Professor Goebel
University of Texas at Tyler
Office: BUS 248
Office Hours: Wed 2-4pm
Phone: 903-566-7458
E-mail: Lgoebel@uttyler.edu
T: 6:00-8:40 pm
ENGL 5367-001– Spring 2014
Seminar (STUDIES IN CREATIVE WRITING)-Graduate
ENGL 4365-001- Spring 2014
Seminar (Special Topics in Literary Study)-Undergraduate
Course Description
This course will teach you concepts and methods for the practice of teaching
Creative Writing. We will consider the term “practice” to be important for the work
ahead. Creative Writing is an art, not a science or even a field of greatly surveyed
and analyzed pedagogy, and the act of teaching this art is an art form unto itself.
If one looks at the hundreds of books published to instruct aspiring Creative Writers
on how to write—published in just the past however many years—one quickly
could become alarmed by how vast are the theories, practices, and approaches to
teaching Creative Writing—how varied they are—how seemingly unalike—how
imprecise and personally-based the approaches may even appear. Some approaches
start with the struggle (and joy) of approaching the execution of each discrete
sovereign sentence, starting of course with the first; others start with generating
bulk loads of material with which to later apply revision.
I am insisting that this teaching Creative Writing business is based on aesthetics and
values that are not entirely objective or widely studied in terms of effectiveness. So
perhaps one must in course ask: why study this subject?
At best, the practice of teaching Creative Writing is based on an aesthetic through
which an experienced successful writer and teacher instructs and inspires,
incorporating as well what has been learned from their former teachers. It is almost
like an apprenticeship, only each student must defy her/his teacher to become a
master. This is why you are in this course: to begin this journey toward developing
an aesthetic and to begin an apprenticeship under the study of the masters we will
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look toward for guidance. But we must all agree upon some basic premise in order
to begin our investigations, and so let’s start with some first notions.
Let’s agree that the teaching of Creative Writing must at some point rest upon
democratically agreed-upon aesthetics and beliefs such as: the sentence is
important. The sentences must be interesting. Language must be innovatively
employed in fiction to grab the attention of the reader. Language is made of sounds
as well as their agreed upon meanings, though we each come from different contexts
and so have somewhat or even greatly differentiating responses to the same
linguistic constructions—and yet majorities agree that some linguistic constructions
are masterful.
Or…each person must find a voice which is theirs and captures their essence in
some way, be the writing close to the author’s experience or not? Fiction must be
daring and new and original and each writer must bring one’s self to the page with
the earnest hope of testifying? Good writing is made of well-selected words put
together in meaningful and signifying syntaxes? We will need to figure out what our
common shared aesthetic will be around these notions from the start—so we will
begin with essays on sound and syntax.
Another nearly universal belief in CW is: Poetry is best when it employs the best
objects, when it makes itself new and makes the language new again. But do we
even being with these notions in hopes of finding maxims, or do we approach in
another way? The start of our study will begin with this question.
But of course what I’m stating is that our values on writing are subjective beliefs.
One may pick up a best selling novel and see how the language is not new or daring
or innovative, and that the author’s doings are not bound up in impressive
employments of sentence style and syntax (everything that makes a sentence). One
may read the poetry of many many poets (especially lay poets) and see that they are
not employing the best objects, or doing much in a short venture of language: not
using any sort of poetic logic that “makes it [poetry] new” as Ezra Pound said it must
be made so in his statements of poetics so many years ago. So, we will look at a lot of
different techniques for how to teach Creative Writing. You will choose, in the end,
which ones you want to employ. But…consider this: how can you teach a course on
Creative Writing, or even a unit, without establishing some guidelines regarding
how to qualify what makes good writing? To state: all is subjective is to essentially
refuse to instruct, guide effectively, or ever evaluate work for any kind of credit or
grade. Many students may, in your course of teaching, raise this argument as if
raising a bent spoon before the monstrousness of great writers living and dead: all is
subjective, you can’t judge me, they will say, with the spoon aloft and head bent away
from the flame of inspiration. What will you say?
