Course Outline of Record

Item	Value
Curriculum Committee Approval Date	12/02/2020
Top Code	150700 - Creative Writing
Units	3 Total Units
Hours	72 Total Hours (Lecture Hours 72)
Total Outside of Class Hours	0
Course Credit Status	Credit: Degree Applicable (D)
Material Fee	No
Basic Skills	Not Basic Skills (N)
Repeatable	No
Grading Policy	Standard Letter (S),  Pass/No Pass (B)
Associate Arts Local General Education (GE)	OC Humanities - AA (OC1)
Associate Science Local General Education (GE)	OCC Humanities - AS (OSC2)

Course Description

This is an advanced writing workshop for students who have already completed more than 100 pages of an original novel. Students will focus on analysis of the elements of dramatic fictional structure through examination of works in progress. In addition to generating 50-100 new pages, students will read essays on craft and engage in research into the settings and circumstances of their characters in order to lend authenticity to the narrative. This course is designed to assist students in developing and revising manuscripts to meet contemporary publication standards. Transfer Credit: CSU.

Course Level Student Learning Outcome(s)

1. Analyze the narrative strategies of published fiction, critique elements of fiction in student manuscripts, and compose multiple chapters of a novel-in-progress, using critical thinking skills and narrative techniques to evaluate, revise, and edit their manuscripts.

Course Objectives

• 1. Demonstrate advanced knowledge of specific techniques of story telling, with a concentration on plot revision, character development, and action sequencing.
• 2. Maintain a disciplined writing schedule and method of composition, leading to the successful completion of a book-length manuscript.
• 3. Analyze and assess the work of contemporary writers and critics using advanced novelistic techniques.
• 4. Conduct research to investigate the period, settings, and circumstances of their characters, as appropriate, to lend authenticity to the narrative.
• 5. Write and revise 100-200 pages of typed manuscript (seven pages per week, on a regular schedule).
• 6. Criticize and discuss manuscripts according to advanced workshop protocol, incorporating advanced line and scene editing skills.
• 7. Develop an advanced understanding and appreciation of fiction through analysis of published works and the students own work in progress.

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Lecture Content

Advanced practice of the techniques of fiction Narrative Point of View Authorial Voice Texture Sensory Detail Plot Character Dialogue Time Compression Scene Panorama Movement and Modulation The Advanced Writers Schedule Page Count Hour Count Writers Block Prewriting Revising Editing Advanced Development Issues Advanced Structure Integration of Multiple Plotlines Complications and Reversals Character Arcs Continuity Outline Refinement Advanced Methods of Criticism Analysis of structure, style, and theme Applying judgments to published work Applying judgments to students work Techniques for writing effective critiques Advanced study of appropriate models Contemporary novels Literary and genre fiction Critical reviews and essays Advanced Research Historical Context Location Studies Genre Manipulation / Strategies of Published Authors Experimental Forms Analysis of Essays on Craft Advanced Editing Techniques Introduction to Market Analysis Analysis of current market Student and professional reading Preparation of manuscript The submission process Analysis of legal aspects: copyrights, libel, contracts

Method(s) of Instruction

• Lecture (02)
• DE Live Online Lecture (02S)
• DE Online Lecture (02X)

Instructional Techniques

Lectures focus on advanced creative writing techniques and critical thinking strategies about the craft of writing a novel, providing a variety of methods to enhance style, content, and voice. Lectures also focus on the methods of aesthetic evaluation, the process of revision, and the strategies for publication.   Demonstration: Models of modern and contemporary novels from various genres (literary classics, historical fiction, detective fiction, romance, science fiction, and others) are demonstrated using a variety of methods: books, handouts, overheads, videos, DVDs.    Discussion: Students engage in regular discussions on reading and writing assignments, workshop group writing assignments, and topics (social, political, cultural, etc.) introduced in class.   Technology: Students use the Internet to engage in research on their topics and to access information about major writers.   Video Presentation: Students view relevant videos of major authors reading and discussing their work.   Collaborative Learning: Partners and groups engage in a large amount of discussion of each others written assignments and manuscripts.   Supplemental Learning: Students will attend live readings presented by visiting authors, when available, to model and assess the oral presentation, and to meet with and talk to the professional writers.   Conferencing: The instructor is available for individual conferences throughout the semester.

