CREATIVE WRITING: INTRODUCTION TO FICTION AND POETRY
CRWRI-UA.815.009
MW: 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM
Spring 2016 (1/25 - 5/09)
Larissa Georgieff
Lkg269@nyu.edu
Course Description: By learning to pull down the curtain in order to see the ropes and
pulleys behind successful poems, stories, and novels, you’ll grow as a writer and improve
your personal writerly toolbox. Everyone will submit their own prose and poetry (two times
each) for workshop, and will benefit from the praise and criticism of their peers and
instructor. You’ll keep a notebook, try new exercises, and learn how to sharpen your ability
to tame an idea and build a sentence.
Please note: this syllabus is likely to change over the semester to best suit the needs and pace of the class. Keep
an eye on your email for extra links and revisions to the syllabus.
WEEK ONE: Prose
Monday, January 25th
Class #1: Bring a new, blank notebook! We’ll review the syllabus, talk about my
expectations (and yours!) for the class, and do some writing exercises. We’ll talk about
workshop etiquette and about what everyone hopes to gain from the class. We’ll also
discuss, informally, our favorite novels, stories, and poems. This will also be the time to sign
up for workshop slots; everyone must workshop both fiction and poetry.
Homework: Read Joan Didion’s “Goodbye to All That” and write a page and a half
about when you knew something was over. Begin collecting language—at least half a page,
with one word or phrase per line—in the back of your notebook, working toward the front.
When you read for this and other classes, keep an eye out for amazing words, phrases, and
concepts. They don’t have to be “literary” in nature. You can also print pictures from your
phone and paste them in, though this doesn’t count toward your half page. Also, find an
image you like/that inspires you and glue or tape it to the cover of your notebook.
Wednesday, January 27th
Class #2: Point of View. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of each and study examples
of their use. We’ll also do a writing exercise and share our homework pieces. If we have
time, we’ll go over some common metaphors for fiction writing and discuss good (or bad!)
writing advice we’ve gotten over the years.
Homework: Read “Hills like White Elephants” (Hemingway), “Old Mother and the
Grouch” (Davis), “In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried” (Hempel), and “Wants”
(Grace Paley). Write a paragraph or two on what effect the chosen POV did for the story: in
particular, contrast the Hemingway or the Davis with the Hempel or the Paley. It’s okay to
just venture a guess—the point is to start thinking about when distance helps or hurts a
story. Collect half a page of found language.
WEEK TWO: Prose
Monday, February 1st
Class #3: We’ll discuss the Hemingway, Davis, Hempel, and Paley. We’ll also do a
writing exercise and workshop the first pieces.
Homework: Read Rebecca Lee’s story “Bobcat,” then watch the video interview
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQbJp3ncWMA), and read her interview
(http://www.barnesandnoble.com/review/secretly-writing-little-novels-a-conversation-withrebecca-lee). Collect another half page, at least, of found language. Hang a couple images to
the area around your desk (or display an object) and figure out a gesture/routine/action that
gets you into a writing mindset. Write two paragraphs: one about the images/objects that
inspire you, and one on what gets you into a creative mindset and allows you to set your
stress and other duties aside. Bring it into class on Monday.
Wednesday, February 3rd
Class #4: We’ll discuss what makes “Bobcat” work so well, and we’ll talk about
what’s been working (or failing to work) in terms of process. We’ll read “How to Become a
Writer” by Lorrie Moore aloud. Workshop.
Homework: Scary fiction. Read “Last Night” by James Salter, and Roald Dahl
horror fiction (TK). Write at least a page about what was effectively frightening to you.
Answer these questions in a word document to hand in: What words made you tense up or
flinch? What made your stomach drop? Did anything inspire you? What scary topic would
you want to write about? Is there anything you’re afraid to try to tackle? Collect half a page
of found language (as always, it can be from this material or from your life as you live it).
WEEK THREE: Poetry
Monday, February 8th
Class #5: Workshop. We’ll discuss the “point” of poetry in small groups, then as a class.
We’ll discuss some easy approaches to reading poetry. We’ll talk about specificity of language
and do an in-class writing exercise. We’ll also read Carolyn Forche’s “The Colonel” and
watch a video of her reading it.
Homework: Collect half a page of found language. Then you’ll write a paragraph of
(beautifully rendered, image-heavy) text, drawing from your many available pages of found
language, if you wish. Copy the block of text and paste it a couple times further down the
page, then experiment with breaking lines different ways. Make sure you read drafts aloud as
you go. This will improve your ear and show you what different line lengths can do to the
reader’s attention span and to the subject matter itself. Read poems (TK).
Wednesday, February 10th
Class #6: Workshop. We’ll read aloud Joan Retallack’s excellent poem about AIDS.
We’ll also take a look at James Richardson’s “Even More Aphorisms and Ten-Second
Essays” and attempt our own in small groups.
Homework: Read Mary Jo Salter’s “The Afterlife” and do the Egyptian poetry
exercise (I’ll email it to you). This involves going to a museum, so leave yourself enough
time. Take a picture of the subject of your poem and bring it in, as well.
WEEK FOUR: Poetry
Monday, February 15th—No class! Presidents’ Day!
Wednesday, February 17th
corpse.
Class #7: Workshop. Read from our museum pieces. In-class exercise: exquisite
Homework: Read poetry: Apollinaire, Anne Sexton, Robert Hayden. Write down
your favorite lines from each in your notebook. Find a piece of non-poetry text and practice
breaking it into lines to form a poem (I’ll explain further in class).
WEEK FIVE: Prose
Monday, February 22nd
Class #8: Workshop. In-class writing exercise. Discussion of the poems you read
for homework.
