English 261
Graduate Craft Seminar: Narrative Strategies in Fiction
Tuesday, 4:30 to 7:30pm
Dante 213
Instructor: Lysley Tenorio
Office Hours: 315 Dante, Tu/Th, 10:00-11:15am, or by appointment
Phone: ext. 4764
E-mail: latenori@stmarys-ca.edu
Course Description
I was born in the city of Bombay…once upon a time. No, that won’t do, there’s no getting away
from the date: I was born in Doctor Narkilar’s Nursing Home on August 15th, 1947. And the
time? The time matters, too. Well then: at night. No, it’s important to be more…On the stroke of
midnight, as a matter of fact. Clock-hands joined palms in respectful greeting as I came. Oh,
spell it out…
Now, however, time (having no further use for me) is running out…I have no hope of
saving my life, nor can I count on having even a thousand nights and a night. I must work fast, if
I am to end up meaning—yes, meaning—something…
So begins Salman Rushdie’s novel, Midnight’s Children, in which the narrator, Saleem Sinai,
declares his mission: he is here to tell the story of his life, and in effect, the story of modern, postcolonial India. But as the opening shows us, Saleem is struggling to get the story right. Does he
begin at the beginning (“I was born in the city of Bombay”) or at a more image-driven moment
(“Clock-hands joined palms in respectful greeting as I came”)? If, as he says, time is running out,
how quickly should he tell his story? Within it, what others need to be told? And, perhaps most
importantly, how will he “end up meaning—yes, meaning—something…?”
In many ways, the opening pages of Midnight’s Children illustrate a crossroads in the
writing process. Like many writers, Saleem Sinai knows (or perhaps, is beginning to know) his
story: he understands its events and arc, crisis and conflict, a sense of resolution. But for the
writer, particularly in the stages of drafting and revision, this is just the stuff of knowledge, an
articulation of mission—it’s the execution of this mission that will make the story finally come
together. The writer must have a narrative strategy in mind—begin at the end or in the middle;
tell the story in the present or the past, use the first, second, or third person point of view—a
“plan of attack” that will lead to the most convincing, evocative, and resonant story possible, and
hold the reader captive until the final word and well beyond.
The goal of this graduate craft seminar is to develop our skills and hone our instincts as
writing “strategists,” and to recognize and consider the options available to us, particularly in the
process of drafting, experimentation, and revision. To meet this objective, we will examine the
various elements of craft by reading and discussing critical essays on fiction writing by writers
such as Janet Burroway, Aimee Bender, and Charles Baxter. To deepen our discussion, we’ll
then look at published fiction to see how different authors utilize these techniques, and to
understand why they make the technical choices they do, and how they serve the overall goals of
the narrative.
This course is not meant to demystify the writing process—the first draft is often the
result of sudden inspiration, good energy and creativity, luck and serendipity. However, it’s those
subsequent drafts that require real work, skill, grit, and strategy: this is the point at which writers
step back and consider the true thing they’ve created, and willingly revise, tear down and build
up, and experiment. Our discussions and conversations will rely on this philosophy, which will
hopefully be true for you as well.
Course Texts
Course reader/ handouts (provided by instructor)
Stories for group presentations
Two short books (to be announced later in the term)
Course Requirements
1. Completion of all writing exercises
Week by week, we’ll discuss different aspects of craft, and the various ways they can be used in
fiction. You will then be assigned a short writing exercise in conjunction with our discussion and
the assigned reading, to be submitted the following week (typed, double-spaced, single-sided).
2. One short story developed from one class exercise
Near the end of the term (exact date to be determined later) you will submit a full story based on
and expanded from one writing exercise.
OR…
One complete revision of an older short story or novel chapter
As some of you will be working on your thesis, I want you to devote as much time to that as
necessary. In lieu of this, you will have the option of revising an older piece in conjunction with
some of the exercises we’ve done in class. If, for example, you decide to do use part of an older
story for a POV exercise, you may revise that piece using a new POV, and making all other
necessary revisions.
3. Group Presentation
Working as a group, you will find a published short story from a current literary journal and lead
a craft discussion on the piece. The author should be a new writer, one who hasn’t necessarily
garnered the same kind of attention as the writers we’re reading in our course reader—this is a
chance to discover a new writer, and share your discovery with the class. The story should be one
that evokes a strong reaction from the group. For example, you may find an experimental piece
that seems to defy every “rule” of craft we’ve discussed, yet succeeds as a story brilliantly. Or,
you may find one that follows the conventions of craft with clear expertise, yet fails miserably.
