Course: English 109B—Directed Writing, Short Fiction
Instructor: Stephen McCauley
Office: Rabb 266B
Brandeis Phone #: 781 736 8213 (ONLY during office hours) Cell Phone: 617 905
2533
E-mail: sdmccauley@gmail.com
Office Hours (please email for appointments first): Mon 4:00-5:30 & Weds 12:301:30p; 5p-7p---other times and days can be arranged
Books:
The following books are recommended for all writers. Used copies are easy to find in
bookstores and online:
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamotte (irreverent tips on writing, motivation, first
drafts, etc.)
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White (witty, concise notes on style,
grammar, clear, effective prose, etc.)
How Fiction Works by James Wood (a guide for readers but with insights
that apply to writers; also contains many
references to books you might want to read)
The Art of Fiction by John Gardner (an essential guide to writing fiction,
including exercises and interesting essays on style)
An excellent source of used books online is www.betterworldbooks.com
In addition to be very inexpensive and having a good selection, the site donates most
profits to literacy causes. Amazon? Not so much.
Description:
This class will be conducted as a workshop in the craft of writing short literary fiction.
There will be an emphasis on the structure of stories, the development of plot and
characters, and a careful examination of technical terms and fictional techniques.
Although this is not an advanced course, I will assume an advanced level of motivation
and seriousness of purpose in each of you. Why else take the workshop?
Rich, three-dimensional characters are the foundation of all satisfying and enduring
works of fiction. You can have great characters and not have a great story or novel, but
you cannot have a great story or novel without great characters. So let’s begin there, in
both writing and in the reading we do for class. We will emphasize the creation of
strong, vivid, emotionally and psychologically complex characters.
I ask (insist, in fact) that you avoid writing within the confines of certain genres: science
fiction, fantasy, detective stories, animal fables, fairy tales. These are interesting genres,
and many writers have created literary masterpieces using them. Raymond Chandler,
Ray Bradbury, and Tolkien, to name only a very few. However, in less experienced
hands, they often inspire a more generic approach to writing, with reliance upon
conventions of plot and character derived from the genre.
We’re interested in your individual style, point of view, vocabulary, and voice. If
fantasy, for example, is your passion, be assured that whatever skills you learn in class
will only improve your writing in that genre. Stronger characters, better constructed
stories, and so on. However, writing fantasy is something you’ll have to do outside of
class.
We will be gathering a vocabulary of technical terms from a variety of sources, for the
most part, essays I will post online. We will use these to assemble a "common language"
we can use to discuss the mechanics of fiction.
Course Requirements:
In the first three or four weeks of the semester, we will be spending a lot of time focusing
on technical matters, on developing skills for close reading as a writer (versus as a
literary critic or theorist), on applying writing exercises to your work to develop certain
technical skills. After that, you will be distributing copies of your stories and we will be
discussing them in detail in workshop style in every class.
I will pass out a schedule listing the dates on which you are required to bring in 14 copies
of your work. The stories will be distributed and discussed the following week. You are
required to make careful notes and comments on the stories of other students so we
can discuss them in detail.
Again, you are required to bring in hard copies of your work.
Email
submissions are not acceptable.
We will be reading published stories and excerpts throughout the semester. We will be
reading to discover the fictional techniques employed by the authors. Naturally, we will
be interested in WHAT is being said by the writers, but our focus will be on trying to
understand HOW they are saying it.
These assigned stories and essays are required reading.
Grading:
The course is offered on a Credit/No Credit basis. In order to receive credit for the
course, you must attend every class meeting and complete the required reading and
writing assignments. If you miss more than one class, you will not receive credit for
the course. No exceptions. If you come to class unprepared or late, you will be marked
absent. Class begins promptly at 2:00p and ends at 4:50pm. You are required to be in
attendance for the entire class meeting.
Rules, Manners, and Misc.
All student writing presented in class will be treated as a work-in-progress. What matters
most here is not the amount of praise you receive, but how much you learn from
discussions about your own strengths and, inevitably, weaknesses. In this sense, a story
deemed to be flawed (even fatally) by readers can be a personal triumph if you learn
something valuable about technique, your style, your vocabulary, etc. from the (possibly
painful) discussion of it. I will emphasize this point again and again throughout the
semester. Get ready!
Success will be measured by your effort and enthusiasm, not by raw talent. There is no
competition here. Workshops function best when the entire class works as a group
helping each other over rough spots and celebrating success.
I would like to meet each of you individually at least 3 or 4 times this semester,
preferably immediately after your story has been discussed. These are important
meetings and an integral, required part of the class.
We’ll take a break in the middle of the class. Please eat, drink, smoke, knit, use
bathrooms and cell phones during this break only. No computers open during class.
(If you have special requirements regarding computer or bathroom use, please see me.)
I really want you to have a good time in this class, and I will do my best to make sure you
do. I also expect you to work hard. It’s only a few weeks. May will be upon us and the
class will be over before you know it. I promise. Have fun and MAKE THE MOST OF
YOUR TIME HERE. If you are actively involved in the class and keep up with the
work, it will be infinitely more valuable and enjoyable for you.
Goals:
1) Complete between 3 works or short fiction and revise.
2) Gain a richer understanding of how to develop multi-dimensional characters.
3) Understand how to create conflict, tension, and dramatic climax in a story.
4) Learn to read like a writer as we make our way through stories.
5) Learn to edit your own work and work of others, ruthlessly but compassionately.
READING
Reading assignments of published short stories will be posted each week. You are
expected to print out the posted stories and bring to class the following week to discuss.
Here are the stories we will read and analyze and discuss this semester:
“Samuel” by Grace Paley
“Green’s Book” by Michael Chabon
“The Boarding House” by James Joyce
“Advanced Beginners” by Melissa Bank
“How to Give the Wrong Impression” by Katherine Heiny
“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin
“The Jewish Hunter” by Lorrie Moore
“Lady with a Small Dog” by Chekhov
“The Christian Roommates” by John Updike
“Weekend” by Ann Beattie
“The Tryst” by Ivan Turgenev
“Mouche: Reminiscences of a Rowing Man” by Guy du Maupassant
“The Sex Lives of African Girls” by Taiye Selasi
“The Five-Forty-Eight” by John Cheever
“The Beau Monde of Mrs. Bridge” by Evan S Connell
“The Bear Came Over the Mountain” by Alice Munro
In addition, we will read SHORT essays on the subject of writing, including the
following:
“How I Write Short Stories” by Alice Munro
“Why I Write Short Stories” by John Cheever
“The Writer’s Goal” by Guy de Maupassant
“Writing Short Stories” by Flannery O’Connor
“On Writing” by Raymond Carver
“Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott