English 402: Advanced Creative Writing: Short Fiction
Professor Hans Ostrom Spring 2005
Welcome to English 402. Here is some basic information:
My Office: Wyatt 336. Office-Hours for Spring 2005: Tuesday-Thursday, 9:30-11:00, and by appointment, of course. My door is often open at other times. The English Department’s telephone: x3235 (messages); my telephone: x3434 (voice mail). Electronic mail: ostrom@ups.edu. The English Department’s mailboxes are located in the room next to the Philosophy Department’s main office on the third floor of Wyatt Hall.
Home page: www.ups.edu/faculty/ostrom/. A printable copy of this syllabus is posted on the home page.
The University’s Equal Opportunity Statement
The University of Puget Sound does not discriminate in education or employment on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, religion, creed, age, disability, marital or familial status, sexual orientation, Vietnam-era veteran status, gender identity, or any other basis prohibited by local, state, or federal laws. This policy complies with the spirit and the letter of applicable federal, state and local laws, including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Questions about the policy may be referred to the University's Director of Human Resources and Affirmative Action (253-879-3116) or the Office of Civil Rights, Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202.
Purposes of the Course
In English 202 (the prerequisite for taking English 402), you learned more about how short fiction is very much its own literary form, distinct from novels, poems, and plays but sharing territory with them. You also learned more about your own writing of short stories.
In English 402 one purpose will be to explore the distinctness and the shared genre-territory, and others will be to produce our own short stories, get responses to them and to drafts of them, to experiment with new possibilities, to develop as writers. Another purpose of English 402 is to create a venue in which you may work hard and with satisfaction at understanding the art of short fiction, as both a writer and a reader.
To write much; to read a wide variety of stories and experiment with different critical lenses with which to interpret short fiction; to experiment with different narrative methods; to explore narrative theory; to build on your experience writing stories; to give, take, and use responses to work-in-progress; to ponder the mysteries of "fiction": these are some other purposes of this course.
The Etiquette and Atmosphere of the Course
Here are some guidelines to which all of us should try to adhere. I trust none of them will be surprising or difficult. Indeed, I hope they’ll seem familiar, but sometimes it’s good to reaffirm the familiar. All are aimed at creating a productive, workable environment.
The Workshop
A good chunk of the course will be devoted to the close reading, by your peers, of your work-in-progress. I’ll set out guidelines for how we do this. The workshop method isn’t for everyone, but by staying in the course, you implicitly agree to participate actively and productively in this method of response and revision.
The Portfolio System
You’ll take three stories through the workshop, revising them before, during, and after the presentation to your group. At the end of the term, you will submit two of these in a portfolio, along with at least three one-page "slices" or "micro-stories." We will likely write four micro-stories, in which case you may “drop” one from the portfolio, and it’s good to have one to drop also because micro-stories sometimes turn into one of the longer stories. The portfolio is the work I will evaluate formally, though of course I will be reading and commenting on your drafts all along.
As you’ll see from the schedule below, there is a rhythm to this course, with intervals of reading and writing, class discussion and group work, and so on. There is a plan for the whole term, but there is, by design, plenty of room for flexibility. Bring the syllabus to class with you every time so that you may note any changes.
Approximate Breakdown of Elements on Which Your Grade Will Be Based.
Portfolio: 55 per cent.
Participation (showing up; being productive; doing the reading and writing; contributing to discussions; participating in group work; meeting deadlines for drafts): 20 per cent.
Midterm exam (which will ask you to analyze and synthesize the short fiction we have read and ideas & terms from other material we read): 15 per cent.
Oral presentation about an extra book of short stories: 10 per cent.
The Books
Reni Browne and Dave King. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print. New York: Quill Books, 1993. In this book, two experienced editors of fiction take their readers (that would be us) through the processes of revision and editing.
Robert Shapard and James Thomas, editors. Sudden Fiction International: 60 Short-Short Stories. New York: W.W. Norton, 1989. These stories exemplify the art of the very short narrative; as noted above, we’ll be writing our own "microstories."
