CREATIVITY: THE ART OF THE SHORT STORY
HUAS 6395
THURSDAYS 7:00-9:45 P.M.
SPRING 1998
Office: JO 3.916; Phone: 972-883-2149
Office Hours: Mondays 5:30-7:00 p.m.
 

Description of Course
Short stories open a window of discovery for readers and writers alike. Writers undoubtedly discover things about themselves as they write, but they must contain themselves within the grammar of their stories if readers are to discover any "truth" in what they read. This course is designed to help writers write fiction filled with discovery, not only for themselves but also for their readers.

In the workshop setting, students will be expected to craft, sentence by sentence, stories that become unique, even surprising. Accordingly, as students write and rewrite their stories, they will be encouraged to write each sentence so that it (1) plays an integral part in the story, (2) is derived directly from the previous sentence, and (3) affects the reader. Additionally, students will learn to slow the telling of their stories by developing a defined stance. Rather than concentrating on relating the "news" of the story, they will work on establishing (via language) their authority as writers in their stories.

Special emphasis will be placed upon developing strong narrative voices. The first half of the course will focus on technical aspects of writing (dialogue, characterization, point of view, etc.). In the second half, using Booth's Rhetoric of Fiction and Sontag's I, etcetera, students will be encouraged to particularize their stories, individualize the narrator, combine showing with telling, establish urgency in the voice, be experimental.

Required Readings
Bly, Carol: The Passionate, Accurate Story
Booth, Wayne: Rhetoric of Fiction
Gaitskill, Mary: Bad Behavior
Sontag, Susan: I, etcetera
Strunk and White: The Elements of Style
Woolf, Virginia: A Room of One's Own

Recommended Readings
Gardner, John: The Art of Fiction

Course Requirements
Previous expeience in fiction writing, although helpful, is not necessary for this course; however, each student must come to the first class prepared to discuss in detail Strunk and White's book, The Elements of Style. During the course of the semester, students will be expected to keep a journal that they will have to turn in periodically to Professor Nelsen. The grading of the journal will be based strictly on effort--not on content. For the second class, the students must have completed a 10 page autobiography. This autobiography will not be graded, but failure to complete it will result in an automatic deduction from the class participation grade. In addition to other assignments, students will write three short stories and do "re-visionings" of two of these stories. Students will be expected to take home and comment on their fellow students' first drafts--these critiques will be graded by the instructor. They should consist of a two page commentary on the other student's story and a detailed line editing of the text. Students will need to xerox their commentaries and line edits. One copy of the critiques/line edits will go to Professor Nelsen and one copy will be returned to the student. Finally, students will be expected to line-by-line edit the story they plan to turn in for their final, and will be expected to do a five page critique of that story.

Weekly Course Plan

January 15th: Rules and Regulations in Writing

  • Read: Strunk and White and FOC handout
  • Discuss: What rules do you have to follow? How do you begin to define yourself as a writer?


January 22nd: Knowing Ourselves

  • Read: Bly, pp. 1-17 and 35-49; Woolf, pp. 3-24; Gaitskill, "Daisy's Valentine."
  • Discuss: What guides our writing? Should we--how can we avoid writing biography? How do we get meaning into our texts?
  • Assignment due: 10 page autobiography

January 29th: Prosecuting Sentency by Sentence vs. Plotting

  • Read: Bly, pp. 18-34 and 49-68; Woolf, pp. 25-40; Gaitskill, "A Romantic Weekend."
  • Discuss: When should we have a plan for writing and when not? Should we be surprised by what we write? Should we write automatically or should we plot? How do we know what we should write about?
  • Assignment due: 1 page of 2 stories

February 5th: Common Mistakes

  • Read: Bly, pp. 113-132 and 170-183; Woolf, pp. 41-57; Strunk and White, entire book; Gaitskill, "Something Nice" and "An Affair, Edited."
  • Discuss: What are some common errors made by beginners? What role does grammar play in writing? How do we write successful dialogue? What role should dialogue have in a story?
  • Assignment due: 2 pages of someone else's story (3 pages total)

February 12th: Characterization: Objectifying the Story

  • Read: Bly, pp. 69-93, 133-169, and 184-197; Woolf, pp. 58-78; Gaitskill, "Connection" and "Trying to Be."
  • Discuss: How do we create symbols? How do we flesh out characters? Where do we get characters from? How specific should the place of each story be?
  • Assignment due: First draft of story one

February 19th: Narration: Point of View

  • Read: Bly, pp. 93-94; Booth, pp. 149-168; Woolf, 79-95; Gaitskill, "Secretary" and "Other Factors."
  • Discuss: Which point of view is best? How do we determine when to use one point of view over another point of view? Does every story have a narrator? When in a story can we change from one point of view to another?
  • Assignment due: Written critique of fellow student's story

February 26th: Revision Through Structuring

  • Read: Bly, pp. 110-112; Woolf, pp. 95-114 and vii-xiv; Gaitskill, "Heaven."
  • Discuss: How can we go about re-seeing a story? What are the differences between cleaning up a story and revising a story? How can we go about manipulating the structures in a story?
  • Assignment due: none--begin rewrite of story one

March 5th: Personal Meetings with Professor Nelsen

  • Individual discussions with Professor Nelsen in his office about revision of stories--NO CLASS

March 19th: Telling vs. Showing

  • Read: Booth, pp. 3-22; Sontag, "Doctor Jekyll" and "Unguided Tour."
  • Discuss: Is the maxim, "Show, don't tell," true or false? Is there any role for telling in writing? Should an author or a character intrude into a story?
  • Assignment due? Completed revision of story one

March 26th: The Role of Realism

  • Read: Bly, pp. 95-112; Booth, pp. 23-66; Sontag, "Baby."
  • Discuss: How much reality does a story need? When should we use flashbacks and when should we avoid them? How do we make our stories intense enough for the reader to suspend her disbelief?
  • Assignment due: First draft of story two

April 2nd: Objective Narration

  • Read: Booth, pp. 67-88; Sontag, "Old Complaints Revisited."
  • Discuss: Must the narrator be moral? Does the author need to be moral? Is writing objective or subjective?
  • Assignment due: Critique of fellow students' story

April 9th: Writing for an Audience

  • Read: Booth, pp. 89-118; Sontag, "Debriefing."
  • Discuss: For whom should we write stories? Is there an ideal audience for each story? Should we write for art's sake or for the reader's sake?
  • Assignment due: First draft of story three

April 16th: Sweetness in Literature

  • Read: Booth, pp. 119-148 and 441-458; Sontag Xerox on Robert Walser; Sontag, "American Spirits."
  • Discuss: What is a "Sweet Beckett?" What roles do emotions play in writing and in reading? How much sentiment is enough and how much is too little?
  • Assignment due: Critique of fellow students' story

April 23rd: Publication

  • Discuss: What are the best journals? What should a manuscript look like? How much money will I make?
  • Assignment due: Line-by-line edit of either story 2 or 3 and a five page critique of same story

April 30th: Readings in Class

  • No Assignment due

April 5-11: Final (Exact deadline to be announced.)

  • Assignment due: Completed revision of story two or three

GRADES
Class participation--10%; Journals--10%; Critiques of other people's work--30%; personal critique--10%; two rewrites--40%. (Students will not be graded on initial assignments; however, failure to complete them will result in the negation of the class participation grade.)