Welcome to Intermediate Fiction Writing! The objective of this course is to make you a better writer and reviser who will produce a short story of publishable quality by the semester’s end. You will become a better fiction writer through reading and analyzing the work of nationally and internationally renowned authors, and then by participating in peer reviews, writing exercises, and in-depth discussions of the elements of contemporary fiction craft, aesthetics, and the writing market. About 1/3 of the class will be run workshop style, allowing your peers to read and comment on your work.

The course is designed to take you (and your professor) further into the art and craft of fiction than can be covered in an introductory creative writing course. This course will raise and explore questions about the value of fiction; what makes fiction good, successful, outstanding and beautiful; what the issues of art and aesthetics are; how to workshop and perform fiction; and how fiction can be revised and critiqued.

I will teach you my writing process: the techniques I’ve learned from others, what I’ve learned on my own, and what I continue to learn. Maybe you’ll find these techniques useful as you form your own writing process. Maybe you won’t. However, throughout this semester, I want you to take a leap of faith and attempt what I teach you. At the end of the semester, adopt what works for you and disregard what doesn’t.

Finally (I say finally, but there is so much more to say about fiction), this is an intense drafting and revision course that—I hope—will cause you to reach further into yourself and produce better art. The process might be somewhat painful at times.

Texts

• Janet Burroway, Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft (Ninth Edition)
• Raymond Carver and Tom Jenks (editors), American Short Story Masterpieces (Dell, 1989)
• Additional stories/essays TBA
• Stories you will print and bring to class
• Student work (including your own)

Other Materials: The Life Book

A bound writer’s notebook (about 5x8 in). I’ll call this your Life Book, and for the semester it will be the receptacle of all your thoughts, musings, notes, lists, story ideas, observations, etc. At the end of the semester, you will submit portions of this book for points.

• Students will demonstrate an understanding of various forms and structures of fiction, and a familiarity with a variety of professional writers’ styles and voices in fiction in order to develop their own individual styles. (AI, QUACS, TAP)
• Students will become familiar with and practice the elements of fiction: character, point of view, narrative structure, imagery, symbol, diction, and theme. (AI, TAP, Writing Exercises)
• Students will demonstrate the habit of consistent writing. (Writing Log)
• Students will demonstrate the application and practice of fiction craft and aesthetics in their writing. (TAP, Writing Exercises)
• Students will demonstrate knowledge of editing and revision techniques, the world of publishing, and other career-related aspects of writing. (My Pathway to Revision, Submission Letter)
• Students will produce an extended work of fiction. (Short Story)

Peer Workshop Critiques

The story you write for this class will be workshopped (discussed and critiqued by the entire class on a given day). More on this later, but for every workshopped story, you will write a typed (150-200 words) response for your classmate. At the end of the semester, you will upload these responses to Canvas as a single document. If you’re unable to submit a story for your workshop, even because of illness, there are no makeups. I’m sorry about this, but our course schedule is too tight to accommodate makeup workshops. However, I will still provide comments on the story when you’re able to submit it. Each critique is worth four points. (Point Warning!!! This is a significant part of your grade! Be aware and don’t neglect this assignment.)

Short Story

Over the course of the semester, you will write and radically revise one short story based on my and your classmates’ comments. You are at first graded on promptness and completion. An incomplete story turned in for workshop will be docked.

After your workshop, having utilized my and your classmates’ comments, you will submit, at the end of the semester, a heavily revised version of your story (with the workshopped draft and my comments) in a portfolio for a final grade. More on the portfolio later. (Point Warning!!! The short story is a significant part of your grade! Be aware and don’t neglect this assignment.)

Story Requirements

• A story written for this class.
• 1,000-3,500 words
• High stakes and consequence: death, love, hate, infidelity, murder, broken hearts, doubt, faking it, disillusionment, environmental destruction, growing up, getting old, etc., etc.
• A story that emerges from something personal in your life, from your deeper self, from a place of vulnerability. Without these, your story will lack personal investment and feel devoid of life.
• A story that grapples with an existential mystery, a human reality, that asks hard questions about the human experience.
• An interesting perspective, a new angle.
• Deep characterization: a character who desires something and eventually experiences a change and/or realization
• A small cast of complex characters, like two or three people. Center the gravity of the story in two people.
• The story must be told chronologically, with minimal flashbacks. If there is a flashback, it must be integrated into the story’s present action. The short story is well suited for chronological narratives. Novels, films, and TV are better suited for non-chronological narrative structures.
• Stands alone as an independent work with a beginning, middle, and end (not a section or chapter of a larger work)
• Set in the contemporary world.
• If speculative, the story must still be set in our contemporary world and can only have one thing that deviates from reality (examples: a time machine, a little boy who sees dead people, a hole in a wall that leads to another realm, etc.).
• No tricks, gimmicks, or surprises.

