"A creative writing course provides an experienced editor for inspired amateurs. What could be simpler or more dignified?" Kurt Vonnegut
"the greater power of the creative imagination is not invention, but discovery" Joseph Stroud
"You can't just wait for inspiration. You must show up to write like you would for any job." Geoffrey Becker
"Writing is rewriting what you have rewritten." Paul Engle
"How vain it is to sit down and write when you have not stood up to live." Thoreau
Source books: THE PRACTICE OF POETRY, Robin Behn & Chase Twichell, editors;
IMAGINATIVE WRITING: THE ELEMENTS OF CRAFT, Janet Burroway
CW 2: a vision. The class will consist of a cadre of dedicated, committed writers. Students will create their own course, their own curriculum.
The first week's assignment will be to locate websites that provide specific, technical information about writing in various forms/types/genres.
Each student will choose what s/he will write. One student may be writing a stage play, another a novel, another an epic poem, and so on. During weekly meetings with the teacher, each student will submit what s/he wrote the previous week and outline what s/he will write for the upcoming week. As the student completes one area, s/he will move on to another. These weekly choices, identified by number,are to be handed in, edited, discussed, and revised for publication.
In addition to the weekly choices, there will be weekly exercises designed to keep the creative juices flowing. The exercises will have names. These will come, primarily, from the two books noted above. These exercises will be recorded in the journal. All work in the journal is to be considered rough draft.
A journal, to preserve moments of inspiration for later use, as well as to record the exercises and to note future plans, will be required.
Each experience/assignment will be worth 10 points. If handed in on time, the experience/assignment will receive 9 points. So how does one get an A? See below.
Bonus credit may be achieved through acceptance for publication. Opportunities will be posted.
Bonus credit may also be achieved by attendance, if not participation, in poetry events in places and times outside of Holy Cross. Such opportunities will be posted. This teacher is not responsible for the authentic language one may encounter at such readings.
Parallel readings will be counted as bonus points; that is, if a student is writing a stage play, that student should be reading a stage play; if writing a novel, then be reading a novel.
Final Exam (Final Assessment) Each student will build a website during the semester. The website will have postings of original work, of influential work, and of poetry events. There will also be postings of the exercise "a life in 5 visuals", videos of the student reading original and influential work. Other imaginative videos and postings are encouraged.
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