In this class I want you to forget what you think you know about fiction.  I want you to forget what you know, to forget and know that in your forgetting you will be more willing to try new ways of putting prose on the page.

I want you to forget what you think you know about fiction because what you know could constipate you into thinking that genres cannot be crossed, that poetry and fiction and non-fiction cannot come together, that action is what a story is all about (not), and that your words are a recreation of some absolute, non-chaotic reality.

I want you to forget these things.

I want you to forget what you know because fiction is often "true" and "the truth" is often a fiction.  Post-structuralist theory can help writers understand the constructedness, the fictionality, of everything, which does not make it any less "true."  Truth is a construct for post-structuralist, postmodern people like me, in that "truth" is created by words, by language, and language is always shifting and fluid.  Language never means just one thing because meaning is usually negotiated between people.  If "truth" is negotiated by people immersed in a web of shifting language, "truth" then also shifts in a playful way.  "Truth" is a construct created by a bunch of talking people who can change their minds, re-define words, and create new words in the context of our current knowing.  As far as my writing is concerned, I don't fixate on truth or not-truth.  I don't try to re-create "reality."  I don't try to create something completely new (that's impossible).  I play with language which is what constructs the things and people we know.

I want you to forget absolutes and be willing to play with words on the page.

I want you to forget what you think you know about fiction because stories, for post-structuralists like me, often come one word at a time, one constructed meaning at a time, and in this comes surprise (and some level of surprise is necessary for good writing).  I want you to forget what you know so you can learn that writing sentences is always an experiment, and that writing experimental, interesting sentences is the main thing many of us do when we write fiction in this postmodern age.  I want you to forget so you can experiment with language in terms of image, voice, and tension, and thus always surprise and be surprised.

I want you to forget what you think you know about fiction because postmodern, wild, freaky, honest writing isn't often dainty, sweet, respectful, coherent, or nice.  It can be excessive, chaotic, mean, funny, erotic, fragmented, human, and inhuman.  Ntozake Shange says writing, the impulse to depict, often "sketches what we hold to be sacred," but that her selections in Best 1999 also give "voice to the Other, to those who have been marginalized, at times demonized publicly or privately ignored" (xi).  I want you to forget the easy things you know about writing and tap into your more sacred margins, the places that aren't just nice and easy.  As Jeanettte Winterson, a wonderful neo-postmodernist novelist, says in Art Objects, experimental fiction can also offer us "an invitation to believe" (71).  I want you to forget so you can remember that writing experimental stories asks a reader (and a writer) to wake up and be transformed.

INSTRUCTOR'S RULES

1. Attendance is vital! Creative writing courses are very difficult to grade because most of the students are barely beginning to learn to write.  So Lee tries to have mercy and give a big portion of your grade to attendance.  Missing one class this summer is the same as missing three days during the semester.  Your grade will drop if you miss more than once! Missing class will also make it difficult for you to get participation favorability.

--If you do miss a class, please consult with another responsible student to find out what was missed. Exchange phone numbers as soon as possible (this can also help later if you wish to form an outside workshop).

2. Arrive on time and prepared for class.   Your active participation with readings, in class discussions, workshops, Internet exchanges, and in-class writing is the way this class is graded.  Do not tell me you don't like to read, and therefore you don't need to do the reading assignments..  Participation gets you a lot more favorability.

3. Writing Assignments must be turned in by 4:30PM the day they are due or you will lower your course grade (you will have less favorability). Always keep a photo copy and disk backup for yourself. Always keep your work saved on multiple diskettes.  Endorse assignments using publication format.  For fiction, double space everything except your personal information in the top right corner.

Your Name
Your Full Address
Your Phone Number
Word Count: 0000

Click here for a sample story in publication format.

4. I will be available on Thursdays from 1-2 in BU111, or by appointment (see above). Please come talk with me about your ideas or things you don't understand about an assignment.

5. I cannot give anyone an Incomplete unless you have a life and death situation come up.

7. If you have any kind of formal disability, you need to let me know NOW so that we can work out a way to make sure you have all the resources necessary.

*8. 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.

9. If you have not had a College Writing I course yet or its equivalent, please see me!

10. Remember, no children are allowed in classrooms at UVSC.

11. This class is in a computer lab, and so you are expected (allowed) to word process your creative work.  We will have work time in class unless you abuse this privilege by leaving or playing around.   For this special Weber class, we will not charge you the customary $15 fee, but will need you to fill out the waiver forms so that you can access all aspects of our software.  This waived lab fee pays for supplies, repairs, printing, and upgrades, and is what allows our lab to function smoothly.

12. 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.

Writerly Assignments:

• 6-10 stories due, 1 each week or so based on exercises and journal ideas.

• Journal containing in-class exercises, out of class exercises, observations/descriptions, drafts, story ideas

• Thoughtful and peer review critiques

Other Assignments:

Tutorials: Computers will allow you to revise your work as much as you want or need to. They also help you catalogue your work, and file it away for a few years with the possibility of finding it later when you figure out how to fix it.   You may want to check out the various tutorials offered by departments on campus (especially for word processing, Internet, and E-Mail).

Learning Enrichment Center (LEC): (LEC 223, below the library) Tutors are available to help with grammar--what John Gardner calls The Basics--though creative writing often breaks grammar rules as well.  You can also use their on-line OWL lab. Lab personnel will not fix or edit every error. 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.

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 UVSC, 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 UVSC’s statement on Student Rights and Responsibilities. Evidence of intentional plagiarism will cause you to fail this course. Please refer to www.uvsc.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.

I make A LOT of comments on your work.  These comments are based on my bias toward clean, cliche-free language, 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.  I tend not to grade your written work on the first draft because it seems stifling.  It is very difficult to get 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.

However, your final grade does have to reflect your writing ability.   Having pretty good drafts, attending class each day, participating, and completing all the other assignments will probably assure you of at least a B.

So, what is the best writing?