Ancillary Work

AIs

AI stands for awesome ideas. For each Burroway reading assignment, identify two direct quotations from the text that resonate with you and then write a two to three sentence explanation on why these quotations resonated with you. Upload these to Canvas by the beginning of class. AIs will be the basis of our discussions for the Burroway text. An AI should have two direct quotations and a brief explanation of each. AIs are worth four points are uploaded to Canvas by the beginning of class.

QUACS

More on these below. Basically, the QUACS is a reading framework you’ll apply to the short stories we read and discuss for this class. QUACS are worth six points and are uploaded to Canvas by the beginning of class.

One skill we’ll be working on developing this semester is metacognitive awareness, which is a fancy way of saying “noticing what you’re noticing.” Rather than just letting a text wash over us while we read, we want to pay attention to precisely how we experience that text. What parts leave us confused? Which passages are particularly beautiful, and what characteristics of the text make us feel that beauty? Making notations on the page (underlining, jotting notes) while we read is one good way of practicing metacognitive awareness. Another is keeping a reading journal, wherein we can reflect on the text at more length than in our on-the-page notations but at less length than we would in a full essay. QUACS are worth six points, and, to avoid late penalties, must be uploaded to Canvas before the beginning of class.

For this course, you will produce reading responses to our texts. Each response should be between 250 to 350 words long, or so, and be single-spaced. Rather than focusing on length, though, you should concentrate on adequately responding to each of the following:

Questions: First, present at least two questions (or sets of interrelated questions) that you have about things that come up in the text. Your questions might be big-picture theoretical or critical questions about ideas, concepts, or themes, or they may relate aspects of the text to another text or idea we have read or discussed in class (or that you have encountered elsewhere). You might ask one or more close-reading questions that focus on something curious or confusing that is happening in the language of the text. Or, you might ask a question that seeks to clarify or better understand something that is happening in the narrative, with a character, or with a situation. (Feel free to ask a variety of kinds of questions. Your questions do not have to be related to one another. You do not need to answer your questions.)

Understanding/Analysis: In this section, you will quote something small from the text—a line, a sentence, a keyword—and provide a close-reading of it. The close reading can be used to argue a particular point, or it can be a series of detailed observations about the text that could lead to an interesting discussion.

Comment: Assert an opinion or personal response to the text—to anything in the text that strikes you, moves you, delights you, bothers you, interests YOU—emotionally, culturally, politically, aesthetically, thematically, stylistically.… I think of this as the “book club response” portion of the QUACS, because it’s a chance for you to share gut feelings about and reactions to—rather than analysis of—the text.

“Steal”: Steal isn’t the right word, but it will do. For this section, find an idea, technique, theme, scenario, conflict, etc. you might want to use from the text and incorporate into your imaginative writing.

How I grade QUACS:

• -2 points: Two questions
• -1 point: A direct quotation from the story
• -1 point: Your thoughtful analysis and understanding of that quotation
• -1 point: A thoughtful comment
• -1 point: Something from the next you’d like to “steal”: borrow, imitate, etc.

Total point possible: 6

TAPs

TAPs stands for Take and Practice. This will be an opportunity for you to apply what you learn in class and from our course texts to the short story you’re writing. They are to be uploaded to Canvas by the beginning of class. TAPs are worth five points. To earn full credit for your TAPs, I need to see that you’re writing a story and building on it with each TAP. I need to see an investment of time and thought. I usually won’t comment on your TAPs.

Writing Log

For the entirety of this course, I will treat you as writers, and I expect you to think of yourselves as writers and act like writers. As such, you must develop writerly habits, one of which is devoting a certain number of hours each week to your own writing. For our fourteen weeks together, I expect you to devote two hours a week to writing, for a total of twenty-eight hours by the end of the semester. You will keep a writing log (included at the end of this syllabus) of when you write and what you work on. Keep a broad perspective of what “writing” is. Writing might be scribbling some notes about a character or outlining a story idea, etc. Feel free to add the time you spend on your TAPs to the writing log. You will submit this writing log at the end of the semester. Add your hours together and mark the total at the end of the log. I will subtract twenty points for not doing so. (Point Warning!!! This is a significant part of your grade! Be aware and don’t neglect this assignment.)

