ENGL 3301/3302: Creative Writing Workshop: Syllabus

ENGL 3301 (#3615)/ENGL 3302 (#3480): Writing Fiction I & 2 (Spring 2023): Section TR2               

Prof. Helen Phillips (she/her): email: HPhillips@brooklyn.cuny.edu

Class Time: Tues./Thurs. 2:15-3:30pm; Office hour: Thurs. 3:30-4:30pm

Classroom: Boylan Hall 3146; Office: 3108 Boylan Hall

Course Requirements

1. Five Writing Exercises. During the first part of the semester, you will complete five one-to-two-page writing exercises based on prompts I will give you. These exercises will facilitate experimentation and will arise from the assigned readings. The writing prompts will be given in class and posted on our Blackboard site.  

2. Short Shares. Each of you will share one of your short writing exercises with the class. On your appointed short share date, please bring 22 hard copies of your piece to class.

3. Readings. During the first part of the semester, there will be assigned readings of short fiction relevant to the weekly themes. Please read these works thoughtfully, as class discussion (both in person and on Blackboard) will center on them and your writing exercises will arise from them. We will also be “adopting” the literary magazine One Story, and editor Lena Valencia from One Story will visit our class.

4. Journal. Please keep a journal for in-class writing exercises. We may sometimes share these writings aloud. You will type up all of your journal entries and submit them as part of your final portfolio on Fri., May 19.
5. Blackboard: Four Blog Entries + Sixteen Blog Responses. Each week, I will post a prompt on Blackboard to be completed and posted on the class blog. Each week, one-third of the class will be assigned to post their response to the prompt, and the other two-thirds of the class will be assigned to write comments for at least two of those classmates who posted their responses to the prompt. The online blog entries are due by midnight every Tuesday, and the comments are due by midnight every Wednesday. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR BLACKBOARD POSTS COUNT TOWARD YOUR ATTENDANCE GRADE, AS THE FOURTH HOUR OF THIS COURSE TAKES PLACE ONLINE. Please reach out to me if you need help navigating Blackboard.

6. Workshop Story. During the second part of the semester, you will hand in a story to be discussed in workshop.

• It should be 5-10 pages (please discuss with me first if shorter or longer).
• It should be a new piece that you’ve written specifically for this class.
• ON YOUR DUE DATE: Upload your workshop submission to the Blackboard blog post with your name in the title. It should be typed in 12 pt. font, proofread, and double-spaced, with pages numbered.
  • Workshop Note: Please include, as the final page of your

workshop submission, a note to us about your process, your intentions/vision for the piece, your imagined audience, and any challenges you face with it. This should include 1-5 questions you have about your piece that you would like to discuss.

7. Workshop Responses: You will read and respond to all of your classmates' workshop submissions. Come to class prepared for an active discussion. Bring a thoughtful typed response (min. five sentences) to each workshop piece. There are two options for your response:

• You may write a direct response, in which you:

(a) articulate your observations about the piece.

(b) ask the writer questions about the piece.

• You may write a creative response, in which you create a new piece of writing that is in some form a response to/inspired by the workshop piece. This should include a brief explanation of how the workshop piece inspired your response.
  • Print two copies of your workshop response: one for me and one for the writer. You may also email or give them in hard copy the marked-up text.
  • IMPORTANT: Your workshop responses are an essential component of your grade. Through these responses, you express your respect for your classmates’ efforts. Your grade will be severely affected if you fail to hand in 100% of the workshop responses in a timely fashion.

8. Workshop Self-Reflection: This consists of an email to me, of any length, sometime in the week following your workshop (and prior to our post-workshop meeting), in which you reflect on your workshop experience. What was useful, what questions you still have, ideas you have for revision, etc.

9. Post-Workshop Meeting. I will meet with each of you individually following your workshop, typically during my Thursday office hour. We will discuss your workshop and I will give you my in-depth feedback.

10. Final Portfolio. On Friday, May 19, by midnight, you will hand in your final portfolio (by email to HPhillips@brooklyn.cuny.edu). This consists of:

• • A Learner’s Letter: A 1-3-page letter in which in which you reflect on your journey over the course of the semester. What challenged you? What inspired you? What did you explore as a writer, as a reader, as a peer? What did you choose to do for your “Something New,” and why? What are your creative aims going forth?