B. Minh Nguyen and Porter Shreve, The Contemporary American Short Story. New York: Pearson/Longman 2004.
And a collection of stories (by one author--that is, not an anthology) of your choice. You’ll select this collection around mid-term, read it, and give an oral report on it toward the end of the term.
The WTDT School of Criticism
About the reading: I always assume students and I will have interesting things to say about what we read, even about (especially about?) stories we don’t immediately care for or understand. You already know several ways in which to respond to and analyze literature, and we’ll draw these and others in class; they include formalism, structuralism, feminist criticism, multicultural criticism, post-structural criticism, and genre-criticism. One additional reliable way of developing things to say is to ask, as you’re reading a story, “What’s that doing there?” In this context, the question is not rhetorical, and you should answer it as best you can. The “that” can be almost anything from a single word to a whole scene, a punctuation-mark to a plot-device, a way of beginning to a way of ending. It might be the length or rhythm of a sentence or a way a writer has a character say something. It may be some kind of surprise. “What’s that doing there?” is also a great writer’s question; it’s one of the ways writers get inside what other writers are doing. As you read, identify several “thats” which interest you. If you don’t know what “that” is doing there, make an educated guess, drawing on your experience as a reader, a writer, and an English major; if “that” were in your story, why would it be there, and would you let it stay there? We’ll call this the WTDT School of Criticism. The most important things to do are to read the stories carefully and to have something to say to your colleagues about the story.
Schedule of Class Meetings (Subject to Change)
This schedule is detailed, and the essential plan for the course will remain constant, but some shifts and refinements in scheduling may occur. Contact me if you aren’t sure about the schedule.
Wednesday, January 19. Aims & expectations. A look at the syllabus. Some writing. For Friday, read Chapter One of Self-Editing. Respond to the tasks on pp. 11-13.
Friday, January 21. A half-page (no more than one page, certainly) revision of task C, pp. 12-13 of Self-Editing is due—word-processed, double-spaced. A review of the history of short fiction. For today, also read, in SF, the stories by Leslie Norris and Isak Dinesen. In CASS, read “A Brief History of the Short Story” (xiii-xviii) and “The Lesson,” by Toni Cade Bambara. “Three-sentence” task discussed.
Monday, January 24. . For today, read, in SF, "Las Papas," by Julio Ortega, "Family Album," by Siv Cedering, and "The Other Wife," by Colette. In CASS, read “Shiloh,” by Bobby Ann Mason. Photocopy of Genette’s essay distributed. Ideas for a micro-story discussed. “Raising the stakes.” Three-sentence descriptions of three people due—nine sentences.
Wednesday, January 26. For today, read Gerard Genette, "Order, Frequency, Duration." For today, also read, in CASS, the story by Sherman Alexie. Work with time in fiction.
Friday, January 28. An original and two copies of a micro-story are due. For today, also read Chapter Two of Self-Editing. Consider the exercises on 26 and 27, although you do not need to write them out.
Monday, January 31. A partial draft of your first story is due. Get something down on paper—detailed notes, scenes, pages of a draft. Bring in what you have. For today, read Chapter Three of Self-Editing. Do Exercise A on page 44.
Wednesday, February 2. For today, read Chapter Four of Self-Editing. In many ways, writing dialogue successfully is about paying attention minutiae, so take your time with this chapter, and identify problems with dialogue-mechanics that your fiction typically exhibits. Also read, in SF, "Disappearing," by Monica Wood, and Patricia Grace, "At the River.” In CASS, read “Communist” by Richard Ford. Guidelines for group-work and for submitting stories discussed.
Friday, February 4. First longer story due, with copies for the group. Include all rough drafts and notes in the folder, please. Group work.
Monday, February 7. Group work. Stories due, with copies.
Wednesday, February 9. Group work.
