetry or memoir). After you read the text, you will assess it for craft. You will be expected to post information and observations on how the work of fiction you selected incorporates the elements that we are studying.
However, I also encourage you to also blog about:
• Any public readings or fiction events you attend
• New writers you have discovered who you find exciting
• Literary magazines that you love to read
• Changes you have made to your writing practice
• Interactions you have with professional writers in digital spaces (for example, if you ask @stephenking a question and he responds, you should blog about that.)
The semester contains 15 weeks and you’ll be expected to post 15 times -- but 8 of those should be about fiction you are reading outside of class.
Note: if you choose to read a lengthy novel, (Infinite Jest, perhaps) then that analysis might require two posts over a two week period.
Blog assignments should be posted by Wednesday at 11:59 pm.
Writing exercises
For the first 8 weeks, I will be asking you to experiment through assigned writing exercises. These low stakes writing assignments will help you establish a regular writing routine and should be considered the writer’s version of practicing scales. You will be expected to post these on your Wix blog as assigned.
Writing assignments should be posted by Sunday at 11:59 pm.
The Short Story
At mid-semester we will transition into the workshop phase of the course. You will sign up for a specific date to submit a 7-10 page short story. You will upload this as a Word document to Canvas Groups. Both Instructor and Classmates are expected to read and provide constructive feedback on the work of fiction you submit. You will not post this short story on your Wix blog.
Final portfolio
The final portfolio will represent the best of what you write this semester. You will include a revision of your short story and a selection of three revised writing exercise prompts and three revised blogs that you posted during the semester. Select examples of your work which you feel exhibits “good writing”. You will not post this on your Wix page, but upload the selection as one Word doc directly to Canvas for final review.
Required reading
How can I help?
Textbook Requirement:
The Practice of Creative Writing: A Guide for Students by Heather Sellers
ISBN: 9780312676025
0312676026
Additional Required Reading:
Judith Butler – selections from Gender Trouble
Gloria Andzaldua – selections from Borderlands
Helene Cixous – “The Laugh of the Medusa”
(pdfs will be accessible through the Online Lectures)