Reading Assignments

Students interpret and evaluate substantial amounts of literature, including classic, modern and contemporary novels from various genres, and they review and discuss journal articles, critical essays, and books about fiction. Students then discuss the literatures relative success according to the application of standards set by class research and discussion. Students learn and demonstrate the ability to apply these critical standards to contemporary novels.  Students must also read and critique their colleagues manuscripts each week, in seminar fashion, according to specific protocols, which requires them to analyze, criticize, and assess one anothers manuscripts according to narrative techniques such as point of view, authorial voice, texture, sensory detail, plot, character, dialogue, time compression, scene, panorama, and movement. Critical thinking is involved in determining technical solutions to problems in the in-progress manuscripts. Additionally, students read selected novels and/or novel excerpts for structural and technical analysis.

Writing Assignments

PLEASE NOTE: Writing assignments are prepared outside of class. Students write a substantial amount of fiction, at least 100 pages of extended narrative over the semester. In addition, they write weekly 250-word critiques analyzing their own work and others work according to intermediate narrative strategies and techniques. Students may keep journals on the process of writing and on observations that may be included in their creative work. Students begin to use long-manuscript writing strategies such as weekly, monthly, and semester page count goals and revision targets. For intermediate-advanced novel writers, the portfolio consists of 100 pages of revised narrative, exhibiting expertise in many of the strategies and techniques of the long narrative.

Out-of-class Assignments

144 hours (roughly 9 hours/week) Reading: 45 hours (3 hr/week); Writing: 90 hours (roughly 6 hrs/week); Research, as appropriate: 10 hrs (1-2 hours/week) Students will write a substantial amount of fiction outside of class, at least 100 pages of extended narrative over the course of the semester. In addition, they will write weekly 250-word critiques analyzing their own work and others work according to intermediate narrative strategies and techniques. Students will partake in visiting writer activities, attending talks and readings by professional writers, and participating in question-and-answer sessions with these professionals. Students will engage in advanced research into the circumstances of their characters and into the conventions of the genre they are working within.

Demonstration of Critical Thinking

Analysis of ones own writing, including creating and revising large portions of the manuscript, is evaluated in terms of the students ability to critique using specific elements of the novel such as point of view, authorial voice, texture, sensory detail, plot, character, dialogue, time compression, scene, panorama, and movement.   Students may also be evaluated on their presentation of oral critiques during workshop discussion. Criteria are clarity, knowledge of studied material, attention to the manuscript being discussed, and utility of the critique.

Required Writing, Problem Solving, Skills Demonstration

Substantial writing, including creating and critiquing at least 100 pages of the manuscript, is evaluated in terms of the students ability to complete advanced writing exercises that are timely, grammatically correct, and relevant to the assignment and that incorporate the specific elements of the novel discussed in class, such as point of view, authorial voice, texture, sensory detail, plot, character, dialogue, time compression, scene, panorama, and movement.   Written responses to published literature are evaluated on the basis of completion, levels of analysis, and summary. Weekly written critiques are evaluated by peers and by the instructor on the basis of technical accuracy and utility of the critiques to the writer(s) receiving them.   Skill Demonstration: Students are evaluated on their class performance, their adherence to deadlines and their manuscript preparation and presentation. They are also evaluated on the level of their critiques and comments during group discussions and their analysis of their own work and the work of others.   Portfolio Review: Students are evaluated on a final portfolio of their best revision of their manuscript on the basis of timely submission, clarity of presentation, and technical merit.

Eligible Disciplines

English: Masters degree in English, literature, comparative literature, or composition OR bachelors degree in any of the above AND masters degree in linguistics, TESL, speech, education with a specialization in reading, creative writing, or journalism OR the equivalent. Masters degree required.

Textbooks Resources

1. Required Rasley, Alicia. The Power Point of View: Make Your Story Come to Life, ed. Writers Digest, 2008 Rationale: To provide students with a clear understanding of point of view and its relationship to voice so that they can select the strongest position from which to deliver their novel. 2. Required Bell, James Scott. Write Great Fiction: Revision Self Editing, ed. Writers Digest Books, 2008 Rationale: An appropriate aid for completing a long-form manuscript. 3. Required Calvino, Italo. Six Memos for the Next Millennium, ed. Mariner Books, 2014

Other Resources

1. AWP Chronicles: a bi-monthly journal of creative writing activities. A variety of novels used as models for narrative technique and strategy. Typical novels would include works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Toni Morrison, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jonathan Safran Foer, Zadie Smith, and others. Additional novels in genres specific to the students manuscript project.