There are great resources available to new teachers of Creative Writing—essays on
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craft, explorations of pedagogy, explorations on how to approach language in a
curious and a “writerly” fashion. We will look at many different approaches, and you
will choose which ones work for you.
MORE TO THINK ABOUT: If you want to teach Creative Writing at a University
level, you will almost surely need an MFA/PHD in Creative Writing and will need to
be a published writer/author. If you want to teach at a Community College, you will
most likely still need to have an MFA/PHD and to be published as a creative writer
(though to lesser extent). We will be doing some writing and workshops for those
who wish to go this route—the route of writer and professor of CW. If you wish to
teach some elements of Creative Writing in non-Creative Writing classes, this class
will provide you the basis to do so with clarity and knowledge.
So...consider that in teaching Creative Writing, you will have to develop your own
beliefs on what good writing is and how it can be known, taught, spoken of, etc.
Still, it is seemingly impossible to develop a single clear method to giving our
students (as aspiring writers) the clear conceptual map that will instruct them how
to be successful writers in their endeavors with Creative Writing. A lot of what you
will be doing is saying, “Look, look, look!” and then helping students to see with
newness and newly trained eyes and hear with “new” ears. Knowing yourself what
makes a sentence do what it does, (and a paragraph what it does) is a great GREAT
gift in this work. You will learn this here in this class. Then you will essentially be
telling folks, “Do!” You will give them prompts. You will give them language to
discuss work, understanding of elements of craft through the study of texts together,
and these new languages and understandings will help you and them to workshop
and give one another feedback, and to put words to our experiences when reading
as writers.
They will want a clearer guide, most likely. They will want you to just “tell them how
to do it” so they can succeed. Especially in non-Creative Writing classes. Not all of
them will. But some will. Many more will want this if you don’t inspire them
sufficiently. You may also want this in this course. Be clearer. Give us exactly the
right answers! You may feel or even say these things while in this class. What
the course leaves open in terms of forced bulk of workload (not that there won’t be
work) it makes up for in the frustrations of learning and building new muscle
memory, training yourselves to think differently, and to be okay with sitting with
that which is not what you are used to in terms of having concrete answers; you will
be developing new ways of learning and understanding pedagogy. Welcome to the
ARTS!
In the arts, each artist must find their way, through studied practice to experienced
understanding. There are many influences, and they don’t all agree.
You can give students the keys to the “kingdom of language” so to speak, but they
must open the doors and it is not always the easiest thing to do in the world to get
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them to open. But they can be opened wide and wider. And you can show the
students what to attend to, what to notice, and how to approach the world of writing
creatively. Learning how to do this as a teacher is the purpose of this course.
But first you must learn how to do the reading and writing part yourself. You will
have to struggle with the keys yourselves while facing the blank page and the full
heart and head.
Keep in mind, throughout this course, that this is an art, a practice, and while there
are frameworks and terminologies, and methods to teaching Creative Writing, this is
a creative endeavor and you must find your own way as you will someday help
others to find theirs. Creative Writing is a process of not knowing, and unlearning,
and starting anew—it is a work of attention, will, and determination played with
oneself, and the results of the game are powerful.
You get to teach your students how to attend to language and elements of craft. You
get to show them that you hope for them with all your wanting and believe in them
and that at every moment a writer has the opportunity to break into something
entirely holy and powerfully new and their own: full of heart and spirit and daring
and beauty.
Most students have never thought of writing in the ways you will be teaching. Most
students will have never thought truly about their own voices (lives), about how
sound and sounds work together, about the parts of the mouth and throat that make
different sounds and how these sounds affect readers and listeners. Think about
how few of your future students have ever investigated syntax from a level of sound,
repetition, recursion, difference, sentence variation, time, “chora”, and sounding.
If you are looking for a clear map, or better yet a prescriptive formula on how to
teach Creative Writing, you are sure to be confounded and blocked in this course of
study. If you need structure that is so clear and predictable and “by the
detailed daily calendar” that it never varies, you may want to find another
class to attend! I am insisting that by remaining in this course you are
agreeing to have the detailed daily calendar change; you also agree by staying
in class from this moment on to be exposed to writing that may be deemed
transgressive, offensive to some, and what we read will sometimes contain
themes and language that are adult and of the world. We will follow our
explorations and change direction depending on what we find exciting,
interesting, and engaging.