Total Hours: _____________ (I will subtract twenty-five points if hours aren’t totaled)

Cultural Events

Over the course of the semester, you must attend two cultural events of your choice. After attending the event, you’ll write a short paragraph on what ideas you found interesting and what you learned that might help you become a better writer. A cultural event might be a play, a museum visit, film, an art exhibit, etc.

My Path to Revision: What Advice to Take

The blessing and challenge of workshopping is the myriad suggestions you’ll receive from your fellow classmates and me. Some of these suggestions will agree with each other, and some will be downright contradictory. This assignment invites you to identify those suggestions that seem most helpful and then to formulate a path to revision. First, after your workshop, read through your classmates’ critiques of your story and their comments written directly on the draft. Second, along with my critique, choose four others that you feel are thoughtful and understand your intentions for the story. Third, in a Word document, list the comments and suggestions from my and the four other critiques. Fourth, look for any patterns that you see in those comments. For example, do multiple readers mention an issue with the point of view or that a certain character seems flat? Then write a short paragraph on any patterns or commonalities you see in the comments. Fifth, utilizing these comments, write a brief paragraph on how you plan to revise the story. Sixth, upload your document to Canvas. I will base your grade for this assignment on effort and thoughtfulness. Remember that spelling and grammar errors show a lack of thoughtfulness. This assignment is due one week after your workshop.

Grading

I will grade your assignments on labor, completion, and thoughtfulness. Your work, I believe, must reflect an investment of time and energy; otherwise, I will not accept it. If this happens, I will provide a reason why I won’t accept the work and allow you the opportunity to revise. However, there are some assignments due at the end of the semester, like the final portfolio, workshop critiques, attendance/participation points, and the writing log, that I will not allow you to revise—you either did them or you didn’t.

As for the final draft (portfolio draft) of your short story, I will provide a grade based on your thorough revision of the piece, an approach that will free you up to take chances in your work without fear of a penalty. Not revising, however, will result in a lower score. Also, you will receive an automatic B on your final short story if you submit it without the workshop draft and/or a reflective essay on your revision process. One last point about the final draft of your story: invest time and energy, take imaginative and creative leaps, but please provide a story free of spelling, punctuation, grammar, and mechanical errors. For me, this is an issue of courtesy. Utilize the Writing Center and friends and family to check your work for these errors. On the final draft of your story, I will dock a point for each spelling, punctuation, grammar, and mechanical error, up to fifteen points. It’s that important to me!

Writing is a process of improving over time. Below, find a general breakdown of what constitutes (for me) an excellent, good, satisfactory, or needs-improvement story. My hope is that you’ll write an excellent story:

Below, find a general breakdown of what constitutes an A, B, C, D, and F short story:

An A story is a vivid, artful, and engaging work of fiction that operates fully in the fictional mode—that is, the story unfolds in scene, moment-to-moment and through the senses. The plot is thoroughly developed. The story is interesting and logically organized: there is clear exposition, rising action and climax. The story has a clear resolution. The setting is clearly described through vivid sensory language. Major characters are well developed through dialogue, actions, and thoughts. Main characters change or grow during the story. All dialogue sounds realistic and advances the plot. It exhibits a distinct voice. The conflict is clearly established, developed and resolved after a gripping climax. The rising action builds intense suspense, which thoroughly provides growing tension, anxiety, fear and/or wonder. Maintains a consistent point of view. Uses carefully chosen transitions to help the reader along. There are few or no errors in grammar, usage, mechanics, or spelling. Dialogue is punctuated and formatted correctly. In the end, an A story is capable of producing plausible surprise and therefore bears rereading.

A B story also operates in the fictional mode, though perhaps with less complexity, originality, or artfulness. Plot is adequately developed. The story has a clear beginning, middle and end. The story is arranged in logical order. The setting is clearly identified with some sensory language. Major and minor characters are somewhat developed through dialogue, actions, and thoughts. Main characters change or grow during the story. Most dialogue sounds realistic and advances the plot. It may exhibit a distinct voice. The conflict is established, developed, and resolved after a climax. The rising action builds suspense, and adequately provides growing tension, anxiety, fear and/or wonder. The point of view is clear, but may be inconsistent in some places. Uses transitions to help the reader along. There are some errors in grammar, usage, mechanics, or spelling. Dialogue may have minor errors in punctuation and format.

A C story is a clear, coherent story that demonstrates a satisfactory understanding of craft. The plot is minimally developed. The story does not have a clear beginning, middle, and end. The sequence of events is sometimes confusing and may be hard to follow. The setting is identified but not clearly described. It has minimal sensory language. Characters are minimally developed. They are described rather than established through dialogue, actions and thoughts. They show little growth or change during the story. Some dialogue sounds realistic. It advances the plot minimally. The conflict is minimally established and resolved, but lacks development. The rising action builds suspense, but minimally provides growing tension, anxiety, fear and/or wonder. The point of view is often inconsistent. Uses few transitions. There are many errors in grammar, usage, mechanics, or spelling. These sometimes make the story hard to understand. Dialogue is punctuated and formatted inconsistently.

