Welcome to Creative Writing

We will be focusing in this class on becoming skilled writers in a variety of genres, but our special emphasis will be on writing fiction. This is because fiction demands that we exercise our imagination and consider the meaning of how people respond to the world around them—mental powers that will serve you well in whatever endeavor you choose in life.

You'll be asked to write your own short stories and to respond to fictional works of literature in a way that demonstrates 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!

Grades and Attendance:

Grades will be based on the following:

Tests/ at home writing and projects:     70 percent

Classwork, quizzes, and homework:    30 percent

                                                
   Total: 100 percent

IMPORTANT: Grades are cumulative. That means the grades you make now count as much as the grades later in the semester. So it's important to work hard from the very beginning and not dig yourself into a hole in the first weeks of our class. We will use Engrade, an online grading system in this class. I’ll give you information shortly about how to register. You’ll have your own account, where I’ll post grades. Your parents or guardians should be given access to your account.

Responsibility: It is the student’s responsibility to make up work. If you’re absent, you must find out from a fellow student what work was done in class or for homework and get the work to me the following day. No late homework or classwork will be accepted! If you miss a test, it is your responsibility to let me know and arrange for a make-up.

Attendance: You’re expected to be in class every day. Absent notes are required if you are absent due to illness or family necessity. 

Electronic devices:

Keep them in your pockets or bags. No use of electronic devices.

Honor Policy—Cheating and Plagiarism

Honor policy and cheating: If you do the work of this class on your own, you’ll develop skills that will serve you well for the rest of your life. If you cheat, you’ll get no such benefits and you’ll receive a 0 on the work in question, and your parents/guardian will be informed of your actions. You'll also violate my trust in you, and you’ll lose my respect, and since trust and respect are two things that I believe we all value very highly, I'll be deeply disappointed in you.

Plagiarism: When you take other people’s work and hold it out to be your own (whether another student’s work or something taken from the Internet), you are engaging in theft. Plagiarism won’t be tolerated. Plagiarism will result in a 0 on the work in question. In addition, Midwood will be announcing a school-wide plagiarism code in coming days that will include severe penalties for plagiarism.

IMPORTANT: If you place work on blogs/fan sites, etc., you must not submit that work for class assignments, prior to turning it in for class credit.

Class Communications and Contacting Mr. Vilbig:

Class blog: The class will use a blog to communicate assignments and other important matters. It can be accessed at www.vilbigwriting.blogspot.com. I highly suggest that you register for the blog and ‘follow’ it, since this will result in your receiving an email notification when new posts are made.

Contact information: The best way to contact me is through the Engrade email system. You also can reach me by phone 718 724-8560. The best times to contact me are between 10:30 and 11 a.m., and 2 to 3 p.m.

The Importance of Fiction

In this video, excerpts from a television interview, the novelist David Foster Wallace talks about why fiction matters. Please watch and come to class Friday ready to discuss the following: how does television differ as an entertainment or art form from novels and short stories? What might novels and short stories give readers that television cannot? Conversely, what can television provide its audience that novels and short stories cannot?

Instructions for T.S. Eliot and E.E. Cummings poems

Print out and read The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot and the poems by e.e. cummings -- choose one poem and write a response in which you a) give your view in a paragraph of the poem's theme or controlling idea, citing evidence from the poem and b) develop a paragraph in which you show how the poet used two literary devices (metaphor, simile, imagery, irony, etc.) or elements (characterization, setting, etc. -- but not theme).

Due Monday.

Critical articles about Emily Dickinson

Read these:

1) A Brooklyn College overview.

2) An essay on Dickinson's poems. (Read at least first page.)

3) Finally, an essay by the novelist Joyce Carol Oates. (Read the first three screens worth -- to the end of the paragraph that begins: "Surely there is a witty irony that lightning can be domesticated ...")

Emily Dickinson poems

Go here to find an archive of poetry by Emily Dickinson.

Parameters for Essay

Formatting:
1) Minimum four pages.
2) 12 point or smaller type
2) Times New Roman or similar font
3) Black ink

4) One-inch margins

Structure:
1) Introductory paragraph  that at minimum roughly follows the format discussed in class (thesis statement and background/explanation in whatever order you choose).
2) Body paragraphs (at least three) that develop your primary arguments in each paragraph. Each paragraph should have a topic sentence (first sentence) that essentially states your point, followed by a development of that argument, examples, and if appropriate a quote. The last sentence of each body paragraph should wrap up the argument made within.
3) It's perfectly alright to have other body paragraphs (for example, ones that talk about how to solve the problem you're discussing, or that further develop arguments in other body paragraphs). But there must be at least three body paragraphs that directly develop the arguments in favor of your thesis.
4) A conclusion that summarizes the essay's conclusions.

Writing:
Try to make your writing concise, logical, striking, and grammatical.

I hope you're enjoying your break! See you in a week!

Example of Body Paragraph

[Topic:]Currently pilots are only tested for psychological problems at the time of hire. [Explanation]That's a big problem, because it's well known that people's psychological condition can change with time. In addition, flying planes can be a very stressful job. It doesn't make sense to put pilots under such stress without recognizing the need to give them psychological tests periodically. In many other high stress professions, people are required to undergo regular testing. [Example:] For example, members of the U.S. military and people who work in high risk jobs in combat zones are given regular tests and have access to counseling. [Quote:] "We would be in a lot of trouble," said Mark Saunders, head of the American Testing Association, "if we didn't do testing of people like CIA officers." [Wrap-up sentence:] If these other professions require regular testing, then so should pilots.
(material in this paragraph are for demonstration purposes only and do not necessarily bear any resemblance to persons living or dead)