Literature CS 103: Fundamentals of Creative Prose
Fall 2008

Instructor: James Donelan
Email: jim.donelan@ccs.ucsb.edu; donelan@english.ucsb.edu
Office Phone: 893-2291
Office Location: 2702 South Hall
Office Hours: Monday and Tuesday, 11-12, or by appointment.
Enroll Code: 27730 
Class Meetings: M W 9:30-10:45 494 (Old Little Theater) 160B  
Computer Lab Meetings: The class will meet in Phelps 1530 on several occasions—consult the syllabus for location and time.

Texts:
Zinsser, On Writing Well
Brereton and Peterson, The Norton Reader: Shorter Edition
Cassill and Bausch, The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction: Shorter Edition
Le Guin, Steering the Craft
ConnectWeb, a computer program, available online.

Texts are available in the UCen Bookstore. Some additional readings will be on reserve at Davidson Library. Copies of the course books will not be on reserve; please purchase them as soon as possible. ConnectWeb, a computer program, is available online via E-commerce for $20. Purchase of the program is mandatory by the end of the third week of classes.

ConnectWeb Home Page: http://connectweb.com/ucsb.asp

Course Description:
An introduction to the basic principles of prose description and narration through short readings and exercises. Students will learn the craft of writing both fiction and non-fiction prose in weekly studies of character, perspective, dialogue, and metaphor, among other topics. The course will emphasize the development of technique and voice in response to model prose stylists, such as Hemingway, Woolf, Didion, White, and Thurber.

Requirements:
The course requires regular attendance, active participation in class discussion and activities, and timely completion of all assignments. Some assignments will be due in class as hard copies; others should be posted online before class. Please consult the syllabus carefully so that we can have your full participation. In addition, please note:

• Every assignment should be carefully edited and proofread.
• Your classmates and your instructor depend on your presence in class and your full participation.
• Chronic absenteeism or late assignments will result in failure of the course.
• Students with disabilities may contact me via email, during office hours, or after class to discuss special accommodations.

Syllabus

Please note: Full descriptions of all writing assignments are posted on ConnectWeb. Assignments and their deadlines may change—check ConnectWeb often. “R” stands for  The Norton Reader; “S” stands for The Norton Anthology of Short Stories.

I: “In the Beginning Was the Word…”: Diction and Description

9/29 Introduction and Logistics: How to Take a Writing Course

10/1
Class meets in Phelps 1530.
Reading: Craft, Chapter One; Strebeigh, “Bicycles” R; Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants” S400
Writing: Place in Motion
In-class: Introduction to ConnectWeb; peer reviewing

10/6
Reading: Craft, Chapter Two; Guterson, “Enclosed” R: Atwood, “Death…” S9
Writing: Craft, Ex. 2; Revised Place in Motion
In-class: Do places have a point?

10/8
Class meets in Phelps 1530.
Reading: Maduro, “Excuse Me…” R; Conrad, Heart of Darkness S 109
Writing: Expanded Place in Motion
In-class: Peer Review and Recitation

II: “riverrun, past Eve and Adam's…”: Character and Sentence Structure

10/13
Reading: Craft, Chapter Three; Carver, “Cathedral” S 56
Writing: Craft, Ex. 3; Character Revealed
In-class: Character: Fictional, Functional, or Real?

10/15
Reading: Craft, Chapter Four; Staples, “Black Men…” R
Writing: Personal Report
In-class: The Elements of Character; Sentence Structure

10/20
Reading: Craft, Chapter Five; Pollitt, “Does a Literary Canon…?” R
Writing: Craft, Ex. 5; Revised Report (Long Sentences)
In-class: The Weight of Meaning

10/22
Class meets in Phelps 1530.
Reading: Craft, Chapter Six; Joyce, “The Dead” S441
Writing: Craft, Ex. 6; Personal Report with Story
In-class: Group Critique and Review

III: “Do you see the story? Do you see anything?”: Plot and Point of View

10/27
Reading: Craft, Chapter Seven; Melville, “Bartleby…” S614
Writing: Craft, Ex. 7; Super Shorts
In-class: Super Shorts Tell-Off

10/29
Reading: Craft, Chapter Eight; Thurber, “Walter Mitty” S818
Writing:  Craft, Ex. 8; Shifting Shorts
In-class: The Point of the Shift

11/3
Reading: Craft, Chapter Nine; Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown” S390; Tan, “Rules” S809
Writing: Craft, Ex. 9
In-class: Why indirect?

11/5
Class meets in Phelps 1530.
Reading: O’Connor, “A Good Man…” S689; Faulkner, “Barn Burning” S230
Writing: Surprises
In-class: The Point of a Surprise

IV: “When people talk, listen completely”: Voice and Dialogue

11/10
Reading: Woolf, “Kew Gardens” S917; Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues” S22
Writing: What people don’t say…
In-class: Dialogue out loud—finding voices.

11/12
Reading: O’Brien, “The Things… S676
Writing: Real People Talking
In-class: Talking Out Loud

11/17
Reading: Your choice from either anthology.
Writing: Inner Dialogue
In-class: Inner and Outer

11/19
Class meets in the lab.
Reading: Updike, “A & P” S864
Writing: Pure Dialogue Story
In-class: Line-by-line critique

V: Tools of the Trade: Planning, Structuring, Revising, and Creating

11/24
Reading: Carver, “On Writing” S963
Writing: My Great American Novel
In-class: Making Plans

11/26
Reading: Hemingway, “An Interview” S989
Writing: Planning Creatively
In-class: Special On-line class

12/1
Reading: Craft, Chapter Ten
Writing: Craft, Ex. 10
In-class: The Pain of Revision

12/3
Final class: reading and evaluation.