A D story is clichéd and reflects consistent weaknesses in numerous areas of craft. The story lacks a developed plot line. It is missing either a beginning or an end. The relationship between the events is often confusing. The setting may be vague or hard to identify. Main characters are lacking development. They are described rather than established. They lack individuality and do not change throughout the story. Dialogue may be nonexistent, or it may all sound alike. It does not advance the plot. The conflict is vague and hard to identify. It may not be resolved in a logical way. The suspense in the rising action is lacking or missing. The point of view is inconsistent. Uses no transitions. There are numerous errors in grammar, usage, mechanics, or spelling that interfere with the meaning of the story. Dialogue may not be distinguishable from narrative, or may lack correct punctuation such as quotation marks or end punctuation.

An F story is one that does not operate in the fictional mode or one that otherwise fails to meet the requirements of the assignment. Also given in cases of academic dishonesty.

Grade Breakdown (Approximate)

Tentative Schedule: Intermediate Fiction (subject to change)

Late Work

There is a twenty to twenty-five percent penalty for late work. If an assignment is more than a week late, I will not accept it—unless there are extenuating circumstances. I also reserve the right not to comment on late work. If you’re ill and believe you won’t meet an assignment deadline, please speak with me before the due date.

Email

Often, I will send important emails to the class, so make sure your email is set to receive notifications from Canvas. On weekdays, I will respond to your emails within twenty-four hours. After 4:00 pm on Fridays, I won’t respond to emails until Monday morning.

Technology

No texting during class, no surfing the Internet. To eliminate paper waste, I will often ask in class that you access your assignments on Canvas via your phone or laptop so you can share them. If you finish an in-class writing assignment, work on your Writing Log rather than texting.

Zoom

There will be no live stream or recordings of classes. All course materials will be posted to Canvas “Files.”

I permit two excused absences per semester (no questions asked—though it’s your responsibility to get class notes from another student). After two excused absences, each subsequent absence will reduce your attendance/participation grade by five points. And please come to class on time. Each tardy will be a two-point reduction from your attendance/participation grade.

Be on time. Be prepared to participate. There is no sitting on the sidelines in this class—everyone needs to be an active member of our community. Speak up for your ideas and try out new ones. Take outrageous positions. Fall on your face. Respectfully challenge and critique each other. Have fun. But please do not text during class, surf the Internet, or visit with your neighbor while I’m speaking to the class! This will reduce your attendance/participation grade.

These may represent added costs for printing. Please take note and consider them as part of your textbook expenses.

Student asks a question: “I’m a little worried, Professor Shoemaker. My roommate took your class and said the short stories are really depressing. He even found some of them a little offensive.”

Professor Shoemaker: “I don’t aim to depress or offend, but over the course of the semester you will encounter, in our readings and in student writing, topics that you may find emotionally challenging, even difficult. If some of this stuff makes you feel uncomfortable, that’s perfectly normal, and I encourage you to talk to your classmates, your friends, and me about it. But bear in mind that a liberal arts education is designed to confront you with things that challenge and, at times, even threaten your worldviews. So, if you feel intellectually or emotionally disturbed by what you learn in class, don’t assume that you should be concerned. It may only mean that you are engaging with an unfamiliar perspectives, which is what college is all about.”

Student asks a question: “Professor Shoemaker, what’s literary fiction? I’m taking this class because I want to write fantasy. I mean, that’s my passion. I have this heartwarming story about a friendship between a stable boy and a dragon, and how together they fight an evil sorcerer named Chewpantyhose.”

Professor Shoemaker: “That sounds like an amazing story! I want to help you develop the foundation to write that story in the future, but table the idea this semester so you can focus on the fundamentals of craft. Genre fiction (romance, sci-fi, fantasy, western) has its own set of rules and conventions to master, and you, as an emerging writer, need to practice and develop the basic rules and conventions of fiction craft before you specialize. Think of it this way: if you took an introductory drawing class, you wouldn’t begin by learning to draw in the cubism, pop art, or impressionism styles. Rather, you’d attempt to master the basics of drawing: edges, lines, angles, proportion, perspective, shadow, and highlights. Literary fiction, because it doesn’t adhere to specific rules of genre, is a good medium to help you hone your writing skills. Advance fiction is the place to spread your genre wings.”