Fiction Workshop
Spring 2016
“My lover is experiencing reverse evolution. I tell no one. I don’t know how it happened, only that one day he was my lover and the next he was some kind of ape. It’s been a month and now he’s a sea turtle.”
—from “The Rememberer” by Aimee Bender
“He had a fat neck, predatorial eyes, and a smirk of cruel recognition. ‘Yes,’ I said, without any pleasure. ‘I do remember you from high school.’”
—“Chance Meeting at the Insurance Office” by Adam-Troy Castro in Hint Fiction
“I’d like to make quite clear at the same time that I don’t regard my own characters as uncontrolled, or anarchic. They’re not. The function of selection and arrangement is mine. I do all the donkeywork, in fact, and I think I can say I pay meticulous attention to the shape of things, from the shape of a sentence to the overall structure of the play. This shaping, to put it mildly, is of the first importance. But I think a double thing happens. You arrange and you listen, following the clues you leave for yourself, through the characters. And sometimes a balance is found, where image can freely engender image and where at the same time you are able to keep your sights on the place where the characters are silent and in hiding. It is in the silence that they are most evident to me.”
Harold Pinter, from Complete Works: One
Instructor: Mauricio Kilwein GuevaraCourse: ENG 415-002 M/W 11a-12:15p
Classroom: Curtin 468E-mail:
Office: CRT512Office Hours: Mondays,10-10:55a & 1:45-3:00p (It’s always best, if possible, to set up a meeting with me ahead of time in class
or by e-mail.)Additional times are available by appointment.
English Department & Phone: CRT439
& 229-4511
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This class will exercise your critical reading and creative writing abilities in fiction on a regular basis. I will introduce, define, and apply a vocabulary specific to fiction writing: some of the terms you will already know; some will be new. I encourage you to practice these concepts, words, and phrases in our classroom discussions. Please remember that ours is a supportive classroom, where constructive questions and comments are always welcome. I anticipate that you have undergraduate mid-level competence as a fiction writer. More importantly, I assume you want to continue to improve, experiment, and to grow as a writer, so that I hope you welcome well-intentioned and sophisticated feedback from me and from your peers.
REQUIRED TEXT (you MUST purchase this book and bring it to the third class on 2/1/16)
Bender, Aimee. The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. NY:Anchor Books, 1998. ISBN: 9-780-3854-9216-4
This short story collection is currently available at People’s Books Cooperative, 804 E. Center Street, 414-962-0575, Monday Through Saturday, 10a-8p.
RECOMMENDED TEXTS (you are NOT required to purchase these books)
HINT FICTION edited by Robert Swartwood. Norton. ISBN: 9-780393-338461FLASH FICTION FORWARD edited by James Thomas and Robert Shapard. Norton. ISBN: 9-780393-328028
Another cost related to this class is copying. You will be responsible for making 16 copies, for classroom distribution, of two short stories (2000 words or longer), one flash fiction (600 to 800 words), and five hint fictions (25 words or fewer).Stories should be 12-point font and no less than 1 ½ spacing (no single spacing). Please include WORD COUNT on the first page of every story. You will hand out each of your stories the Mondaybeforethe week we are slated to discuss it. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in a ten-point deduction (10) of your overall class points (100) for each of the longer stories and a 5 point-deduction (5) of your overall class points (100) for each of the shorter stories. I do not plan to accept late work nor will I allow late work to be distributed electronically. If you miss an unexcused deadline, you lose points and the chance for peer feedback on that story. If there is an extraordinary, legitimate and documentable reason that you cannot hand work in on time (death of a close family member or serious illness, court date, etc.) I will need to know about your extenuating circumstance immediately, and I will require documentation on professional letterhead. Your meeting reasonable deadlines is a requirement of this course and mirrors obligations writers must meet as working professionals.
EVALUATION METHODS
The final grade for this course will be based on the following:
35 points: regular, constructive class contribution [frequent and intelligent participation, completion of all assignments, and attendance—with the stipulation that each unexcused absence after the first one will lower your final letter grade by 1.5 points]
45 points: an emailed (to: ) portfolio including two short stories (2000 words or longer), one flash fiction (600 to 800 words), and ten hint fictions (25 words or fewer) plus one significant revision of one of the longer stories (2000+ words). I should receive this email with all of the material in a single attachment with a table of contents no later than Wednesday, March 11, 2016 at noon (12:00p). If I do NOT receive your electronic portfolio by the deadline, you will receive a zero and fail the course.
5 points each/15points total: three unannounced reading quizzes, including both published and student fiction
5 points: attend one reading involving fiction, take notes, and write a 300 word review of the event. Bring a hard copy of your review to the next class after the reading.Late reviews will not be accepted. Bookstores such as People’s and Boswell regularly host fiction readings, as do local universities and colleges.
