We will be focusing in this class on becoming skilled writers in a variety of genres: non-fiction memoir or narrative; non-fiction persuasive writing; the literary response essay; short fiction; and poetry. All of this work will demand we exercise our imagination, but in particular our work in narrative and poetry will require us to consider the meaning of how people respond to the world around them, which will enhance mental powers that will serve you well in whatever endeavor you choose in life.
You'll be asked to write stories that demonstrate your increasing understanding of how fiction works. At the same time you will be honing your writing skills in a variety of areas, including the argumentative and literary essay. In this class you’ll be asked to become a self-aware writer and creator. Because good writers are also good readers, we’ll read a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction of high literary polish. I’ll ask you to begin reading as a writer—that is, you will read with the goal of understanding the techniques and methods that permit writers to create their own unique vision and style, while just incidentally writing prose that dazzles and demands attention.
How we'll work:
For creative writing, we will use a workshop approach, in which you'll share your work with other writers in the class and get their feedback. (More on this later.)
For each book or literary work we read, you’ll be expected to read about 15 to 25 pages a night. In addition you will sometimes have homework in which you'll be asked to write brief responses or answer questions about your reading or topics for class discussion. You can expect that for each book or literary work, you'll write one at-home essay and have one to two tests. Pop quizzes occur whenever the teacher (me) gets the sense that students are not reading the material!
