English 225H Syllabus

 

Creative Process and Imaginative Writing

 http://research.uvu.edu/mortensen/2250

 

 

YOUR PROFESSOR

I'm Lee Ann Mortensen and I have an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Utah.  Though I have written in a variety of genres, I primarily focus on neo-postmodern, sort of minimalist prose/fiction that focuses on marginalized voices in the West. Click here to read my sometimes upsetting, angry, funny, four-letter-word work (that means it isn't everything for everyone). I've been published in journals like Ploughshares, River Styx and Prism International.


OFFICE: Liberal Arts room 114B (the metrosexual)--there is an English drop box outside LA114 if you need to get things to me that you can't E.mail.
HOURS : TTR 10:30-11:20AM, and I am available after 5:30PM by appointment. 
PHONE: 801-863-8785
E.MAIL: mortenle@uvu.edu


REQUIRED TEXTS


COURSE OBJECTIVES

Creativity means so many things to so many different people. 

Here's my take on it--a creative piece of writing is a twisted, twisting, breathing, surprising, never clichéd piece of art.

What do you think is surprising about the following fiction fragment?

    Seguin.  She had liked the sound of it.  Far away and lovely.  Not like Monclova.  Coahuia.  Ugly.  
    Seguin, Tejas.  A nice sterling ring to it.  The tinkle of money.  She would get to wear outfits like the women on the tele, like Lucia Mendez.  And have a lovely house, and wouldn't Chela be jealous.  And yes, they will drive all the way to Laredo to get her wedding dress.  That's what they say.

--from Woman Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros.

And what might surprise in this piece of fiction?

    You wake up in Dulles.
    Life insurance pays off triple if you die on a business trip.  I prayed for wind shear effect.  I prayed for pelicans sucked into the turbines and loose bolts and ice on the wings.  On takeoff, as the plane pushed down the runway and the flaps tilted up, with our seats in their full upright position and our tray tables stowed and all personal carry-on baggage in the overhead compartment, as the end of the runway ran up to meet us with our smoking materials extinguished, I prayed for a crash.
     You wake up at Love Field.  

--from Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

What does this poetry stanza do to your mind?

They have propped my head between the pillow and the sheet-cuff
Like an eye between two white lids that will not shut.
Stupid pupil, it has to take everything in.
The nurses pass and pass, they are no trouble,
They pass the way gulls pass inland in their white caps,
Doing things with their hands, one just the same as another,
So it is impossible to tell how many there are.

--from "Tulips" in Ariel by Sylvia Plath

And what about a little absurdist/humorist theater?  See Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.

And then there's satirical theater.  See Christopher Durang's Sister Mary Ignatious Explains it All For You (an excerpt).

I don't find Hallmark cards surprising or damaging enough to be artistically satisfying--greeting cards are inventive at times, and are often skilled and amusing as well as useful (they apologize, beg, celebrate, seduce), but creative writing in this class is something different, something more freakish, more difficult, and less likely to be about communication than disruption.

How do you learn creativity? 

Some people say you can't learn creativity.  Maybe they're right.  But I'm supposed to help you with this.  So what shall we do?

Experiment.

One experiment I like is to listen--really listen--to the ideas, conversations, language, images, people, and situations that really call to me.  What do you hear right now?  What are your real obsessions?  What are your fetishes in the world of language and being?  If you think of something, write it down!

Another experiment is to keep a journal where you write down all these obsessive bits of potential then return to them later when you need to draft.

Another experiment (more traditional, yes, but still just a shot in the dark toward artistry) is to read voraciously.  I learn huge, wonderful things by reading many different authors writing in many different genres (except the Hallmark genre, I guess).  I always look for the things that surprise me, and somehow coming in contact with this makes me see a larger universe (and perhaps this is what originality means).  If you don't like to read, forget about being an artistic writer (and forget about being in this class).

I also like to experiment by reading peer writing and making critiques on it.  Painful as it might be, I'm currently in a workshop where I read other people's work. and they read over mine.  When I can begin to say what I think isn't working in their writing, I can begin to tell myself the same things.  We will do a lot of workshopping in this class and it will require a deep level of involvement from you.

I always experiment by reading craft advice--our text-book is filled with advice often in the form of strange and interesting exercises.  I use what seems helpful to me in the moment, try to learn something new, and leave the rest for another time when I'm ready.

The most important experiment (the one you can't avoid if you really want to call yourself a writer) is to actually write.  In other words, practice the craft of writing by getting words on a page, thinking about those words, sharing those words with other people, listening to critiques of those words, revising them and then revising them again, and again, and again.  Getting in the simple habit of sitting down to write no matter how bad you think it is is a related experiment.  This is called making yourself available (and it hurts, but is very necessary). 

Please get out of my class if you don't want to seriously experiment in these and other ways.  I just won't have patience for people who think they can waste our time with apathy.


PROFESSOR'S RULES

1. Attendance is, of course, essential: Your voice adds greatly to our community of writers, and when you are not here and prepared, our class, and our learning, are hugely diminished.  If you miss more than 5 classes, you will NOT pass this class.  If you arrive late 3 times, this will also count as one of your absences.  You are allowed to make up a maximum of 2 absences with extra credit assignments (see below).

2. Your active participation with homework readings, in-class discussions, workshops, Internet exchanges, and in-class writing is the best way for you to learn more about writing.  Intelligent discussion helps to expand your mind, and your mind is your most important creative writing tool.  Do not be shy.  Please think and speak actively in this class, and always be very prepared.

*3. Respect and Maturity are absolutely necessary, especially when we will be looking at diverse writing by those who accept criticism as if it were a dagger in the spine. I will assume you are all mature adults and treat you accordingly until you show me otherwise. You dictate the level of respect.

