Instructor's E-mail

Introduction

ENGL 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:

• Can you recognize exposition, narrative action, description, and dialogue within a story? Do you understand the use of each?
• Can you identify the different scenes in a story?
• Can you recognize—and write—flashbacks?
• Do you know how to use transitions?
• Do you understand the difference between plot and theme?
• Can you explain the time sequence of a story?
• Have you ever completed a short story and had it critiqued by an instructor?

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.

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Purpose of the Course

This 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.

In addition to reading and analyzing many published stories, writing informal journal assignments, submitting weekly writing assignments, and completing two short stories, you will participate in class discussion forums. You will access the forums via a course management system called Blackboard (see Course Mechanics). There is a link to Blackboard at the top of each lesson page.

There are three discussion forums for this course:

• Literature Discussion Forum
• Journal Forum
• Story Share Forum

The Literature Discussion Forum is the place where you and your classmates will analyze stories you've read. The Journal Forum is where you will share journal assignments, and in doing so you'll get insight into each other's writing process. The Story Share Forum is similar to an online magazine; it's a place where you will have a chance to read each other's work without comments being made.

In all postings, comments directed towards other students' writing and ideas must be positive. Statements like "I think you're wrong," or "You missed the point" are not appropriate ways to disagree with other students who post. In responding to posts by other students, first find something positive to say about what they've written. Then feel free to offer a dissenting opinion by using a nonjudgmental transition phrase such as "This is how I interpreted this story," or "I wonder if you could also interpret this passage in this way..."

Everyone should be made to feel comfortable participating in our forums, and no one should feel attacked. Opinions are not facts, and it's okay to differ. There isn't a single, narrow, rigid way to interpret any story. In fact, the more diverse the responses, the livelier our discussions will be. Speak to your classmates online the way you would wish them to speak to you.

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Required Texts

1. Your own assignments
   The most important textbook for this course is the one you write during the course. Save every prose assignment for study and comparison. Short prose pieces prepare you for later stories. Scenes and stories will be critiqued by the instructor to help you recognize and further develop your own unique strengths.

2. Your journal
   You are required to keep a regular journal, which is only slightly less important than the writing assignments you will submit. This journal is not a "diary" for recording the day's events, but a writer's notebook. It will contain ideas for stories, notes on characters, snatches of dialogue and description, and comments on books you are reading for study or pleasure. A good journal is shorthand research for many stories. You will be asked to submit some of these journal assignments to your instructor.
   
   Make sure to complete ALL journal assignments. Part of the course final will require you to quote extensively from your journal.

3. Burroway, Janet. Writing Fiction, 7th edition (2007). New York: Longman (paperback)

4. Cassill, R.V. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction, 7th edition (2005). New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc.

You can order the required texts from Friday Center Books & Gifts 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 Story 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 independent bookstores. You will find thousands listed in the International Directory of Little Magazines and Small Presses, published by Dustbooks and available in some public libraries.

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

In most lessons, you will

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. Visit The Norton Anthology of American Literature Web site and read anything on that site related to the author whose work you have just read.
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." 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 e-mail your assignments to be graded to me as attachments. In the subject line of the e-mail message, enter "CCO ENGL 206 Assignment #" and your last name (example: CCO ENGL 206 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.

Submit your assignments via e-mail as Microsoft Word attachments. 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.

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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.

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.

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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 206" 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.

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 206" 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