ENGL 130: Introduction to Fiction Writing

Purpose of the Course

This course will help you develop the 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, it chiefly guides you in techniques other writers have found useful.

Some teachers ask would-be writers: "Do you have something to say?" It might be more appropriate to ask: "Do you yearn to say something?" This course will try to help you say it well. It cannot make final judgment on your insights. Judgment will be made by your own standards in the perspective of the recorded "best" of centuries of other writers, by the response of discriminating readers, and through the survival value of your work under the erosion of time.

Since the course cannot provide you with material to write about, nor guarantee insights into your experiences, these lessons must begin one-step-removed from those raw events and feelings, at the point they are consciously shaped and directed on the page. Through these lessons, you should learn to express what you feel, then change your work and intensify its effect.

A short story has its strongest effect when emotionally truest, 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.

The truths a writer uses may bend toward entertainment or toward literature. Successful short stories may be written as merchandise or art, though usually they fall between these extremes. Often a competent story in a slick magazine and a "quality" story will differ more in tone, subtlety, and complexity than in writing essentials. Because this course is part of a university English department, it will bend toward literature. The reading texts are devoted to examples of literary, serious stories.

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Required Texts

1. Your own assignments
   The most important textbook for ENGL 130 is the one each student writes during the course. Every prose assignment should be saved for study and comparison. Short prose written early in the course will prepare you for the story that you will write later in the course. Each paper will be marked by the instructor to help you become aware of what can be rewritten or thought about in a different way, toward development of a complete story.

2. Your own journal
   Each student must keep a regular journal. This journal is not a "diary" for recording the day's events, but a writer's notebook. Be sure to complete ALL the journal assignments, as you will be required to draw on these for a final paper at the end of the course.

3. Burroway, Janet. Writing Fiction, 7th edition (2007). New York: Longman (paperback)
   This text contains twenty-six short stories as well as clear, invaluable discussion and illustration of techniques you will be using in your own writing.

4. Cassill, R.V. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction, 7th edition (2005). New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc.
   This anthology gathers more than one hundred stories that will supplement and enrich your reading. Thirteen stories are required reading for this course. The text also includes a "Chronological Table of Contents"; sections entitled "Talking About Fiction," "Writing Fiction," "Writers on Writing"; and a "Glossary of Critical Terms."

You can order the required texts from the Higher Grounds bookstore at the Friday Center either online or by using the book order form.

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Web Links

The 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.

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Supplementary Reading

1. Anthologies of modern short stories and collections of stories by individual authors
   The O. Henry Prize Anthologies, the Pushcart Prize Stories, and the Best Short Stories collections, issued annually, rank high on this list.

2. Literary magazines
   Also called "little magazines," these are often available only through subscription. Most university libraries carry a good selection and some are available at bookstores. The Poets & Writers site has a link to online magazines. Browse through those you find at the library, bookstores, and online, and find publications you like.

3. Glossies
   These magazines, easily available, contain in each edition at least one story of current fiction: The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Harpers, and Esquire.

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Methods to be Followed in the Course

The nine lessons in this course correspond to one semester's work or three hours of college credit. In each lesson, you will be required to

1. write original, creative work. You will be asked to e-mail written assignments to your instructor.
2. read from one or both of your two texts.
3. write papers or analyze stories you have read. You will e-mail some of these to your instructor, and post others to the Literature Discussion Forum. Keep in mind that you should analyze these stories through the eyes of a writer rather than the eyes of a literature student. Ask yourself, "What is this writer attempting to accomplish, and what techniques does the writer use to achieve her or his goals?"
4. write journal assignments. You will be required to post some of these to the Journal Forum.

Occasionally, you will be asked to post a finished story to the Story Share Forum.

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Submitting Work

In 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." Double-space your lines. 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.

Instead of a final exam, you will be asked to submit a completed short story and an analysis piece. Steady writing and hard work are essential investments. You may begin working on a story at any time. You will, however, need most of the background of the first lessons in order to work up to the story. You should begin to have an idea for, if not a partial draft of, your story by Lesson 6 at the latest. The instructor will comment on your ideas at any time on request.

Once you have completed your story, you may post it on the online Story Share Forum. This is NOT a discussion board or a critiquing forum. It functions like an online magazine. Other students will also be posting their finished works.

You will not be able to begin the analysis piece until the last lesson of the course.

Pay attention to length minimums and maximums for each writing assignment. Though you may find on occasion that you can't help running slightly over the limit, you should know that your instructor may opt to read only to the noted maximum length of the assignment. Keep in mind that you always have your journal in which to expand.

It is important, especially at the beginning, to remember that the writing assignments are exercises; nobody expects perfect pieces. Work at them, stretch your imagination—"Lengthen the ligaments," Virginia Woolf wrote in her diary—but then let them go off in the mail and move on to your journal work.

