WEEKLY COURSE
SCHEDULE: Week 1
Note: the syllabus calendar was updated on 9/2/08 at 11:30
am. Please note the changes for the story "On Hope."
| Class 1 |
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1) Orientation and introductions |
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2) Fill out student information sheet |
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| 3) Read over syllabus | ||
| 4) Discuss
inevitability in stories: read and write endings to "The
Elephant" |
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| Homework | 1) Buy a writer's notebook. Start recording ideas, dreams, questions, quotes, etc., that you think may be useful in your writing. | |
| 2) Establish a time and place for your writing: if you don't do this at the outset, you'll probably find yourself falling behind quickly in the class, and you'll wind up not meeting your writing goals. This will probably just cause you to feel disappointed in yourself. So start early and make your writing a regular part of your week-- or better yet--day. | ||
| 3) Buy Bird by Bird and the class booklet at the bookstore. Also, buy yourself a binder to put the class booklet in, as well as some binder paper for notes or in-class writing. Make sure to bring your class booklet to every class and Bird by Bird to those classes when I've indicated. | ||
| 4) Read "On Hope" online here (a page is missing from the class booklet), write a synopsis of the story on a 3 x 5 card (that you'll turn into Dave for 5 pts. at the next class), and come prepared to discuss. That means underline, take notes, and think about how the story creates its meaning. Most writers agree that the thing that most lead them to success was a lot of reading and a lot of writing and revising. So read a lot! | ||
| 5) Exercise #1: Write 2-4 pages (typed and double spaced) in which you incorporate both a description of the place where you grew up and a story of something memorable that either happened to you or someone you knew. Keep to the point of view of yourself as a child or a teen. You may fictionalize this where the memory grows thin or where the story itself falls short in terms of drama, detail, or some other essential factor. Make sure to bring five copies to class: one clean one for Dave, one to read from, and three to share in a small group. | ||
| 6) If you're going to take the class Credit/No credit, get over to Admissions and Records and file to do that; otherwise, you're taking the class for a letter grade. | ||
| 7) Don't forget: bring in your most embarrassing or worst CD--and be prepared to part with it! | ||
Note: The above assignments and deadlines are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.