Some additional aims of this course:

• to complete a chapbook of creative work;
• to help you locate and explore your centers of interest in a setting both supportive and challenging;
• to learn how to access local and national resources for creative writers;
• to begin to understand the standards and expectations of various literary communities, especially within the established (noncommericial, non-mass market) fine arts;
• to improve critical awareness.
• to understand "literature" as both corpus of knowledge to be studied and ongoing, evolving, living enterprise.
• to enjoy stories and poems.

In some ways this class is like the proverbial arts enclave:  a comfortable meeting place for writers who are seeking the support, feedback, and stimulation of other writers. We sit down together, share and discuss our writing. That's the gist of it.

This is also an academic experience, of course, and I do need to ultimately assign a grade for each student. Though much of the class is student-directed and open, you'll complete some assigned projects as well as a self-published chapbook.

Grades

Grading is based on a simple point system, in which your aim is to earn as close to 100 as possible. You’ll start the semester with 0, then earn credit for the assignments described below. To arrive at a specific number of points for a given assignment, I generally first assign a grade where Very Good=A; Good=B; Fair=C; Poor=D; Unacceptable=F. I then fine-tune that letter grade judgment with points.

At the end of the term, I tally the points you've earned for all course work and determine a semester grade where 90-100=A, 79-89=B , 68-78=C, 57-67=D, below 57=F.

Assignnments

 Chapbook (Projects & Open Work) (80 pts. possible, or 80% of semester total)

"A tree crying out to be covered with leaves."

A chapbook is like a regular book, but shorter in length, less expensively produced, and often self-published. At the end of the term, you will have a chapbook made of your completed fiction and poetry projects, along with any other work you think would fit well. The projects are worth 16 pts. each. Your chapbook materials should have undergone thoughtful and active revision, taking into consideration, as much as time permits, feedback from your teacher and classmates. And you should try to bind the collection in a cosmetically appealing way, with the conventions of any book: title page, contents, dedication page, pagination, notes, etc. Follow the links below for instructions on each chapbook project:

Note: your chapbook contents are, to some extent, negotiable. If you're very interested in a different sort of writing, and/or are actively engaged in a project of your own, feel free to run it by me. OR: if one or more of your projects don't work to your satisfaction, you may substitute them with alternatives (but NOT work from some previous class). I'll try, as much as possible, to tailor the course to suit your interests. The fundamental requirements and criteria will remain the same for most assignments, but we can probably allow for some flexibility.

Audience and Purpose : any avid reader of quality fiction and poetry. Assume your audience is well-read in both literature and the arts, likes to be surprised by new perspectives and daring uses of language, and also wants to be moved. (I.e., try to blow their hair back!) Your audience for these project is not especially interested in formulaic writing of any kind, nor anything intended primarily for the commercial mass market. Your purpose is to move and provoke your reader, and to demonstrate what you've learned about writing poetry and fiction.

Evaluation criteria: Your chapbook should follow the instructions stated above. The final version of each project should adhere to the criteria established in its respective assignment. Be sure as well to carefully edit and proofread your work for surface errors (mechanical and grammatical). "No iron can pierce the heart with such force as a period put just at the right place" (Isaac Babel, qtd. by Carver, "In Writing").

Workshop and Workshop Reflective Essay (10 pts. possible, or 10% of semester total)

Everyone will submit material for workshop discussion a minimum of once in the semester. When it's your turn to be workshopped, you'll email the class a copy of your work by noon of the day prior to class. Don't forget to paginate your work, provide your name on the work, and use standard Times 10-12-pt. font. We'll all print it out and read it, then discuss it in class. The item to be workshopped is entirely your choice.

Following your required workshop session, you will write a brief reflective essay. This piece (at least 2 pages, typed, double-spaced, and stapled) should do the following:

1. summarize the feedback you received during the session, explaining what you learned about the strengths and weaknesses of your writing;
2. explain how you plan to revise the piece in question, based on the feedback you received;
3. address the possibilities and directions for future new work which came out of the session;
4. put your thoughts into the larger context of your overall progress and development as a writer.

