Creative Writing Section RD

VHS Catalog 12-13

Course Title:	Creative Writing Section RD
Course Code:	taermean
MA NCES Code:	01104
Discipline:	Language Arts
Grade Level:	09, 10, 11, 12
Level:	Standard
Offering:	Fall Only (Fall: 25 Seats; )
Duration:	15 weeks
Prerequisites:	Comfort and proficiency with the English language. Experience writing poems and stories.
Additional Requirements:
Accredited by:	Certified by NCAA for initial-eligibility (VHS School Code: 221356); Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools; Northwest Accreditation Commission
Course Requires a Media Kit to be Shipped to Students: No
Course Requires a Media Kit to be Purchased by Course Sponsor (see additional details below): No
Description: The semester will begin with thought, reading, on-line discussion and writing about WHY people write, why bother to do imaginative writing when we can just turn on our TVs or access the Internet. Along the way, we'll try to decide: What is the fundamental impulse behind poems and stories? How are they constructed, and what techniques do particular writers use effectively? What kinds of work do we most admire and why? How can a poem or a piece of fiction speak to us across, years, genders, and cultures?

MediaKit Contents:

Syllabus:
Week 1
The Writing Process
Introductions and Overview
Reading: A Jury of Her Peers By Susan Glaspell

Week 2
Setting
Reading: The Inn By Guy de Maupassant

Week 3
Character
Reading: Say Yes By Tobias Wolff

Week 4
Plot
Reading: To Build a Fire By Jack London

Week 5
Point of View
Reading: Charles By Shirley Jackson

Week 6
Style
Reading: from Ulysses By James Joyce

Week 7
Five Part Harmony
Readings: The Story-Teller By Saki (H.H.Munro), Reflection on Edgar Allen Poe

Weeks 8 & 9
Genres of the Short Fiction:
Romance, Mystery, Character Study, Tall Tale, Adventure, Science Fiction, Humor
Readings:
Adventure: Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge By Ambrose Bierce
Mystery/Horror: The Cask of Amontillado By Edgar Allen Poe
Romance: from Wuthering Heights By Emily Bronte
Science Fiction: There Will Come Soft Rains By Ray Bradbury
Tell Tale: The Gollywhopper Eggs By Anne F. Rockwell
Character Study: The Cabuliwallah By Ravindranath Tagore
Humor: The Humor of Mark Twain

Week 10
Drama
Reading of one act plays: Trifles by Susan Glaspell

Week 11
Drama
Reading: Hearts and Hands” a short story by O. Henry from his book Waifs and Strays (1917).

Week 12
Poetry
Readings: Two poems: New Year’s Day and The Blessing

Week 13
Poetry
Discussing Tone and Pace, Abstractions

Week 14
Final Projects and Getting Published
Portfolio and rewriting task

Week 15
Final Project Presentation and reflection on the course

Course Objectives:
1. To try numerous approaches to writing, and to generate abundant written material
2. To study techniques used in published work and to develop methods of shaping and crafting our own.
3. To learn to REVISE, re-see our work as we learn more about what makes poems and stories good.
4. To get and give useful feedback on our own writing and on classmates' writing in an on-line forum
5. To "meet" for individual on-line conferences with the instructor.
6. To search the Web for information about and interviews with writers.
7. To learn more about the elusive aspects of writing such as inspiration, motivation, habits, getting ideas, and ways of plunging in.

Over the semester, students will develop and polish a portfolio of fiction, poetry, and analyses of published work. The final days of the semester will include reading about and discussion of the market for imaginative writing, approaches to getting published, and jobs for which writing skill is useful.

This catalog description was last modified on 05/30/2012