READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF DECMEBER 4-10, 2006 AND FINALS WEEK:

Tuesday, December 5, 2006:

Important!! Please be prepared to read a 3-4 page excerpt from your short story in class today. You will want to introduce your story and tell us enough about the general narrative/plot and the characters so that we can contextualize the excerpt. Once again, don't forget to take your time reading, and present in a way that's engaging for your audience. Also, please speak up and read LOUDLY, as the room is difficult to hear in. (This activity is worth 20 points).

Also important!! Your final two quizzes (handed out as take home quizzes last Thursday) are due in class today!

Thursday, December 7, 2006:

Important!! We will finish the open-mic fiction readings, which we started in class on Tuesday. (Once again, reading and attending the in-class readings is worth 20 total participation points this week.)

Also important!! Don't forget that your Writerly Immersion #2 paper is due in class today. Complete guidelines are available in the blog post listed directly below.

* * *

Your final round of blogs will be due by midnight on Sunday, December 10. Since we won't be doing in-class exercises, and since I'm out of memoir prompts, you can post one process post (anything to do with your writing/revising/reading process this last week), and two "freestyle" posts for this week.

* * *

Important!! Don't forget that your final creative writing portfolio will be due on Tuesday, December 12, by 5:00 p.m. during finals week. Complete guidelines for the portfolio can also be located in the blog post directly below.

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 20-26 AND WEEK OF NOVEMBER 27-DECEMBER 3, 2006:

Tuesday, November 21, 2006:

No class today. Instructor giving out-of-town poetry reading. Please use time off to get caught up on readings and continue working on your full-length short story.

Thursday, November 23, 2006:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

There will be no blog posts due on Sunday, November 26, which is the week of the Thanksgiving holiday. However, you may complete up to three extra credit "freestyle" blog posts on any topic of your choice and submit them by midnight on Sunday, November 26, for extra credit. Each extra credit blog posting you complete (up to the three) will be worth 10 extra credit points, and can be completed to either replace missing blog posts from earlier in the semester, or to simply give yourself a little cushion of extra credit. Please label these extra credit blog posts clearly so that I can easily identify them and give you appropriate credit accordingly.

* * *

Tuesday, November 28, 2006:

Please read Chapter 11 (Play it Again, Sam: Revision) in Writing Fiction .

Thursday, December 30, 2006:

Important!! Rough drafts of your 10-12 page short stories are due today. Please make ABSOLUTELY SURE that I have them in hand today so that I can get written comments/feedback to you at our next class meeting on Tuesday, December 5!!

Also important!! Please bring in 6 copies total of a 3-4 page excerpt/installment of your short story for in-class workshopping today. Participation in this in-class workshop will be worth 20 points.

Here is this week’s memoir prompt, for blog posts due on Sunday, December 3, 2006:

Write about your first kiss. Maybe it was with a friend, just practicing. Maybe it was with somebody you were afraid of more than you were in love with. Maybe it was a stolen kiss. Maybe you did the stealing. What were the circumstances leading up to the kiss? Or, start with the kiss and describe what happened after.

* * *

Next, here are the guidelines for Writerly Immersion Paper #2, due on Thursday, December 7:

Your paper should compare and contrast two different poetry/literary readings or literary events. One event can be the reading conducted by visiting writer Sean Johnston, who gave a reading for us in class, and the other event will need to be an outside literary event/reading attended outside of class time.

Your paper should consider both the quality and style of the written work, as well as the quality and style of the performance itself.

Your paper should be a minimum of 750 words (approximately three typewritten/word-processed pages).

You are welcome to use outside sources if you wish, but if you do, please make sure to cite them appropriately, and provide a bibliography using MLA style. (Note that outside sources are not required for this paper, however.)

* * *

And finally, here are guidelines/information for the final creative writing portfolio, which will be due on Tuesday, December 12, by 5:00 p.m.

Please turn your portfolio in to my mailbox in Dakota Hall 212, or if the office is closed, slide it under my office door in Dakota Hall 207. Make sure to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with adequate postage if you'd like your portfolio mailed back to you after grades have been posted to WebAdvisor.

Your portfolio should include the following:
(1) Rough draft versions of the three formal poetry assignments and full-length short story with my comments;
(2) Revised, final versions of these pieces; and
(3) 250-word process pieces for EACH of these sets of assignments/revisions (in other words, you’ll turn in four 250-word process pieces – one for each of the three poems, and one for the full-length short story) in which you discuss your revision process and assess how the piece has developed/evolved as a result of revising.