Friday, February 11. For today, please read Chapter Five of Self-Editing. Edit the exercise-samples (A and B) on pp. 72 and 73. Also, in SF, read Talat Abbasi, "Facing the Light," and Denis Hirson, "Arrest Me.” In CASS, read “The Jewbird,” by Bernard Malamud. Some options for a micro-story.
Monday, February 14. .” An original and two copies of a micro-story, double-spaced and word-processed, due. Distribute “Masks of Revision.”
Wednesday, February 16. For today, in CASS, please read “River of Names,” by Dorothy Allison,” Pam Houston, “How to Talk to a Hunter,” and Grace Paley, “Wants.”
Friday, February 18. Bring a fresh copy of each of your first two micro-stories, please. . Masks of revision. For today, also read Chapter Six of Self-Editing.
Monday, February 21. In SF, read Richard Brautigan, "The Weather in San Francisco," and Barry Yourgrau, "By the Creek.” In CASS, read “Pet Milk,” by Stuart Dybek. Question: If you were the author of these stories, how would you want readers to respond to them? Think about them from the authors’ perspective.
Wednesday, February 23. For today, read Chapter Seven of Self-Editing. It’s an important chapter on “Easy Beats.” Also, in SF, read Stuart Dybek, "Death of the Right Fielder," Fernando Sorrentino, "There’s A Man in the Habit of Hitting Me Over the Head With an Umbrella.” In CASS, read “Cathedral,” by Raymond Carver. Think about the easy beats in these stories.
Friday, February 25. For today, please read Chapters Nine and Ten of Self-Editing. We’ll look at some of the exercises in class, but glance at them ahead of time, please.
Monday, February 28. An original new micro-story and three copies of it are due.
Wednesday, March 2. . For today, Read Chapter 11 of Self-Editing. Also read, in CASS, “Lost in the Funhouse,” by John Barth, and “The Turkey Season,” by Alice Munro.
Friday, March 4. Field trip, writing; bring a notebook and a pencil.
Monday, March 7. Review for midterm. Ideas for and notes about the second longer story are due.
Wednesday, March 9. For today, please read “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” by Flannery O’Connor, in CASS. All about publishing. What questions do you have?
Friday, March 11. Midterm test.
March 11-20. Midterm-recess. Meet on the playground near the tether-ball courts.
Monday, March 21. Complete rough draft of second story due. Please identify the extra book of short stories you will read and make a presentation on. Sign up for presentations.
Wednesday, March 23. Second story due, with copies for the group. Include all rough drafts and notes in the manila folder, please. Group work.
Friday, March 25. Group work.
Monday, March 28. . Group work.
Wednesday, March 30. Sign up for presentations. For today, please read, in CASS, “In the American Society,” by Gish Jen, “Brothers and Sisters Around the World,” by Andrea Lee, and “My Flamboyant Grandson,” by George Saunders.
Friday, April 1. Presentations, no fooling.
Monday, April 4. Presentations.
Wednesday, April 6. Presentations.
Friday, April 8. An original and two copies of a new micro-story are due.
Monday, April 11. Bring in all of your micro-stories written to date. Revise-o-rama. Working on titles.
Wednesday, April 13. Ideas for and notes about the third longer story are due.
Friday, April 15. For today, please read, in Appendix I of CASS, the commentaries by Alexie, Bausch, Carver, and Mukherjee.
Monday, April 18. Complete rough draft of third story due.
Wednesday, April 21. Please read “The Moths,” by Helena María Viramontes, and “Newborn Thrown in Trash and Dies,” by John Edgar Wideman.
Friday, April 22. For today, in Appendix I of CASS, please read the commentaries by Munro, Oates, O’Connor, and Paley.
Monday, April 25. Third story due, with copies for the group. Include all rough drafts and notes in the manila folder. Group work.
Wednesday, April 26. Group work.
Friday, April 28. Group work.
Monday, May 2. Group work, if necessary.
Wednesday, May 4. Professor in office.
Portfolio is due on Wednesday of Finals Week by 4:00 p.m. at my office, Wyatt 336.