Homework

WEEK 1:

Tuesday, 8-23:

·      Introduction, Decide on and sign up for Conversational Topics, Opening Exercises

Thursday, 8-25:

·      Conversational Topic: How Does One Get Published? (Dr. Hand)

·      Read Making Shapely Fiction (MSF) to page 4 (plus the introduction), “Write What You Know” (61-64) “Short Story,” and “Narrative”

·      Read the Foreword, Maile Meloy’s “Madam Lazarus” (250-260) and Louise Erdrich’s “The Big Cat” (72-81) from Best American Short Stories 2015 (BASS)

                                                     

WEEK 2:                                                                                                      

Tuesday, 8-30:

·      Conversational Topic: The Life of a Published Writer (Dr. Hand)

·      Read MSF 15-20 and cross references

·      Read Victor Lufato “Jack July” (156-175) from BASS

·      Do Last Lap or Trauma / work on 5 Stories Project

Thursday, 9-1:

·      Read MSF pages 21-32 and cross references

·      Read Steven Justin Bigos’ “Fingerprints” (22-31) and Shobha Rao’s “Kavitha and Mustafa” (261-273) from BASS

·      Do Specimen or Gathering / work on 5 Stories Project

          

WEEK 3:

Tuesday, 9-6:

·      Conversational Topic: Art v. Commercial Fiction (Group 1: Ryan, Ally, and Molly)

·      Read MSF pages 33-47 and cross references and “Don’t Do This” (65-76)

·      Read Aria Beth Sloss’ “North” (292-310) from BASS

·      Do Day In the Life, Onion, or Bear at the Door exercise / work on 5 stories

Thursday, 9-8:

·      Read MSF 48-57 and cross references

·      Read Colum McCann’s “Sh’khol” (176-199) and Elizabeth McCracken’s “Thunderstruck” (200-231) from BASS

·      5 Stories Project Due

Week 4:

Tuesday, 9-13:   

·      Conversational Topic: MFAs and A Writer’s Education: Can Writing Be Taught? (Group 2: Joy, Samantha, Jake)

·      Read MSF 5-14 and cross references

·      Read “Nirvana” (3-38) from FORTUNE SMILES

Thursday, 9-15:

·      Read MSF “Workshops,” “Advice,” and “Reading”

·      Read Student Stories and Respond for WORKSHOP #1 (Click link <-- for the Google Doc)

WEEK 5:                                                                                                      

Tuesday, 9-20:   

·      Read MSF “Melodrama,” “Sentimentality,” “Bathos,” and “Catharsis,”

·      Read Student Stories and Respond for WORKSHOP #2 (Click link <-- for the Google Doc)

Thursday, 9-22:

·      Read MSF “Cliché,” “Stereotype,” “Archetype,” and “Pathetic Fallacy”

·      Read Student Stories and Respond for WORKSHOP #3 (Click link <-- for the Google Doc)

WEEK 6:                                                                                                      

Tuesday, 9-27:   

·      Conversational Topic: Conferences, Colonies, and Crit Groups (Group 3: Rob, Marisa, Zach)

·      Read MSF “Structure,” and “Style”

·      Read “Hurricanes Anonymous” (39-102) from FORTUNE SMILES

Thursday, 9-29:

·      Read MSF “Ambiguity” and “Negative Positive Knowledge”

·      Read Student Stories and Respond for WORKSHOP #4 (Click link <-- for the Google Doc)

WEEK 7:

Tuesday, 10-4:   

·      Read MSF pages “Objective Correlative,” “Imagery,” and “Atmosphere”

·      Read Student Stories and Respond for WORKSHOP #5 (Click link <-- for the Google Doc)

Thursday, 10-6:

·      Read MSF pages “Metaphor and Simile,” “Motif,” and “Symbolism”

·      Read Student Stories and Respond for WORKSHOP #6 (Click link <-- for the Google Doc)

WEEK 8:                                                                                                      

Tuesday, 10-11: 

·      Conversational Topic: Literary Journals (Group 4: Rebecca, Cameron, Sean)

·      Read “George Orwell Was A Friend of Mine”  (139-204) from FORTUNE SMILES

Thursday, 10-13:

·      Read MSF “Endings,” “Resolution,” and “Poetic Justice”

·      Read Student Stories and Respond for WORKSHOP #7 (Click link <-- for the Google Doc)

WEEK 9:

Tuesday, 10-18: 

·      Conversational Topic: Literary Agents (Group 5: Lindsay, Tomas, Allison)

·      Read “Fortune Smiles” (247-302) from FORTUNE SMILES

Thursday, 10-20:

·      Read MSF “Trust Your Material”

·      Read Student Stories and Respond for WORKSHOP #8 (Click link <-- for the Google Doc)

WEEK 10:

Tuesday, 10-25: 

·      Read MSF “Freytag’s Pyramid,” “Crisis,” and “Zig-Zag”

·      Read Student Stories and Respond for WORKSHOP #9 (Click link <-- for the Google Doc)

Thursday, 10-27:

·      Read MSF “Names,” “Places and Place Names,” and “Titles”

·      Read Student Stories and Respond for WORKSHOP #10 (Click link <-- for the Google Doc)

WEEK 11:                                                                                                    

Tuesday, 11-1:   

·      Read MSF “Subtlety,” “Theme,” and “Didacticism”

·      Read Student Stories and Respond for WORKSHOP #11 (Click link <-- for the Google Doc)

Thursday, 11-3:

·      Conversational Topic: Publishing Houses and Editors (Dr. Hand)

·      Read “Ghosts, Cowboys,” (1-23) from BATTLEBORN                 

WEEK 12:

Tuesday, 11-8:   

·      Read Student Stories and Respond for WORKSHOP #12 (Click link <-- for the Google Doc)

·      Journal Reports Due (click Link for the assignment)

Thursday, 11-10:

·      Read MSF “Sex,” “Profanity/Obscenity,” and “Naturalism”

·      Read Student Stories and Respond for WORKSHOP #13 (Click link <-- for the Google Doc)

WEEK 13:

Tuesday, 11-15:

·      Read Student Stories and Respond for WORKSHOP #14 (Click link <-- for the Google Doc)

Thursday, 11-17:

·      Read MSF “Psychic Distance”

·      Read Student Stories and Respond for WORKSHOP #15 (Click link <-- for the Google Doc)

NO CLASS 11-22 and 11-24 DUE TO THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

WEEK 14:                                                                                                    
Tuesday, 11-29: 

·      Read “The Past Perfect, The Past Continuous, The Simple Past” (63-100) from BATTLEBORN

·      Read MSF “Revision,” and “Diction”

·      Revision Exercises

Thursday, 12-1:

·      Read “Wish You Were Here” (101-119) and “Man-O-War” (121-152) from BATTLEBORN

·      Revision Exercises

WEEK 15:
Tuesday, 12-6:   

·      Read “The Archivist” (153-182) and “Graceland” (265-283) from BATTLEBORN

·      Revision Exercises

Thursday, 12-8:

·      Conversational Topic: What Has This Class Taught You?

·      Bring stuff with which to party

·      Bring in Final Analysis letter

PORTFOLIO DUE WEDNESDAY, 12-13-16 

by 12:30 p.m