SYLLABUS, 235 INTRO TO CREATIVE WRITING, I

In the course of the term, I will be giving suggested writing assignments---more assignments, perhaps, than any one member of the class could complete. These are only suggestions and you may want, instead, to write those stories or poems you have had in mind to try but just haven't gotten around to. If in the term you chose generally to follow your own star, all I ask of you is what I ask of everyone in the group: I EXPECT A MINIMUM OF 25 PAGES OF ORIGINAL PROSE FICTION AND/OR POETRY FOR THE TERM FROM EACH MEMBER OF THE CLASS (typed, double-spaced, standard margins). Rewrites count. For instance, if you share with the group a ten page story you have written and later rework it to twelve pages, that counts as twenty-two pages. a poem of less than one page still counts as one page. A two page poem counts as two pages, and so on. Most often, the suggested assignments are intended to prime the pump, keep the creative juices flowing--although sometimes, I may make a suggested assignment having to do with some matter of craft in which the group as a whole needs practice and I may strongly urge everyone to give it a try.

Grades in creative writing classes tend to be higher than in most literature classes; in my experience, creative writing teachers are a bit uncomfortable putting grades on what feels like apprentice writers' artistic souls. A creative writing class should, if nothing else, prod the student to write and to learn to give and receive criticism of writing. In this course, class members will be graded on what I think of as three kinds of "integrity".

1. PRODUCTION (twenty-five pages, Min.)

2. CLASS PARTICIPATION. Writing is difficult and time- consuming. Honor your fellow students work by RESPONDING aloud during the discussion. Give your honest (and tactful) response. Develop the habit of constructive criticism, so that each class member can come to count on the group for reliable feedback.

3. IMPROVEMENT. Lack of defensiveness. Openess to criticism of one's own work. Willingness to rewrite and re-imagine, not merely retype.

I keep regular office hours and will be happy to respond to any questions you may have about your writing.

-Tom Bracken
CLS 2036 312-794-2962