Unlike the study of teaching Composition, for which tremendous numbers of
studies have been done on what practices and classroom approaches are most
effective, in fact an entire discipline and department has developed from this
study, Creative Writing is largely an unstudied area of pedagogy in terms of
research on efficacy. It’s an ART! It perhaps belongs more in the discipline of
ART than in English.
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If you are looking by the end of the course to have the vocabulary, values, methods,
aesthetics and practices to know how to teach elements of Creative Writing, you are
in the right place.
The good news is that there ARE practices that have proven essential over the test
of time in the art of teaching Creative Writing, and we will be studying these. There
are a great number of invaluable resources from living writers, and we will use no
small number of these. We will also be working to establish our own individual
“aesthetics” which will inform us how to approach the classroom and help our
students to develop their skills as Creative Writers.
I believe, as Peter Elbow pioneered, that learning to write comes mostly from
practice. For this reason, you will be both a Creative Writer in this course as well as
one learning how to teach Creative Writing to others in the future.
Critical thinking and an inquisitive mind will be required of you. You will be asked to
establish new perspectives on who you are now, and how you relate to what you
read and write. Welcome to the course. I hope you enjoy our time together and get
the most of it possible. I am available to you. As in any class, we as a community will
determine the value we add and take away in our work together.
1. Goals. The goal of this course is to help you develop your ability to teach Creative
Writing—not only for your course work at the university level, but also for your career,
and for your growth as a person. We write, among other reasons, to discover who we
are—what we feel and think—and how we see and relate to our world. We write to
validate our experiences and views, and to persuade and affect readers, and to grow in
our humanness and our ability to relate to others—even others we wouldn’t normally
attract. We humans are above all else, meaning makers. You will along the way develop
an aesthetic you can defend in terms of what you value in Creative Writing. You will
write, you will develop your own craft as a writer, and you will learn to teach! By the
time you are finished with this course you will:
 Be able to begin to write a teaching philosophy.
 Have the ability to develop lesson plans for teaching Creative Writingunits/genres,
including understanding how to appropriately construct units that take into
consideration the context of the course and its students. 
 Be prepared to develop a course in Creative Writing. 
 Know terminologies, ideas, prompts, etc. for teaching Creative Writing. And know
methods for conducting workshop and leading students in responding to one
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another’s work in courses you may someday teach. If you are NOT enrolled in
this class, please contact me as soon as possible. Required Materials 
 Access to the Blackboard page and emails.
 A Copy of READING LIKE A WRITER by Francine Prose
 I provide most materials. 
 Other materials may be determined. You will be responsible for acquiring these
TBD materials.
2. Assignments: The assignments in this course are designed according to the
following assumptions: that Creative Writing is an activity and an art, not a science; that
people learn to write by writing and by receiving feedback on that writing; that writers
need to be aware of their own writing processes and aesthetics; and that those who
teach Creative Writing must be engaged in writing themselves and must come to teach
from their viewpoints and experiences as writers. 
3. Class Policies and Grades. Please read the following policies carefully and let me
know if you have any questions about any of them.
Due Dates are final. If you do not hand the work in by the time and date it is due, you
will receive a zero for that assignment. No make ups. No late work will be accepted, and
no excuses. You are responsible for having internet connection, for having backup plans,
for checking emails consistently and often, and for getting the work done ahead of time if
need be and submitted early to avoid mishaps.
If you have athletic events with University teams, military obligations, or if there is a
death or serious illness in your family, or if you experience an accident or serious illness,
or if you are absent because of a religious observance, or if there is some other legitimate
extenuating circumstance preventing you from getting an assignment done on time and it
can be verified, you will most likely be allowed to make up the assignment and submit it
late. But note that in such cases you are responsible for prior notification and/or
subsequent documentation and for making up all missed work. I will assist you in making
up the work when possible.
You should have the emails of other students from class so you can get help from
them, ask for clarification, and communicate with others about the course and its
assignments.