4. Writing Assignments must be turned in the day they are due or you will lose 5 points. Always keep a photo copy and disk backup for yourself. Always keep your work saved on multiple diskettes.  Endorse assignments using publication submission format.  

For Prose, double space everything except your personal information (unless you are experimenting).  Place this information in the top left corner like this:

Last Name 1

Your Name
Your Full Address
Your Phone Number
Word Count: XXX

Title of Story

     This is the beginning of your

story. Please double space so that

we can write a lot of comments in

the margins and between lines. 

This is standard publication

format.  If, however, you actually

want to play with your formatting,

line breaks, paragraph styles,

etc., after you put in the usual

page info at the top, you may

format as you like.

For Poetry, put the above information in the top right corner.   Poems are usually never double spaced (except between stanzas).  Here is an example:

Your Name
Your Full Address
Your Phone Number

Title of Poem

This is your first stanza.
Usually you single space
each stanza in a poem
because line breaks
and stanza breaks
strongly effect your poem.

Then double space
between stanzas.

For Plays (if we do them), you will need to follow a special formatting for each page, so look it up on the web at: http://www.vcu.edu/artweb/playwriting/format.html. 

5. You are required to word process your creative work.  In order to work with more of you individually, you may be given occasional times in class to write and revise unless you show me you are not mature enough to handle this kind of freedom.  

6. If we have class in a computer lab, you have been assessed a $13 fee for the maintenance of the lab and for printing (you have also been charged $1 for general photocopying).  All of you can use the Open Lab computers in SC 116; SB101; SC215; LI100.  Go to the Center for Student Computing Web site for more information at http://csc.UVU.edu/openlab/.

7. Be sure to pay attention to your course Calendar and keep up with the work.  Also watch your E. Mail for news, clarifications, assignments, and updates.  Your on-campus Groupwise E. Mail system is available at: http://www.uvu.edu .  Off campus, you can send me E. Mail at mortenle@uvu.edu. 

8. I will be available for consultations with you during hours or by appointment (see above).  Please come talk with me about your ideas, creative endeavors, or things you don't understand about any of the experiments we are doing.

9. Students with Disabilities - If you have any disability which may impair your ability to successfully complete this course, please contact the Accessibility Services Department (WB 146; 863-8747). Academic accommodations are granted for all students who have qualified disabilities. Services are coordinated with the student and instructor by the Accessibility Services Department.

10. Remember, no children are allowed in classrooms at UVU--please visit the Wee Care Center.

11. Final exams cannot be taken early.

12. NO CELL PHONES or MP3 players (no ear buds) etc.--if I tell you to put away your other digital items (like a computer), please close them.


GRADING

Creative Writing Assignments:

Other Assignments:

Extra Credit (to make up for a maximum of 2 absences you will need to complete 2 extra credit assignments):

Points and assignments are subject to change.


OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND HELP

Computer Labs: The CSC computer openlabs (SC116; SB101; AD007; CS215) are open for you to do your work. 

Writing Lab: (LI 201) Tutors are available to help you learn more about grammar--though creative writing often breaks grammar rules as well.  You can also use their on-line OWL lab though most tutors will focus on genres other than creative writing.  Lab personnel will not fix or edit errors. They will mark some spelling, grammar or punctuation errors, but they will not correct these errors. They will make general suggestions about how you can learn to fix the problems on your own. If I have to send editors perfect work, you have to "send" me perfect work as well for your final drafts.


PLAGIARISM

Academic Honesty/Plagiarism Statement: Plagiarism, or the use of others’ words or ideas without proper attribution, is an impediment to your education and to the educational mission of Utah Valley State College. Under the policy of the English and Literature Department of UVU, work that has been plagiarized must receive a failing grade. A distinction is made between unintentionally plagiarized work, which must be corrected in order to be considered for a passing grade, and intentional plagiarism, which will be forwarded to the Office of the Dean of Student Life as a disciplinary matter in accordance with UVU’s statement on Student Rights and Responsibilities. Evidence of intentional plagiarism will cause you to fail this course. Please refer to www.UVU.edu/courseinfo/engl/plagiarism_policy.html  to read the department’s full statement on plagiarism, and speak to your instructor if you have any questions about avoiding plagiarism.  Please also be aware that there is a difference between plagiarism and pastiche, a postmodern writing technique, but not everyone knows about this.


EVALUATION OF WRITTEN WORK

Ok, so either I make A LOT of comments on your work, or give your work a grade, and you feel bad, or I don't make very many comments or don't give you a grade and you feel cheated.  Usually I prefer to make a lot of comments and not give you grades (grades on works-in-progress seem punishing and silly).  Sometimes I do give grades, but they seem false.

I make A LOT of comments on your work.  These comments are based on my bias toward tightly revised, cliché-free language, consistently interesting voices, playful experimentation, believability, strangeness, as well as comments focused on the writing elements we discuss in class.  These comments do not reflect the kind of grade you will get in my class.  It is very difficult to finish an outstanding, perfect piece of writing in one semester.  Most of us will continue to revise the pieces we create in here for many years to come.  Often I will only give you my grade estimate for your overall performance at the midterm and then at the end of the course.  You can always ask me for a grade estimate as we go through the course.

However, your final grade does have to reflect your writing ability.   Attending class each day, participating, being a thoughtful critic, reading well, doing your write-ups, having a lot of generated work (that also takes some risks), and making good, brave revisions can certainly put you in a higher grade category, so do not feel like there is no hope even if your writing is still inexperienced (or boring).

Here's what UVU policy says about grading--we will likely differ on this...

Email Me your definition of creativity Now at mortenle@uvu.edu

 

Copyright © Lee Ann Mortensen 2008

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