You will be graded on the thoughtfulness, care, effort, and overall improvement of your revisions.

* * *

Other Upcoming Events and Deadlines:

Saturday, November 18, 2006 - Playwright and Performer Kenny Carnes performs his original, 75-minute, one-man play, Last Words at the Freedom Forum, Neuharth Center, 7:30 p.m. (Admission is $4 for students) (This will count as an outside literary event for your second Writerly Immersion Paper).

Thursday, November 30, 2006 - VLP Poetry Slam (featuring poet Lindy Obach), 7:00-9:00 p.m., Coffee Shop Gallery, 24 W. Main Street (Admission is free) (This will count as an outside literary event for your second Writerly Immersion Paper).

Friday, December 1, 2006 – Deadline for submissions to the 2007 VLP Magazine. (You can submit work you've completed for our class, or any other creative work that you've written. If you hand in your submission (following the submissions guidelines I passed out in class) directly to me prior to December 1, I will give you 20 extra credit points.)

Wednesday, December 6, 2006 – Student Showcase Reading with Marcus Merritt (poetry) and Joseph Raiche (fiction), 4:00 p.m., Churchill-Haines 170.

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 13-19, 2006:

ATTENTION! PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS ASSIGNMENT POST IS UP EXTRA EARLY, SINCE I'M GOING OUT OF TOWN! DOUBLE CHECK THE DATES TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE DOING THE RIGHT ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE RIGHT DATES.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006:

Please read Chapter 7 (Call Me Ishmael: Point of View, Part I) in Writing Fiction.

Thursday, November 16, 2006:

Please read Chapter 8 (Assorted Liars: Point of View, Part II) in Writing Fiction:

Important!! Fiction Short Story Installment #2 (3 pages – 750 words) is due today! (See post below for complete guidelines.

Finally, here is your memoir prompt for blog posts due by midnight on Sunday, November 19, 2006:

Do you recall taking a strong political position? Was there a single moment you can recall when you felt motivated to join a political body, and did that moment lead you down a path through life that embraced those politics? Can you remember when you became "politicized"? Was it accompanied by a strong sense of justice or injustice? Was something wrong that needed to be rectified?

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 6-12, 2006:

Tuesday, November 7, 2006:

No assigned readings for today.

Important!! Guest writer Sean Johnston will be giving a reading in class today! Your responses to this reading will formulate one component of your second compare and contrast paper due at the end of the semester. Please come prepared to listen carefully, and also ask questions afterward.

Thursday, November 9, 2006:

Class canceled today. Instructor out of town for an academic conference.

* * *

Here are the guidelines for your next fiction assignment.

Guidelines for Fiction Assignment #2 - Due Thursday, November 16, 2006:

The assignment is to write another installment in your 8-10 page (2,000 word minimum) short story that you will be working on throughout this half of the semester.

Your short story scene should be approximately 3 pages, or 750 words.

The scene can come from any place in your story, and doesn't necessarily have to be excerpted from where you left off after your exposition/story opening tthat you turned in. For example, you might wish to try writing your story's ending to get feedback. Or perhaps you might want to work with writing the climax of your story, etc.

The scene should reveal aspects and traits of the characters who are in the scene, using the techniques we've been discussing in class.

The scene continue to reveal and develop the dramatic situation/narrative tension/central conflict in your story.

Your scene should attempt to skillfully weave together different elements of fiction writing (action/dialogue, narrative summary, scene setting/description, etc.) in ways that work best for the scene.

* * *

Please note that since we won't be doing any in-class exercises this week, you will need to replace your in-class exercise post with a "freestyle" post.

And finally, here is your memoir prompt for blog posts due on Sunday, November 12, 2006:

Who was your best friend at seven years old? Who was your best friend at 11? At 16? At 20? At 30? And who was your biggest enemy at each of these ages? Describe them.

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 5, 2006:

Tuesday, October 31, 2006:

Please read Chapter 6 (Long Ago and Far Away: Fictional Time and Place) in Writing Fiction.

Thursday, November 2, 2006:

Please read Chapter 4 - Building Character: Characterization, Part I in Writing Fiction.

Important!! Your first fiction assignment is due in class today! Please see guidelines below.

Guidelines for Fiction Assignment #1 - Due Thursday, November 2, 2006:

The assignment is to write an opening scene (or exposition) for a short story. This will be the first installment in the 8-10 page (2,000 word minimum) short story that you will be writing in stages during this second half of the semester.

Your short story scene should be approximately 3 pages, or 750 words.