Final Grade. Your final grade for the semester will be based on the following
breakdown:
Personal Essay & all Components such as: Rubric, PEER REVIEW WORKSHEET,
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GROUP WORK, ETC. 30%
Final Portfolio 20%
Course Community Membership (posting to Discussion Boards, discussions, doing all
assignments, quizzes, handing in assignments on time, and bringing work to workshop
the class before workshop meeting) 50%
NOTE: if you don’t bring your printed and bound work to the class meeting before your
workshop date, you automatically lose 1/3 of this Course Community Membership grade.
I must approve all switching of workshop dates in advance. NO EMAILING YOUR
WORK TO THE CLASS WILL BE PERMITTED IN PLACE OF BRINGING THE
PRINTED AND BOUND WORK WHEN IT IS DUE.
Total 100%
4. Responsibilities to Our Community. This is a community we are forming, and this
community depends on everyone feeling safe and valued. It also depends on everyone
participating. So, in order to facilitate this, there will be mutual respect given to one
another, to all groups, and all people. This is true on discussion boards and in emails and
any other correspondence. As with any class, students MUST adhere to the guidelines of
the University as stated in the code of conduct.
There may be quizzes to ensure that everyone is keeping up with the readings.
Office Hours and Conferences – I really want to get to know you, to assist you at all
levels of intelligent development of ideas and writing practices. I want to talk about texts,
about form and content, about your writing, your thinking, your investigations into self
and ideas and what we are doing in class, and how you are learning to teach Creative
Writing. So, come see me in my office or contact me. If you want to come to office
hours, or you want help over email, etc., please contact me at any time. Sending an email
works well, but is less immediate and sure to be seen than a phone call or text. BE
PROFESSIONAL!!! Also, I respond to emails fairly rapidly, so if you have written me
and have not received a response in six hours or so, email me again or find a way to get
in touch with me, as my UT TYLER email address sometimes eats emails. Call or email
me and tell when you want to meet, and we will set up a time for a meeting in my office
or via electronic correspondence. However, be professional and respectful in how you
communicate with me. Address me as Professor Goebel. I will address you by your name
as well. Please do not write me a text or an email that begins with the word: Hey.
Student privacy – It is the policy of the University of Texas at Tyler to protect the
confidential nature of Social Security numbers. The university has changed its computer
programming so that all students have an identification number.
Attendance and Late Work
You are allowed one unexcused absence. Further unexcused absences will
lower your participation grade (50% of Final Grade) by 1/3 of a letter grade
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for each additional unexcused absence.
Unless we have worked out arrangements ahead of time, missed assignments
and exams cannot be made up or rescheduled, unless you can convince me
otherwise. Similarly, late papers will not be accepted.
ALL written assignments except in-class writing will be typed, double-spaced, 12 point
Times New Roman font. Pages will have one-inch margins on all sides, be set flush left
(ragged right) and will follow standard MLA style. Handwritten work will not be
accepted. Stylebooks are available at the bookstore, the library, and the Writing Center,
BUS 202; or you may find abbreviated handout materials online. E-mailed assignments
will NOT be accepted. If you expect to be absent on a day an assignment is due, have it
dropped by the English Department office, BUS 237. The secretary will stamp it with the
date and time received, and put it in my mailbox.
Classroom Etiquette
I always assume that these courtesies are self-explanatory, but let’s be sure we’re all
on the same page—All students must be respectful of other students, the professor,
and all groups of people in the world. All students must adhere to the University
Policies for behavior and conduct.
Academic honesty – Copying materials from classmates, books, or Internet sources will
not be tolerated. This includes appropriating the ideas of others and paraphrasing without
credit. A paper with plagiarized material will receive a failing grade, and you may fail the
course.
University Policies:
Students Rights and Responsibilities:
http://www2.uttyler.edu/wellness/rightsresponsibilities.php
Grade Replacement/Forgiveness and Census Date Policies:
http://www.uttyler.edu/registrar/.
Students repeating a course for grade forgiveness (grade replacement) must file a
Grade Replacement Contract with the Enrollment Services Center (ADM 230) on or
before the Census Date of the semester in which the course will be repeated.
Failure to file a Grade Replacement Contract will result in both the original and
repeated grade being used to calculate your overall grade point average.