This assignment is due on or before April 27, 2016.
Grading scale:
94 to 100 points: A87-89.9 points: B+80-83.9 points: B-
90 to 93.9 points: A-84-86.9 points: B
77-79.9 points: C+74-76.9 points C70-73.9 points: C-
67-69.9 points: D+64-66.9 points: D60-63.9 points: D-
FEWER THAN 60 points = F (failing grade)
.
COURSE CALENDAR
Week 1 (1/25/16) Introduction. I’ll email a sample batch of hint fictions.
(1/27)Distribute 16 copies of your ten original hint fictions / discuss flash fiction. In class I’ll discuss the assignment for your flash fiction piece: you’ll choose only one from your peers’ hint fictions and use the chosen hint fiction as the catalyst for your flash fiction. The hint fiction you choose should appear verbatim at some point in your flash fiction. Your finished flash fiction should have a count within this range: between 600 and 800 words.
Week 2 (2/1) Read “The Rememberer” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. Discuss class’s hint fictions. Each student should bring in ONE remarkable flash fiction from your browsing in the following sites: www.flashfictiononline.com or any published collection of flash fiction.
(2/3) Read “Call My Name” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt.
Week 3 (2/8) Read “What You Left in the Ditch” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt.
(2/10) Read “The Bowl” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt.
Week 4 (2/15) Read “Marzipan” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. The following writers will bring 16 copies of a story today (to be discussed in class next week): ______and ______.
(2/17)Distribute 16 copies of your original flash fiction assignment.
Week 5 (2/22)Read “Quiet Please” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. The following writers will bring 16 copies of a story today (to be discussed in class next week): ______and ______.
(2/24) Discuss class’s flash fictions in small groups (I’ll hand out discussion rubric.)
Week 6 (2/29) Read “Skinless” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. The following writers will bring 16 copies of a story today (to be discussed in class next week): ______and ______.
(3/2) Discuss student fiction-in-progress and possible writing exercise.
Week 7 (3/7) Read “Fugue” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. The following writers will bring 16 copies of a story today (to be discussed in class in two weeks): ______and ______and ______.
(3/9)Discuss student fiction-in-progress and possible writing exercise.
Week 8 (3/14) (3/16) NO CLASS—SPRING RECESS
Week 9 (3/21) Read “Drunken Mimi” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. The following writers will bring 16 copies of a story today (to be discussed in class next week): ______and ______and ______.
(3/23) Discuss student fiction-in-progress and possible writing exercise.
Week 10 (3/28) Read “Fell This Girl” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. The following writers will bring 16 copies of a story today (to be discussed in class next week): ______and ______and ______.
(3/30) Read “The Healer” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt.
Week 11 (4/4)Read “Loser” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. The following writers will bring 16 copies of a story today (to be discussed in class next week): ______and ______and ______.
(4/6) Read “Legacy” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt.
(4/7) Reading by award-winning fiction writer Nine McConigley at UWM. Exact time and location to be announced. See for more information about the author.
Week 12 (4/11) Read “Dreaming in Polish” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. The following writers will bring 16 copies of a story today (to be discussed in class next week): ______and ______.
(4/13) Read “The Ring” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt.
Week 13 (4/18) Read “The Girl in the Flammable Skirt” in The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. The following writers will bring 16 copies of a story today (to be discussed in class next week): ______and ______and ______and ______.
(4/20) Discuss student fiction-in-progress and possible writing exercise.
Week 14 (4/25)The following writers will bring 16 copies of a story today (to be discussed in class next week): ______and ______and ______and ______.
(4/27)Fiction reading review is due TODAY.
Week 15 (5/2) The following writers will bring 16 copies of a story today (to be discussed in class next week): ______and ______.
(5/4) Discuss student fiction-in-progress and possible writing exercise.
Week 16 (5/9) Finish workshopping stories-in-progress. LAST CLASS.
Wednesday, May 11th: Emailed PORTFOLIO IS DUE on or before noon TODAY. I will acknowledge receipt. Failure to make this deadline will result in an automatic F for the course, even if the portfolio is one minute late.
N.B.: This syllabus may be subject tomodifications. Also, please feel free to discuss any class-related matter with me. Address significant issues with me when they happen. I want you to know that my office is open. I consider learning a partnership between the teacher and students that requires mutual respect, regular preparation and participation, and attentive communication.
For UWM policies, please see:
This is a traditional, or face-to-face course, you will spend a minimum of roughly
· 37.5 hours in the classroom
· 75 hours preparing for class, which may include reading, note taking, completing minor exercises and assignments, and discussing course topics with classmates and the instructor in structured settings
· 31.5 hours preparing for and writing major papers and/or exams.