• • Something New: A revision of something you’ve written earlier in the semester? An expansion of a journal entry or short writing exercise? A new story? You tell me. (Approx. 5-10 pages)

• • In-Class Journals: All of the in-class journal entries. typed. 

• • Literary Magazine Submission: You will submit something you’ve written to a literary magazine of your choice and will fill out the “Submission Worksheet” (we will be discussing the submission process as a class). There is a 99% chance that your story will be rejected! This will enable you to begin your rejection letter collection, a prized possession of all writers.  

Extra Credit

Option #1: Attend a Literary Event (in person or remote). In order to get credit, email me the event details and a paragraph in which you describe your experience.

Option #2: Review a Literary Magazine. Read at least three works in a literary magazine (many are listed here: http://www.clmp.org/directory), and write a one-to-two-page description/analysis of what you read.

Required Reading

1. Course readings: All readings for the course are available as PDFs on our LibGuides website: https://libguides.brooklyn.cuny.edu/cww. PDFs are password-protected with the password engl3301.

2. One Story: As soon as possible, please subscribe to the literary magazine One Story through CLMP’s Literary Magazine Adoption Program. Go to https://adoption.clmp.org/students/ and enter our class code, 82592858313849117471, to order your bargain year-long subscription for $15.00. One Story editor Lena Valencia will visit our class, and we will discuss Spring 2023 issues of the magazine.  

3. Recommended Reading: In preparation for workshop, I highly recommend The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom by Felicia Rose Chavez (Haymarket Books, 2021) and Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping by Matthew Salesses (Catapult, 2021).

Grades

• 50% of your grade will be based on your writing: your five writing exercises, your workshop story, your workshop note and 1-5 workshop questions, your workshop self-reflection, your workshop responses, your four Blackboard blog entries, your final portfolio, the promptness of your assignments, your mechanics.
  • If your mechanics need attention, I will indicate that on your written work. If you would like additional support for your mechanics/grammar, I recommend Rules for Writers by Diana Hacker.

• 50% of your grade will be based on your participation: your contributions to discussion, your sharing of your writing, your sixteen Blackboard comments, your responses to the readings, your involvement in workshopping others’ stories, your meeting with me, your promptness, your attendance both in class and on Blackboard.

Attendance Policies

• • As per English Department policy, you will receive an automatic F if you miss six or more classes. Two tardy arrivals are equivalent to one absence. You are responsible for any material you miss. Please notify me about absences in advance.

• • Please note that your Blackboard posts count toward your attendance grade, as the fourth hour of the course is online.

• • Class discussion is a critical element of this course. I expect everyone to contribute each week.

• • I will mark you absent if your phone/computer/device is distracting you from class discussion. Your full presence is required, and mindfulness is essential for this course.

University Policies & Information

Plagiarism: The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an environment free from cheating and plagiarism. Each student is responsible for being aware of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both. The complete text of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn College procedure for policy implementation can be found at www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies. If a faculty member suspects a violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation, confirms that violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty member MUST report the violation. Students should be aware that faculty may use plagiarism detection software.

Accommodations for Disability: The Center for Student Disability Services (CSDS) is committed to ensuring students with disabilities enjoy an equal opportunity to participate at Brooklyn College. In order to receive disability-related academic accommodations, students must first be registered with CSDS. Students who have a documented disability or suspect they may have a disability are invited to schedule an interview by calling (718) 951-5538 or emailing Josephine.Patterson@brooklyn.cuny.edu. If you have already registered with CSDS, email Josephine.Patterson@brooklyn.cuny.edu or testingcsds@brooklyn.cuny.edu to ensure accommodation emails are sent to your professor.

Consideration of Religious Observance: New York State Education Law requires that we “make available to each student who is absent from school, because of his or her religious beliefs, an equivalent opportunity to make up any examination, study or work requirements which s/he may have missed because of such absence on any particular day or days.”

Student Bereavement Policy: Students who experience the death of a loved one must contact the Division of Student Affairs, 2113 Boylan Hall, if they wish to implement either the Standard Bereavement Procedure or the Leave of Absence Bereavement Procedure. More information: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/about/initiatives/policies/bereavement.php

The Magner Career Center: The Magner Career Center, located in 1303 James Hall, has valuable resources, including resume and interview preparation, finding an internship, choosing a career, and more. 