Undergraduates are eligible to exercise grade replacement for only three course
repeats during their career at UT Tyler; graduates are eligible for two grade
replacements. Full policy details are printed on each Grade Replacement Contract.
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The Census Date is the deadline for many forms and enrollment actions that
students need to be aware of. These include:
 Submitting Grade Replacement Contracts, Transient Forms, requests to withhold
directory information, approvals for taking courses as Audit, Pass/Fail or Credit/No
Credit.
 Receiving 100% refunds for partial withdrawals. (There is no refund for these
after the Census Date)
 Schedule adjustments (section changes, adding a new class, dropping without a
“W” grade)
 Being reinstated or re-enrolled in classes after being dropped for non-payment
 Completing the process for tuition exemptions or waivers through Financial Aid
State-Mandated Course Drop Policy Texas law prohibits a student who began college
for the first time in Fall 2007 or thereafter from dropping more than six courses
during their entire undergraduate career. This includes courses dropped at another
2-year or 4-year Texas public college or university. For purposes of this rule, a
dropped course is any course that is dropped after the census date (See Academic
Calendar for the specific date).
Exceptions to the 6-drop rule may be found in the catalog. Petitions for exemptions
must be submitted to the Enrollment Services Center and must be accompanied by
documentation of the extenuating circumstance. Please contact the Enrollment
Services Center if you have any questions.
Disability Services In accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) the
University offers accommodations to students with learning, physical and/or
psychiatric disabilities. If you have a disability, including non-visible disabilities
such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, PTSD or ADHD, or you
have a history of modifications or accommodations in a previous educational
environment you are encouraged to contact the Student Accessibility and Resources
office and schedule an interview with the Accessibility Case Manager/ADA
Coordinator, Cynthia Lowery Staples. If you are unsure if the above criteria applies
to you, but have questions or concerns please contact the SAR office. For more
information or to set up an appointment please visit the SAR office located in the
University Center, Room 3150 or call 903.566.7079. You may also send an email to
cstaples@uttyler.edu<mailto:cstaples@uttyler.edu>
Student Absence due to Religious Observance Students who anticipate being absent
from class due to a religious observance are requested to inform the instructor of
such absences by the second class meeting of the semester.
Student Absence for University-Sponsored Events and Activities If you intend to be
absent for a university-sponsored event or activity, you (or the event sponsor) must
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notify the instructor at least two weeks prior to the date of the planned absence. At
that time the instructor will set a date and time when make-up assignments will be
completed.
Social Security and FERPA Statement It is the policy of The University of Texas at
Tyler to protect the confidential nature of social security numbers. The University
has changed its computer programming so that all students have an identification
number. The electronic transmission of grades (e.g., via e-mail) risks violation of the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act; grades will not be transmitted
electronically.
Emergency Exits and Evacuation Everyone is required to exit the building when a
fire alarm goes off. Follow your instructor’s directions regarding the appropriate
exit. If you require assistance during an evacuation, inform your instructor in the
first week of class. Do not re-enter the building unless given permission by
University Police, Fire department, or Fire Prevention Services.
The Last Day to Drop Classes without a Grade is March 26th or as stated on
the University Calendar.
****THIS SYLLABUS AND THE DETAILED DAILY CALENDAR ARE SUBJECT TO
CHANGE AT THE PROFESSOR’S DISCRETION.
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DETAILED DAILY CALENDAR
Tuesday Jan. 14: NO CLASS/FORGIVE ME. I am reading in NYC at Franklin
Park Reading Series and traveling back to UT TYLER.
Tuesday Jan. 21st: STUDENTS BRING AND VOLUNTEER A
PIECE OF WRITING BY ANOTHER WRITER THAT THEY FIND
EXEMPLARY.
Discussion on Syntax and Sentences: Read “The Talent of the Room” by
Michael Ventura.
QUESTION: What do we give our students first/how to begin teaching
Creative Writing? Contexts to consider: course/level of
education/environment/etc.
Read “Water Liars” by Barry Hannah.
Read piece from VICKY SWANK IS A BEAUTY by
Diane Williams.