We’ll discuss the requirements for the presentation later in the semester. Each presentation
should be approximately 45 minutes, and should include an in-class writing exercise of your own
creation.
4. Individual conference
Each student is required to meet with me at least once during the semester, to discuss your story
submission. Count on meeting some time in late March/ early April.
5. Weekly readings
Each week we will read short stories or novels, along with craft-related essays. Please be sure
you’ve read these prior to our class discussion, and that you arrive with questions, opinions, and
observations about these readings.
6. Participation
This is a graduate level seminar. In order to pass the course, you must contribute to our
discussions every class session, by offering comments and questions and responding to them as
well. You will be expected to participate in and engage the discussion every class session,
throughout the entire term.
Attendance
Unless it’s an absolute emergency, please do not be absent. Talk to me if you need to miss class,
and please let me know the reason. If you must be absent, this is the attendance policy: 1 absence
is a freebie. A second absence should be an absolute emergency (illness, family situation, flood,
etc.). A third absence means (in most cases) that you will not pass the class. Excessive tardiness
(more than two) will count as one absence. Arriving to class more than thirty minutes late will be
considered an absence. If you must arrive late to class due to emergencies (illness, family
situation, that flood, etc.), let me know in advance by calling my office extension. If ours is your
first class of the day, allot plenty of time for traffic. The Caldecott Tunnel and St. Mary’s Road
can be terrible around 4pm, so plan accordingly.
READING SCHEDULE
(subject to change)
2/14
Introduction
Review syllabus
Essays
“Some Basic Definitions” Alice Laplante
“Two General Truths About Craft” George Garrett
Stories
“The Man in Bogota,” Amy Hempel
“The Raft,” Peter Orner
“The Rapture,” Skip Horack
2/21
Conflict—Internal and External
Essays
“Conflict, Crisis, and Resolution” Janet Burroway
“Conflict, the Key to Access,” Stephen Koch
Stories
“Orientation,” Daniel Orozco
“The Hull Case,” Peter Ho Davies
2/28
Characterization
Showing and Telling
The Scene
Essays
“Character Motivation,” Aimee Bender
“Making a Scene: Fiction’s Fundamental Unit,” Anna Keesey
Stories
“You’re Ugly, Too,” Lorrie Moore
“Awaiting Orders,” Tobias Wolff
3/6
Plot and Structure
Surprise and Suspense
Beginnings and Endings
Essays
“Incremental Perturbation: How to Know Whether You’ve Got a Plot or Not”
John Barth
“The Lingerie Theory of Literature,” Julie Chekoway
Stories
“Marie,” Edward P. Jones
“Sea Oak,” George Saunders
3/13
Point of View: First Person
Essays
“Casting Shadows, Hearing Voices: The Basics of Point of View” Valerie Miner
“A Container of Multitudes, or When ‘I’ Isn’t ‘Me’: The Art of First Person”
Alyce Miller
Stories
“Why Antichrist?” Chris Adrian
“The Idiot President,” Daniel Alarcon
3/20
Point of View: Third Person
Essays
“And Eyes to See: The Art of Third Person” Lynna Williams
“At What Distance?” Janet Burroway
“Reconsidering Omniscience in Contemporary Writing” Jenny Dunning
Stories
“The Caprices,” Sabina Murray
“Love and Hydrogen,” Jim Shepard
3/27
“Big” Stories, “Little” Stories
Time Management in Fiction
Essays
Excerpts from “The Literary Clock: Strategies for Handling Time in Fiction”
Amy Weintraub
“Long Time in Short Stories, Or Why Can’t a Story Be More Like a Novel?”
Joan Silber
Stories
“The Behavior of the Hawkweeds,” Andrea Barrett
“Cathedral,” Raymond Carver
4/3
SPRING BREAK
4/10
Voice and Tone
Theme
Essays
“I Gotta Use Words When I Talk to You: Theme,” Janet Burroway
“You’re Really Something: Inflection, Tone, and Pitch,” Charles Baxter
Stories
“Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned,” Wells Tower
“Brokeback Mountain,” Annie Proulx
4/17
Author Visit (TBA)
4/24
Author Visit (TBA)
5/1
PRESENTATIONS
5/8
PRESENTATIONS
5/15
PRESENTATIONS