The Course Description Handbook
says that in this course you will have opportunity to express your own feelings, experiences, ideas, knowledge, research, and imagination.
Let’s rephrase that:
in this course you will get better at these things, you will take risks with your writing, you will take risks with your audience. You will have to take criticism, you will havae to make criticism, you will have to grow and to help others grow.
This is not just a course in writing: it is a course about making yourself. Youyou’re your own best composition.
Goals:
By the end of the course, you will have demonstrated your understanding of the elements that make and differentiate types of writing (short story, several poetic forms) by examining the work of others and by creating and improving your own work.
You will have opportunity to work with other formats, such as video and graphic novel.
Your Responsibilities:
In class, we will be working together, helping each other to make critical decisions about what we create. So that we can all gain from this class, we need you to
come to class,
arrive in class on time,
hear carefully the judgments of others,
respect the opinions and judgments of others,
and express your own judgments with care and respect.
It goes without saying, of course, that we need you to submit your work in time, for the class to work with you.
How We Will Work:
In order to improve your writing, we will be
doing exercises focusing on particular skills and aspects of writing, in conferring with each other,
writing for publication on the Internet (probably), in a DCS magazine (if you like), and in class.
Attendance:
This is simple: we need you in class.
Grades:
By taking part in exercises: you may earn 25%.
By taking part in discussion: you may earn 25%.
By producing work in multiple drafts: you may earn 50%.
You will build a portfolio for your final presentation. You will help to decide
how much goes into that portfolio and
what criteria we should use in evaluating it.
Tentative Schedule
(well, we have to start with something)
:
Week 1: Found poems
Week 2: Playfulness in poetry; “This is just to say. . . .”
Week 3: Rewriting the vision— more play, acrostics, work of others; evaluation of rewriting
Week 4: Place poems
Weeks 5–7: Short stories, graphic novels, videos, theatrical scripts
Weeks 8–10: Closed forms (sonnet, blank verse, limerick) vs. open forms
Weeks 11–12: Haiku and Tanka
Week 13: Comfortable places
Week 14: Talk to the animals (starting with a Tyger)
Week 15: Things to save
Week 16: Chants
Week 17: Becoming an object
Week 18: Graphic Novels
As you see, we have some flexibility in scheduling, and if you would like to linger or would like to try other forms of creation, please let me know.
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p
I have read the syllabus for Creative Writing
Student --------------------------
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Date--------------------------
Parent
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Parental Advice:
p
I do give permission for my child’s compositions to be published with appropriate Web sites, with the understanding that no one will be able to identify my child by name or address.
p
I do NOT give permission for my child’s compositions to be published with any Web sites.
Creative Writing at DCS Mark Scher . . . DCS . . . draft of 9/6/00 . . . printed
The Course Description Handbook
says that in this course you will have opportunity to express your own feelings, experiences, ideas, knowledge, research, and imagination.