Read “Love Letters” by Meghan Foss.
Finding/Fighting for permission: How do we inform students that it’s okay to
tell the harder truth? Or do we? What do we want from our students and how
to get them started? Discussion of what makes good fiction?
HOMEWORK: READ: “THE SENTENCE IS A LONELY PLACE” by Gary Lutz.
Write: 5 opening sentences paying attention to sound, syntax, and style.
Tuesday Jan. 28th: Discussion on approaches.
Lish vs. the world. A look at Lishian style. A look at sound and syntax.
Switching gears.
Discussion: First tones to strike in a course on Creative Writing or even
a creative writing unit. Other approaches.
The possibilities of generative writing. Samples of free writes and
generative writing prompts. A look online?
Stories by which to begin a Creative Writing course. How does one
begin? The big vs. the little story?
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Ways to structure a Creative Writing course: a look at syllabi, a look at
how I approach the teaching of Creative Writing.
HOMEWORK: READ Chapters 1 and 2 of Francine Prose’s READING LIKE
A WRITER. Write the first paragraph of a short story, novel, prose piece,
or Creative Non-Fiction or hybrid. TBD: Read first chapters of C.O.W.
Tuesday Feb. 4th: THE ELEMENTS OF FICTION: OVERVIEW.
Generative On-Board activity: What makes good writing/fiction?
Looking at Style, Setting, Character, POV, Plot, Form. Why these
categories? Looking at syllabi!
Building terminologies in a CW class or in a unit on Creative Writing.
An in-class look at all of these categories and examples of stories with
which to teach these categories. (OUTLIARS?)
HOMEWORK: READ Chapters 3 and 4 of Francine Prose’s READING LIKE
A WRITER. WORK ON YOUR FICTION. You should soon have a first full
draft.
Tuesday Feb. 11th: IN Class workshop of first paragraphs or sentences.
How to go about giving criticism? Feeling our way with our students
and how to respond and lead responses to student work.
Reading a story together. Discussing a story in a Creative Writing class.
Reading a difficult story together: Discussing values and experiences
when dealing with a charged subject matter.
Tuesday Feb. 18th: WORKSHOP: 1)___________________________
2)___________________3)___________________________4)__________________________________5
)________________________6)____________________________
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Tuesday Feb. 25th: MAY BE CANCELED DUE TO TRAVEL TO AWP
CONFERENCE: TBD
Tuesday March 4th: WORKSHOP 7)________________________ 8)____________________
9)________________________ 10)_________________________ 11)________________________
12)_________________________
Tuesday March 11th: SPRING BREAK: NO CLASS
Tuesday March 18thth: THE CREATIVE PERSONAL NON-FICTION ESSAY:
Lecture: The rhetorical triangle (altered).
Investigation of Examples of Creative Non-Fiction Personal Essays.
What to show students as examples?
How to teach the Creative Personal Non-Fiction Essay in various
courses?
HOMEWORK: READ Chapters 5 and 6 of Francine Prose’s READING LIKE
A WRITER. WORK ON YOUR Creative Personal Non-Fiction Essay.
Tuesday March 25th: Coming up with a prompt? Writing the assignment.
Writing the Rubric. Grading the essay?
Homework: Write your C.P.Non-Fiction Essay. Write an assignment
sheet for this essay for the class of your choosing which you will be
hypothetically teaching.
Tuesday April 1st: IN CLASS PEER REVIEW AND WORK ON YOUR ESSAY.
Hand in your Rubrics.
HOMEWORK: REVISE YOUR ESSAYS.
Tuesday April 8h: Grading the essay. Grade another student’s essay in Class.
WORKSHOP ESSAYS: 1)___________________
2)___________________3)___________________________4)___________________
5)________________________6)____________________________
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Tuesday April 15nd: WORKSHOP: 7)________________________
8)____________________ 9)________________________ 10)_________________________
11)________________________ 12)_________________________13)__________________________
How to write a statement of Teaching Philosophy.
Tuesday April 22th: How to write a statement of Teaching
Philosophy.
Tuesday May 1st: Last day of class:
HAND IN C.P. NON-FICTION ESSAY/ Discussion of portfolio.
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