Welcome to your Fall 2020 Creative Writing course with Robert Allen!
First and foremost, this course will provide you with an opportunity to earn college credit for developing creative writing of your own selection and design, writing that you actually want and elect to write—which can mean anything from song lyrics to family history, literary journalism to personal essays, travel blogging to comic strips.
To help facilitate this goal over the first eight weeks of the course, I will post four short lecture videos in which I discuss concepts that, when consciously considered and carefully applied, can improve the quality of almost all forms of writing. For clearer understanding, I will pair each of these concepts with one or more specifically selected writing sample.
Links to the video lectures and sample reading will appear right here on this page.
Please note that while I introduced many of these videos during the Summer 2020 semester, I recorded, uploaded, (minimally) edited, and tested them with the Fall 2020 course fully in mind. Considering this intention, understand that these videos include the exact ideas I want us to discuss this fall. Just disregard any mention of an 8-week format. We’re now in a standard 16-week course!
Week Sixteen:
Turn in second drafts!
Week Fourteen:
on campus discussion
Week Twelve:
on campus discussion
Week Nine:
Hello Class! As I’m sure many of you already understand, we’ve reached the point in the semester when you all can fully turn your attention toward your own creative projects, as explained in the course introduction below the Week 1 video.
Over the next four weeks, work toward completing a rough draft (worth 20 points) by Week 12, Tuesday, November 3, as noted in the syllabus. During that time, you can continue to check here for weekly updates that may help you with your writing.
Please also feel welcome to email me questions and concerns about your creative work as they arise.
Week Eight:
on campus discussion
Week Seven:
SPECIAL REMINDER — WE HAVE OUR FIRST OPTIONAL ON-CAMPUS MEETING NEXT WEEK ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6 AT 5:30 PM IN BUILDING 1, ROOM 128.
Please read and react to the following piece from Time magazine, an absolutely relentless barrage of subjective half-truths and symbolic representations from the later years of legendary gonzo journalist, Hunter S. Thompson. Note the consistency of Thompson’s unmistakeable perspective and distinct delivery.
“Doomed Love at the Taco Stand,” by Hunter S. Thompson
Week Six:
Hello Class! I’ll spare you from the sound of my voice this week! Besides, this activity works much better when writers can read it.
As you all continue to plan your own potential projects for this semester, you might experiment with how well you know your own characters, regardless of the genre you’re pursuing. Whether you have a living person in a work of nonfiction or a fiction speaker in a piece of poetry, you all still have characters.
Try asking yourselves any (or all) of the questions following this paragraph. You may not have immediate answer in mind—and that’s fine! That’s perfect. That’s the purpose of this exercise. The questions should inspire you to develop your understanding of your own character, which can then translate into more consistent and coherent choices in your writing.
1) If my character were planning a dinner party for three of his/her longest-standing friends, what would s/he cook (or order)? Why?
2) Where would my character want to spend a two week vacation, if s/he could go anywhere with no consideration of cost?
3) What was my character’s favorite subject in high school?
4) What type of vehicle does my character drive? Why?
5) Where would my character choose to shop for clothing, if s/he would only shop at one store for the rest of his/her life?
6) What is my character’s drink of choice?
7) Which professional sports does my character follow, if any?
8) If my character were stranded on an island with only three albums to play for the rest of his/her life, what albums would s/he choose?
9) What would my character call his mother and father?
10) What was the most recent film my character watched in a theater?
11) How does the inside of my character’s refrigerator look?
12) What does my character do if s/he wakes in the middle of the night and can’t sleep?
Week Five:
Either A) Consider how careful characterization plays an importantly role in the following creative nonfiction piece, which deftly interweaves a half-dozen different types of writing, or B) consider how the lyrics in each of the following songs manage to create characters—and then write about the construction of least one character from three of the five songs.
A)
“Atlanta Hellride,” by Noah Shannon
B)
“Don’t Watch me Dancing,” by Little Joy
“Funny You Should Ask,” by The Front Bottoms
”Even the Losers,” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
“Thunder Road,” by Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band
Week Four:
Week Three:
For example, suppose you’re writing a short dialogue-driven story about a summer romance. You might consider the differences between setting the story in an amusement park, on a tennis court, or under the boardwalk. Suppose you select the amusement park. Then you need to consider the right details. Hearing the chatter of the crowd there, while probably likely, tells the reader nothing aside from what they would already expect—and consequently offers them little sense of the place’s identity. Noting the rich scent of a clanking wooden coaster’s well greased gears, on the other, gives the reader an idea about the age and the character and the personality of the park.
