ENGL 206: Intermediate Fiction Writing
IntroductionENGL 206 is designed for students who have prior experience writing short fiction. It follows ENGL 130, building on the writing skills presented by that introductory short story course. You may wish to ask yourself the following questions to see if you are adequately prepared to take this course:
A weakness in one or two of these areas can be strengthened over the length of this course, but if you feel deficient in several areas, you are not in a position to take ENGL 206. Purpose of the CourseThis course will provide you with those writing skills used to express, in the short story, whatever is already present in yourself. While a creative writing course may encourage you to formulate themes in your work, it chiefly guides you in crafts other writers have found useful. If you yearn to say something, this course will help you say it well. It will also help you understand what other writers are trying to communicate to their audience. At the end of these lessons you should have a better estimate of your own talent, and be more appreciative of the skill of other story writers. A short story has its strongest effect when emotionally true—when the writer shows honestly what it is like to be a human being in this world—to love, grow, hate, quarrel, learn, remember, and dream. Rooted in emotion but guided by intellect, fiction becomes durable when its truths are those many readers will recognize and re-experience, even in other countries and in later years. You will be asked to read and analyze published stories, write informal journal assignments, submit original writing assignments, and complete two short stories. Your assignments will be sent to your instructor via e-mail. Be sure to complete ALL assignments, even those not initially sent to your instructor. All work will ultimately figure into your final grade. Required Texts
You can order the required texts from the Higher Grounds bookstore at the Friday Center either online or by using the book order form. Web LinksThe Elements of Style: online version of Elements of Style, by William Strunk, Jr., a text that details the rules and usage principles of composition. The Norton Anthology of American Literature: This site offers author biographies and sections on historical context for the writers you will be reading in the class. Open Directory: Arts: Literature: Magazines and E-zines: This site offers an extensive list of links to mainstream and new literary magazines on the Web. You can sample publications and find places to submit your own work. North Carolina Writers Network: This site offers information on statewide conferences, writing contests, and news about NC writers. Poets & Writers: This site features news, interviews with published writers, a listing of magazines accepting submissions, and grant sources for creative writers. Supplementary Reading
Methods to be Followed in the CourseIn most lessons, you will
Pay attention to the length minimums and maximums for each writing assignment. Try to keep within these limits. Submitting WorkIn your assignments, use proper manuscript, not e-mail, form. For example, indent paragraphs, don't merely skip a space between each one. Don't use shorthands or abbreviations that you might when "instant messaging." This is a writing class, and all assignments should be submitted professionally. Keep a copy of all drafts. Don't delete early drafts. You will be required to look at these later to gauge your progess. An easy way to do this is to simply save your drafts as version 1, version 2, version 3, and so on. If you are using Microsoft Word, you can also use the "Track Changes" option under Tools. You will send your assignments to be graded by clicking a "Submit" button (at the bottom of each lesson) that opens a pre-addressed e-mail to me and the Self-paced Courses office. Send your assignments as attachments. The subject line will be partially filled in for you, but you will need to add your name at the end. Submit your assignments via e-mail as a Microsoft Word attachment. Use a filename that includes your last name, such as "assignment3-Smith.doc." Make sure you have scanned your files for viruses before you submit them. Identify each assignment you send in by number. Also number each part of the assignment accurately—you do not need to rewrite the question. Simply including "Writing assignment #1," and so on will suffice. On Being CritiquedMany students begin this course apprehensive about the critiquing process. They send their writing off as if it is a fragile porcelain teapot, hoping for it to be examined and admired—or perhaps terrified that it will be scrutinized with a magnifying glass for flaws! Better to think of your writing as raw clay, always malleable, until the moment it is "fired in the kiln," or published. That way, should your instructor say to you, "Well, you know, it's a fine teapot, but wouldn't it make a better sugar bowl?" you have left the option open to tear off the spout and turn it into another handle, if the suggestion seems appealing. After yet another look, you may decide to turn it back into a teapot, or into something else altogether. One of the major myths you need to get over when having your work critiqued by your instructor is that a mark on your page means only one thing: WRONG. Most of you have had twelve to sixteen years of this experience, and it's simply not valid in this case. There are very few "wrongs" in fiction writing, but there are, most definitely, many practices that "don't work well." Other points to keep in mind: the instructor is critiquing the work, not the author; a critique of one's story is NOT a personal judgment of the author. Honor CodeYou are bound by the Honor Code: "It shall be the responsibility of every student to obey and support the enforcement of the Honor Code, which prohibits lying, cheating, or stealing when these actions involve academic processes or University students or academic personnel acting in an official capacity." Lessons and ReadingsFor every lesson there will be writing assignments, reading assignments, and journal assignments. Listed below are the reading assignments for each lesson. For every story you read you are expected to visit The Norton Anthology of American Literature Web site and read any information that site has on the writer.
Lesson 1Course author: Richard Krawiec © University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
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