The purpose of this essay is to help you think about and best use the feedback you received. The purpose is also to show that you were attentive to the class's responses and that you have applied those responses to engaged, ongoing revisions of your work.

Audience: this essay is for me and for yourself. It should demonstrate your commitment to improvement, and help me to evaluate your progress and seriousness as a student.

Evaluation criteria: your essay should carefully follow the instructions described above, and include a heading which reads, "Workshop Reflective Essay." Provide well-developed and focused paragraphs, and be sure your essay is edited and proofread for lapses in clarity, style, and mechanics.

Due date: your reflective essay is due no later than the last day of class, 5pm, by hardcopy or email Word attachment. It will not be accepted after that time.

Community Events (10 pts. possible, or 10% of semester total)

As part of your introduction to what writers do, you'll attend two outside-of-class literary events (a reading, a talk, a workshop, etc.), worth 5 pts. each. I'll announce events as I learn about them, but it's primarily your responsibility to find out when and where such events are held in our community and the Tri-College universities.

Following each event, you'll write a brief reflective essay. This piece (1-2 pages, typed, double-spaced, and stapled) should do the following:

1. summarize the event with plenty of specific, concrete, descriptive detail;
2. reflect on the event's significance to our class, your writing, your understanding of literature, and your experience of the literary world. Avoid judging the event ; I'm mostly interested in what understanding  you gained about writing and writers.

Audience and Purpose: these reports are for your instructor. They are intended to show me that you've made an effort to participate in relevant events which are ever-ongoing in F/M or any community. They are also meant to show that you've reflected on those events and their significance to your own work.

Evaluation criteria: in addition to heeding all instructions given above, your brief essay should include a heading which reads, "Community Event Reflective Essay." Provide well-developed and focused paragraphs, and be sure your essay is edited and proofread for lapses in clarity, style and mechanics.

Due date: your two community event reports are due no later than the last day of class, 5 pm, by hardcopy or email Word attachment. They will not be accepted after that time.

Attendance and Participation (unscored but checked)

Because this is a workshop and discussion-oriented course, your attendance is VITAL. You will often be working with your classmates in collaboration, and they will frequently depend on you to be present and prepared. I therefore keep careful track of who is present, aware, and participating in class. An especially strong or weak showing in attendance and participation will likely affect my judgment of your chapbook, especially in borderline cases .

Missed Classes: when you miss a class for any reason, you must contact your classmates for notes, schedule changes, and any instructions you missed. Do not come to me for that information. You may contact me later, of course, with informed, specific questions, but only after first contacting several classmates. You will be held responsible for anything discussed or assigned in each class meeting, whether you are present or not.

Weekly Work (unscored, but checked)

We'll complete a variety of short exercises and activities throughout the term, intended primarily as writing prompts as well as ways to practice particular skills. These will just receive a check/no check in my book. This record, however, will give me a view of your participation in the class, as well as your interest in improving your work. An especially strong or weak showing in these "weekly work" assignments will likely affect my judgment of your chapbook, especially in borderline cases. Activities may include weblogging, small group exercises, Poetry on Wheels submissions, brief reports, and a spoken word performance in front of the class and class visitors. In short, this daily work will be extremely varied. Expect the unexpected.

Due date: this will vary with each assignment. Missed weekly work: this can be made up within one week of its assignnment. When you miss an assignment, contact a couple classmates ASAP for full instructions, contact for additional help, then turn in the completed work with a note explaining what the assignment was and the date it was given.

Feel free to visit, call, or email me if you ever have questions or concerns.

Disclaimer! I believe in the creative as well as practical value of spontaneity. I also believe that disorder is always there, lurking in any plan or scheme no matter how carefully devised— especially my own. I therefore reserve the right, if the occasion warrants it, and with ample advance notice to you, to alter some of the details on this page as the semester progresses. Fundamental aspects of the course, such as basic requirements, will not change.

University Statement on Academic Honesty

All work in this course must be completed in a manner consistent with NDSU University Senate Policy, Section 335: Code of Academic Responsibility and Conduct. http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/policy/335.htm

Note: any instances of deliberate plagiarism in English 323 will result in an F for the course.