The scene should reveal aspects and traits of the characters who are in the scene.

The scene should set up a dramatic situation/narrative tension/central conflict.

Your scene should jump right in and begin in medias res and attempt to engage the attention of your reader right off the bat.

Your scene should attempt to skillfully weave together different elements of fiction writing (action/dialogue, narrative summary, scene setting/description, etc.) in ways that work best for the scene.

* * *

And here is your memoir prompt from The Autobiography Box for blog posts due on Sunday, November 5, 2006:

Describe a significant event that brought you closer to, or further away, from your religious devotions. The spiritual life can come upon a person in a sweeping moment or over the course of a long period of time. Have you ever experienced visions or other moments of a spiritual nature? If you had a single moment that you can recall, describe the details leading up to and following that epiphany. How did it change your life afterwards? If you slowly gravitated to a religious tradition or a way of thinking about the divine, show in a series of snapshots how you were brought closer and closer to the spiritual over that time.

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEKS OF OCTOBER 15-22, 2006 AND OCTOBER 23-29, 2006:

Tuesday, October 17, 2006:

In-class open mic today.

Thursday, October 19, 2006:

Class canceled today. Instructor giving out-of-town poetry reading.

Important!! Since we didn't do any in-class exercises this week, or have any assigned readings, please write two freestyle blog posts entirely of your choice to replace the in-class exercise and the reading/process post.

Here is this week's memoir prompt from The Autobiography Box for blog posts due on Sunday, October 22, 2006:

Remember something or somebody you pursued with a passion. How old were you when this happened? Does it seem a rite of passage, or a turning point in growing up? Did you get the thing or that person? If so, was it worth it? If not, do you have regrets?

Tuesday, October 24, 2006:

Please read Chapter 2 (The Tower and the Net: Story Form, Plot, and Structure) in Writing Fiction .

Important!! Your Writerly Immersion Paper #1 will be due in class today! Guidelines for the paper can be found in the post below.

Thursday, October 26, 2006:

Please read Chapter 10 (I Gotta Use Words When I Talk To You: Theme) in Writing Fiction.

Here is the memoir prompt for blog posts due on Sunday, October 29, 2006:

Write down a story that you tell people that didn't really happen the way you usually tell it. So many times we have a good story we embellish with exaggerations, switch events for the sake of timing or humor, all kinds of things. Come on, it's fun! But after you write down the story you tell everybody, tell the same story in its bare-bones, no-frills, true version. Think about the reasons why you twisted the facts around.

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF OCTOBERR 9 - 15, 2006:

Tuesday, October 10, 2006:

Please read Chapter 9 (Beyond the Rational) from Writing Poems.

Thursday, October 12:

Please read Chapter 12 (Becoming a Poet) from Writing Poems.

Important!! Poem #3 -- Dramatic Monologue with Bibliography is due today! (See post below for guidelines). Note that this date is postponed from the original due date of Tuesday, October 10.

Important!! Please make sure to bring eight copies TOTAL of ANY one of the three poems you've written thus far to class for small-group workshopping today.

* * *

The link below will take you to an excellent website that will tutor you in MLA citation procedures, and allow you to practice your citation skills in interactive exercises:

MLA Citation Tutorial

Also, here is a website called KnightCite that allows you to put in publication information, and then generates bibliographical citations in MLA format.

KnightCite

* * *

Here is this week's memoir prompt from The Autobiography Box for blog posts due on Sunday, October 15:

Write about the first time you went away from home alone. Was it a vacation? Was it for work? Were you looking for something? Were you running away? Do you see that excursion as a "hero's journey", or did you go kicking and screaming? How did it change you?

* * *

Guidelines for Writerly Immersion Paper #1 (Due Tuesday, October 24, 2006):

Please write a 3-4 page comparison and contrast paper that compares and contrasts two literary journals.

One of the literary journals should be the VLP 2006 Literary Magazine (available for purchase from the English Department secretary, Melanie Westin, Dakota Hall 212, if you didn't purchase one already at the start of the semester). If, for some pressing reason, you would prefer to replace the VLP 2006 Literary Magazine with an alternate print journal, I will be open to discussing this with you.

The second literary journal can be either another print literary journal or an electronic literary journal. Click on the Portal del Sol link below for an excellent guide/listing of electronic journals and print magazines. (Scroll down past the WebDelSol editor interviews). Electronic journals listed here have a direct link to the online journal, and you can check to see if our library carries subscriptions to any print journals that sound interesting to you.

Portal del Sol

Please make sure cite appropriately using MLA format as needed.