Always keep a copy of your submitted assignment. You will need it not only as back-up, but as raw material for future assignments.

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On Being Critiqued

Many 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.

There are very few "wrongs" in fiction writing, but there are practices that aren't effective or are too common. Many of these are brought about by years of training in expository writing, by reading mediocre commercial fiction, or by watching too many "formula" programs on TV.

Your instructor has experience working with novice as well as published writers, and can help you develop the unique writing strengths you already possess. Remember, the instructor is critiquing the work, not the author; the writing on the page, not what is in your head. The instructor has the same goal as you—to help you produce a work of fiction that is publishable.

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Grading

Your final grade will be based on the effort you put in, as evidenced by the depth and complexity of your written analyses, and the improvement of your writing from the first lesson through the last.

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Honor Code

You 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."

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Course Mechanics

Blackboard

Course discussion forums are accessed through a software package called Blackboard, and you will need to login to Blackboard using a unique identifier known as your UNC Onyen (Only Name You'll Ever Need) and Onyen password.

There is a link to the Blackboard site in the gray navigation bar at the top of every page in this course. Click on that link, and then use your Onyen to log in to Blackboard. Click on the "ENGL 130" link, and you will see navigation buttons on the left taking you to the Discussion Forums.

If you experience problems accessing Blackboard, this is what you should do:

• If you do not already have a UNC Onyen, go to the Onyen Web site and follow the instructions for creating an Onyen.

• If you have an Onyen but have forgotten it (or the password), visit the Onyen Web site.

• If you have your Onyen but can't log in to Blackboard, contact Janice Durham at the Friday Center.

• If you can log in to Blackboard but can't find this course listed, contact Janice Durham at the Friday Center.

• If you can't locate an exam or discussion forum in Blackboard, contact the Instructional Designer.

• If you have other technical problems while using Blackboard, contact Blackboard Help (use the Help button in Blackboard, or call 919-962-HELP).

Library Services and E-reserves

Students enrolled in Carolina Courses Online can access online library resources from the UNC Library System by linking to Library Services for Distance Education Students. This site includes information on using general online reference works as well as accessing e-reserves and e-journals. If you are off-campus, when you click on a restricted library resource (such as e-reserves), you will be prompted to enter your Onyen. If you are unable to access the library's licensed resources, please contact the proxy team for further assistance.

E-mail

E-mails regarding the course will go to your UNC Onyen e-mail address (the one that appears when you post to the discussion forum). Off-campus users can access their UNC mail using Webmail. You can have your Onyen e-mail forwarded to a different e-mail address by clicking "Forward email" at the Onyen Web site. Please also notify Janice Durham at the Friday Center of the change.

If you use a filter on your e-mail account, you are responsible for ensuring that it does not prevent you from receiving messages from me, the course listserv, or Friday Center staff.

Hotmail users should be aware that Hotmail will block messages sent from within Blackboard because Blackboard uses "blind carbon copy" to protect privacy. We recommend that you use your UNC Onyen e-mail account rather than forwarding to Hotmail for this course.

Submitting Assignments

It is extremely important for you to save copies of any work you send to your instructor via e-mail. If your instructor doesn't receive your work, you must have a duplicate copy, indicating the date sent, to prove that you submitted the assignment on time. It is your responsibility to maintain copies of your sent e-mails, as there is no way to guarantee that any e-mail message will be delivered.

Please check your e-mail software to see how it manages sent and saved messages. Some software automatically deletes messages one month after they have been sent; others only save messages if they are filed in folders; others save messages received but not those sent. You may need to send yourself a copy of your e-mailed assignment at the same time you send it to your instructor, or you may need to print a copy of the e-mail message and any attachments to keep in your paper files. No matter how your system works, make sure you know how to save a copy of all work that you submit to your instructor and that you save the copy for several months beyond the end of the course.

You will e-mail your assignments to be graded to me as attachments. In the subject line of the e-mail message, enter "CCO ENGL 130 Assignment #" and your last name (example: CCO ENGL 130 Lesson 3 Smith). By providing the assignment number and your name, you make it easier for me to track your progress and keep your work separate from that of other students.

Use a filename for your attachments 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.

Other Questions

Contact your instructor with questions regarding the content of the course and your progress. There is an e-mail link to your instructor at the top of every lesson page. Please include "ENGL 130 " in the subject line of your e-mail.

Contact your Instructional Designer at the Friday Center about problems with this Web site, including bad links.

If you have any logistical questions as you work through the course (enrollment, Onyen, credits, withdrawal, and so on), contact the Student Services staff at the Friday Center for Continuing Education (phone 919-962-1134 or 800-862-5669).

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Lesson Schedule

For 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.

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Lesson 1

Course author: Richard Krawiec

© University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Last updated: January 22, 2008
Send comments and questions to fridaycenter@unc.edu.