SYLLABUS: CREATIVE WRITING
Spring Semester
I. READINGS:
A. Excerpts
1.
Writing Down the Bones:
Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg
2. Bird
By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing
and Life by Anne Lamott
3.
Writing Toward Home: Tales
and Lessons to Find Your Way by Georgia Heard
4. Turning
Memories Into Memoirs: A Handbook for
Writing Lifestories by Denis Ledoux
5. Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life With Words by Susan G.
Wooldridge
6. Into
the Deep: A Writer’s Look at Creativity
by Susan McBride Els
7.
Inventing the Truth: The
Art and Craft of Memoir edited by William Zinsser
8.
Personal Fiction Writing:
A Guide to Writing From Real Life for Teachers, Students, and Write by
Meredith Sue Willis
9. Writing
the Natural Way by Gabriele Lusser Rico
10. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
B.
Poetry, Short Stories, Novels (Choices for outside reading)
1. Poets Highlighted:
Maya Angelou, Pablo Neruda, Robert
Frost, e.e.cummings, William Carlos Williams, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn
Brooks, Theodore Roethke, Sylvia Plath, William Butler Yeats, W. H. Auden,
Dylan Thomas, Federico Garcia Lorca, Rainer Maria Rilke, Marianne Moore, Thom
Gunn
2. Authors Highlighted:
Toni Morrison, Tobias Wolfe, Alice
Walker, Annie Dillard, Sue Hubbell, Russell Baker, Lewis Thomas, Amy Tan,
William Least Heat Moon, John Steinbeck, F. Scott Fitzgerald
II. GENERAL TOPICS FOR LECTURE, DISCUSSION, SMALL GROUPS
A.
What Is “Creative” Writing?
B. The Writing Frame of Mind
C. Writers Must Be Readers First
D. Keeping a “Seed Journal”
E. Getting Help Along the Way: Writing Groups
F. Developing a Personal Writing Style
G. Exploring Various Modes of Writing
H. Publication--and Other Reasons to Write
III. COURSE ACTIVITIES
A. Daily Writing
(Students
will write for five minutes each day at the beginning of the period in personal
“Seed Journals”
to record thoughts, to jot ideas and observations about writing growth.)
B. At-home Writing
(Students
will write at least two or three times per week in response to a writing prompt
provided in class.
These prompts may be artwork, a film, a short literary piece, or
personal experiences.)
C. Writing from Models
(Students
will occasionally “imitate” an author’s style--sentence structure, creation of
setting or mood,
development of character--to learn how published authors craft
their writing.)
D. Writing Groups
(Students
will be assigned to a writing group consisting of four or five students. These groups will meet weekly
to encourage writing, to assist with revision, to critique
writing, to proofread, to listen and respond.)
E. Note-taking
(Students
will take notes on--and practice--various skills and strategies for improving
writing.)
F. “Coffee Shop” Readings
(Students
will participate in once-a-month “coffee shops” to share a written piece.)
G.
Socratic Seminars
(Students will participate in
bi-monthly Socratic Seminars. The
teacher poses a question about a text and students discuss with one another,
pose new questions, and draw conclusions.)
H. Quarterly Projects
(Students
will complete one project each quarter to expand their knowledge of writing and
writers.)
1.
Twentieth-Century Poets Project:
Students
will
a. select a poet;
b. read and research the poet;
c. prepare a creative artifact (poster, video,
collage, scrapbook, etc.) about the poet;
d. prepare a poem by the poet for an
interpretive reading/teaching experience;
e. write a poem “in the style” of the selected
poet.
2. Reading/Creative Writing Project:
Students
will
a.
zero in on an author, reading a
book for pleasure, but also looking closely at how the writer writes.
(Students will examine author’s use of dialogue, specific words,
sensory images, syntax, and the
element of surprise to create a unique literary piece);
b.
keep a dialectical journal as they
read the book, noting special words, phrases, and sentences which
represent the above writing elements;
c. write two pieces:
(1) a well-developed essay
analyzing the author’s style, and
(2) a creative piece using at least five sentences
imitating the author’s style.
I. Publication of Writing
1.
REFLECTIONS
Students
enrolled in Creative Writing will enter an original poem, essay, or other
written piece in
Reflections, sponsored
by the Council for Arts and
Academics.
2. Writing Contests
Students
will enter one national writing contest.
3. Fusion: The SCPS Annual Literary Magazine (This may not be included each year.)
As a culminating semester project,
students will produce a literary magazine for the school featuring
the photographs, art, short stories,
and essays submitted by students in SCPS.
Class members will serve
as the Editorial Board--selecting the written pieces to include, editing and
proofreading the
writings, typing the manuscript,
and preparing the computer layout.