Jeffery Eugenides, author of probably my all-time my favorite modern novel, The Virgin Suicides, published “Timeshare,” a quietly sad and slow-burning short story about life’s disappointments and decay and, fittingly, Daytona Beach. Please read it for the purpose of considering setting.
Responses due before Saturday, September 12
Week Two:
Week One:
“The Swimmer,” by John Cheever
Responses due before Saturday, August 22.
After reading the sample, writers will have the opportunity to email me a truly short (just 200 words) and open-ended reaction paragraph, relating the sample to the concepts discussed in the video, each worth 15 points and due before the Saturday of the week assigned. I will award points in a simple pass/fail manner. If a writer takes time to consider the sample, compose any related reaction of requisite length, and email it to allenrob@easternflorida.edu before the due date, s/he can count on earning the 15 points.
Over the second eight weeks of the course each writer will work on developing a creative writing project of his or her own design. We’ll begin this process together in Week 8 at 5:30 PM on Tuesday, October 6, with the first of our two optional on-campus meetings. We will use this time together to learn from each other by sharing ideas regarding potential projects—and discussing ways that writers may best achieve their goals.
We will have another optional meeting in Week 12 at 5:30 on Tuesday, November 3, during which we will each have the opportunity to read an excerpt from our developing drafts. After reading, writers who want to hear reactions from peers have the option to invite such responses—and only under such an invitation will we discuss a writer’s work as a class. Writers will also have the option to invite qualify and/or limit such discussion by prefacing their reading with a request for peers to consider a certain element of their work. For example, a writer might say, “I’m specifically interested in knowing how the class perceives the relationship between [insert character name] and [insert another character name], so please make a point to purposefully consider that dynamic while I read and share your related thoughts with me when I conclude.”
Participation in this second meeting earns each writer 20 points. Writers who do not wish to attend this meeting must email me a rough draft that meets the final draft’s required length, no later than 9 PM on the evening of the second meeting.
I will also facilitate live group discussions (through the chat function found in my website’s lower right corner) during the first 30 minutes of each section’s scheduled class period—an optional opportunity for all students who want to engage in another element of synchronous and immediate interaction beyond the on-campus class meetings.
A completed final paper, due at the end of Week 16, earns writers another 20 points. As creative expressions that each writer builds upon individual goals and personal visions, I will not assess these compositions by subjecting them to my own literary aesthetics, which may differ wildly from another writer’s artistic sensibilities. Instead, I will confine my consideration of the final project’s grade to four objective categories, each worth five points:
– discernible development beyond the rough draft
– stylistic consistency
– observation of due date
– requisite length*
*To earn the five points for requisite length, all forms of narrative or expository writing must reach at least 1,200 words, all forms of illustrated projects must reach at least eight pages, all forms of theatrical scripts must also reach eight pages, and all collections of poetic or musical compositions must reach at least 10 pages.
Office Hours and Attendance:
Please note that while students can, of course, email me at any time and on any day, I tend to review and respond to these messages during my office hours, 8:45 AM to 12:45 PM, Monday through Friday. I will also be happy to meet with any of my students, by appointment, at my office (Building 1, 124B) on the Titusville Campus.
Please also note that I will withdraw any student who falls out of correspondence with me for more than 28 days.
Additional College-wide Information (required in every course syllabus)
Religious Observations:
When the observance of a student’s religious holiday(s) interferes with attendance in class, class work assignments, examinations, or class activities, the student must notify the instructor in writing within the first week of class. Students are held responsible for material covered during their absence. The instructor should provide alternative arrangements for students to complete the work for the missed session. Students excused for religious observances will be expected to meet the class requirements for those days without undue delay. Students who believe they have been unreasonably denied educational benefits due to their religious beliefs or practices may seek redress through the student appeal procedure. [FS 1001.64, 1002.21, 1006.53] Nationally recognized religious holidays shall be acknowledged plus any significant day of religious observance as recognized by the highest governing body of that particular religious faith. Students may be required to provide information or proof the religious holiday if such holiday is not generally known.