The Brooklyn College Library: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/academics/library.php

Student Support Services: Including Food Pantry & Counseling:
http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/about/offices/studentaffairs/student-support-services.php

Sexual and Gender-based Harassment, Discrimination, and Title IX: Brooklyn College is committed to fostering a safe, equitable and productive learning environment. Students experiencing any form of prohibited discrimination or harassment on or off campus can find information about the reporting process, their rights, specific details about confidentiality, and reporting obligations of Brooklyn College employees on the Office of Diversity and Equity Programs website. All reports of sexual misconduct or discrimination should be made to Michelle Vargas, Title IX Coordinator (718.951.5000, ext. 3689), and may also be made to Public Safety (719.951.5511), the New York City Police Department (911 or a local NYPD precinct), or Melissa Chan, Assistant Director of Judicial Affairs, Division of Student Affairs (718.951.5352) as appropriate.

Course Schedule

Readings/assignments are due on the day they are listed.

Blackboard posts are due Tues. at midnight; Blackboard responses are due Wed. at midnight.

Thurs. 1/26                Introduction to course

Tues. 1/31                 Assignment: Bring in a paragraph from a published piece of writing to which you have a strong reaction. Please type this paragraph & bring in 22 copies.

Thurs. 2/2                  “Robo-Baby” Matthea Harvey

“Twilight” J. Robert Lennon

“Fingers” Rachel Heng

“Thin City 5” Italo Calvino

“The Letter from Home” Jamaica Kincaid

Tues. 2/7                  “The Swan as Metaphor for Love” Amelia Gray

“Mary When You Follow Her” Carmen Maria Machado

“The Funeral” Tony Wallin-Sato

“Zoology” Natalie Diaz

“Jane Death Theory #13” Rion Amilcar Scott

“Rongorongo” Ed Park

Thurs. 2/9                  In-Class Writing Intensive

                                    “Your Brain on Fiction” Annie Murphy Paul            

Tues. 2/14                 Flash Fiction Assignment (300 Words) + 4 Short Shares

Thurs. 2/16                “Puppy” George Saunders  

“The Burglar” Sarah Shun-lien Bynum

Tues. 2/21                 NO CLASS (MONDAY CONVERSION DAY)

Thurs. 2/23                Point-of-View Assignment + 4 Short Shares

Tues. 2/28                 Bring 3 questions for BC alum De’Shawn Charles Winslow

First chapter of In West Mills or Decent People by De’Shawn

Thurs. 3/2                  “Birds in the Mouth” Samanta Schweblin

“The Hunter” E.L. Doctorow                                    

                                                           

Tues. 3/7                   (Un)Familiar Assignment + 4 Short Shares

                                   

Thurs. 3/9                  “Interiors” Kathleen Collins

“The First Full Thought of Her Life” Deb Olin Unferth

Tues. 3/14                 Innovative Structure Assignment + 5 Short Shares  

Thurs. 3/16                “Friday Black” Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

“Fairy Tale” Alexandra Kleeman

                                               

Tues. 3/21                 “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” Ursula K. Le Guin

“The Ones Who Stay and Fight” + “Intro” by N.K. Jemisin

Thurs. 3/23                “Parable” Assignment + 4 Short Shares

Tues. 3/28                 Bring 3 questions for One Story editor Lena Valencia

One Story Reading Assignment

Thurs. 3/30                2 Workshops

        

Tues. 4/4                   2 Workshops

Thurs. 4/6                 SPRING BREAK

Tues. 4/11                 SPRING BREAK

Thurs. 4/13               SPRING BREAK

Tues. 4/18                 2 Workshops

Thurs. 4/20                2 Workshops

Tues. 4/25                 2 Workshops 

Thurs. 4/27                2 Workshops 

Tues. 5/2                   2 Workshops

                                   

Thurs. 5/4                  2 Workshops

                                   

Tues. 5/9                   2 Workshops

                                   

Thurs. 5/11                2 Workshops

Tues. 5/16                 1 Workshop + Course Celebration & Writer’s Life Discussion

Fri. 5/19                     Final Portfolios

due via email to HPhillips@brooklyn.cuny.edu by midnight