Academic Dishonesty:
EFSC Policy: Any form of academic dishonesty is subject to the disciplinary actions set forth in the Student Code of Conduct. Cheating, plagiarism and any other misrepresentation of work are prohibited. Students who are found to be in violation of this standard may receive severe sanctions, including a failing grade in their respective course and depending on the circumstances, possible expulsion from Eastern Florida State College.
In general terms, plagiarism is the adoption or incorporation of another’s ideas without proper attribution of the source. It is more simply defined as taking the writings of another person or people and representing them to be one’s own. Please note that access to or obtaining information/copying assignments provided from sources like CHEGG, Course Hero, Accounting Tutor, or any other online applications that purport to offer the answers to exercises or instructor materials for courses, may be considered CHEATING, and any instances that can be substantiated will be treated as such.
To avoid plagiarism, you should always credit the sources used when writing as essay, research paper, or other assignment in accordance with the appropriate style manual or format required in your course. Confirm with your instructor the appropriate format to use.
Types of actions defined as plagiarism include but may not be limited to:
- Cutting and pasting to create a written document from a single or various sources.
- Citing a source with false or inaccurate information. (Bibliographical or URL).
- Quoting less than all the words copied or paraphrasing a source without proper citation or notation the document has been altered.
- Submitting papers, assignments, exams, or forums that were completed by someone other than yourself.
- Working in a group or otherwise colluding with other students to prepare and submit work without prior acknowledgment and approval from the instructor.
- Receiving or giving outside help without prior written faculty consent, this includes assistance from tutors, websites, or other online resources.
- Sharing assignments, exams, or discussions with other students.
- Selling or purchasing (or copying) papers, assignments, or exams from any website that buys or sells them and submitting them as your work in whole or in part.
- Using a quotation without proper quotation marks and citation.
- Preparing a draft for final paper for another student.
- Submitting a paper, assignment, quiz or exam that you submitted in a previous and/or concurrent class without requesting and receiving in writing prior permission from your instructor(s). This could also apply to “revising” papers, assignments, quizzes or exams that were previously submitted in any course.
- Copying a non-text material such as: image, audio, video, spreadsheet, PowerPoint presentation, etc., without proper citation and reference.
- Altering any information on forms, electronic attachments or emails after the original has been submitted.
- Presenting statistics, facts, or ideas that are not your own, or is not common factual knowledge either by the general population, or commonly known within the particular discipline, without citation, even if you view them as common knowledge in your own educational background.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding plagiarism, ask your instructor or Associate Provost for assistance before a plagiarism problem arises. For more information about plagiarism and proper citations please visit the campus learning lab and/or writing center.
Sexual Misconduct:
Eastern Florida State College is committed to providing a safe and productive learning environment. Title IX and our school policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. Sexual Misconduct—in any form, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking—is prohibited at EFSC. Our school encourages anyone experiencing Sexual Misconduct to talk to someone about what happened, so they can get the support they need and our school can respond appropriately. For more information about your options, please visit easternflorida.edu/our-campuses/campus-security/titleix-sexual-misconduct. Our school is legally obligated to investigate reports of Sexual Misconduct, and therefore it cannot guarantee the confidentiality of a report, but it will consider a request for confidentiality and respect it to the extent possible. As an instructor, I am also required by our school to report incidents of Sexual Misconduct and thus cannot guarantee confidentiality. I must provide other EFSC officials with any relevant information reported to me.
Sail:
Faculty at EFSC are innovative and may utilize additional resources and technology (including recording devices) above and beyond the required course materials to enhance the instructional experience. EFSC strives to provide equitable access at the same academic and instructional level for all students and is committed to ensuring access for students with documented disabilities. A person with a disability may qualify for reasonable accommodations. SAIL (Student Access for Improved Learning) ensures that reasonable accommodations are provided for students with documented disabilities that significantly impact major life functions While personal services and personal aides cannot be provided, reasonable accommodations will be arranged to assist a student with a disability based on documentation provided by the student. For more information about accommodations and the resources available to students with disabilities, students are encouraged to go to the website or visit a SAIL office on any campus
Additional Information:
Thoughts, Revised & Refined 