Homework: Read Didion’s “On Keeping a Notebook.” Write a reflection on what
in the essay inspired you, and on how (honestly) the practice of keeping a notebook has
changed your writing life.
Wednesday, February 24th
Class #9: Workshop. In-class exercise.
Homework: Read George Saunders’s “The Semplica Girl Diaries” and Lydia Davis’s
“Letter to a Funeral Parlor.” Type up your initial reactions (a substantial paragraph is fine)
and the three funniest lines in each.
WEEK SIX: Prose
Monday, February 29th
Class #10: Workshop. We’ll talk about the tone of the Saunders and the Davis.
How is the humor working? What are the benefits of putting deeply sad material alongside
laugh-out-loud lines?
Homework: Collect half a page of found language. Think about what the funniest
thing you’ve ever seen was. Try to capture it in about a page. I know this is really
intimidating after reading Davis and Saunders! Just give it a shot—you won’t have to read
them aloud unless you want to.
Wednesday, March 2nd
Class #11: Workshop. Discuss “writing funny” and any thoughts you had about the
exercise. People who want to read aloud may do so.
Homework: Read the David Grann piece online.
WEEK SEVEN: Prose
Monday, March 7th
Class #12: Workshop. Writing exercise: superhero characters.
Homework: TK
Wednesday, March 9th
Class #13: Workshop. In-class exercise.
Homework: Celebrity fiction for Spring Break! Read “A Beautiful Child” by
Truman Capote and “Eden’s Gate” by Caitlin Macy.
Spring Break March 14th-20th
WEEK EIGHT: Prose and Poetry
Monday, March 21st
Class #14: Workshop. Discuss the Macy and the Capote.
Homework: Write a love poem to yourself as your opposite gender (that is, if you’re
a woman, write a love poem or a poem of appreciation to a male version of yourself).
Wednesday, March 23rd
Class #15: Workshop. We’ll start off light(ish) by sharing our love poems. Then
we’ll break into small groups to discuss, and then read aloud, war poems in class.
Homework: Write your own war poem.
WEEK NINE: Poetry and Prose
Monday, March 28th
Class #16: Workshop. We’ll read our war poems aloud.
Homework: Write a poem about forgiveness—with a catch. It could be about being
asked for forgiveness and deciding not to give it, or about asking for forgiveness and being
denied it.
Wednesday, March 30th
Class #17: Workshop. People can share their forgiveness poems if they’d like to.
Homework: Write a poem that’s ten first lines in a row (we’ll discuss in class).
WEEK TEN: Prose
Monday, April 4th
Class #18: Workshop. We’ll read our poems aloud and do an in-class fiction
exercise.
Homework: Start The Wife by Meg Wolitzer. Read to page 100.
Wednesday, April 6th
Class #19: Workshop. In-class writing exercise. Discuss The Wife thus far.
Homework: Finish The Wife. Type up a few notes (to turn in) on what’s working
successfully in this book (these notes will be helpful for Monday’s homework).
WEEK ELEVEN
Monday, April 11th
Class #20: Workshop. Discuss The Wife.
Homework: Write a short, informal response paper to The Wife (two pages or a
little over). What do you think the book’s biggest strength was? Provide examples from the
text. What would you want to steal from this book for your own writing?
Wednesday, April 13th
Class #21: Workshop. In-class writing exercise.
Homework: TK
WEEK TWELVE
Monday, April 18th
Class #22: Workshop. In-class writing exercise.
Homework: Write an obituary for one of your characters, particularly one you’re
having trouble with. We’ll discuss in class.
Wednesday, April 20th
Class #23: Workshop. In-class writing exercise.
Homework: Write ten details about yourself which reveal you for the full and unique
person you are. These can be physical, emotional, past experiences, relationships, etc.
Think about how these details are revealing of the person you are: for example, the
many scars show you to be adventurous, or foolish; the many boyfriends show you
to be dynamic, or insecure. Now write a scene of something that happened to you in
the last 24 hours. The scene must include:
-­‐ A sense of setting. The details of the setting must be relevant to the scene.
-­‐ Dialogue, if applicable.
-­‐ An emotional tenor, or some sort of tension. Through the use of specific details,
narrative voice, and clear character interaction, show how you felt in that
moment. (Remember, don’t say, “I was angry because she was rude.” Use details
of the scene to convey your anger to us, and use details of your character to
intimate the reason for that anger.)
-­‐ A sense of yourself as a character. What are the flaws that make you interesting?
What can a reader relate to in you, and what can they learn?
WEEK THIRTEEN: Prose
Monday, April 25th
Class #24: Workshop. In-class writing exercise.
Homework: Write footnotes for your obituaries in the places I’ve marked. This will
make you delve deeper and will reveal where the real spark is in your writing.
Wednesday, April 27th
Class #25: Workshop. In-class writing exercise.
Homework: Speed writing. On three separate occasions, set a timer for five minutes.
During that time, without editing yourself, write constantly until the timer stops. Pretend
you’re a bird and that if you stop writing, you’ll fall. Your typing hands are your flapping
wings. Print these three sheets and hand them in to me. Don’t edit them beforehand, and
don’t read through them.
WEEK FOURTEEN: Poetry
Monday, May 2nd
Class #26: Workshop. In-class writing exercise.
Homework: Use the parts I’ve underlined in your speed-writing exercise to cobble a
poem together. This is an example of the generosity of the “writing” umbrella: everything
you write is yours. You can jump from genre to genre. Some things will be better suited for
poems, and you’ll cannibalize some of your poems for your fiction.
Wednesday, May 4th
Class #27: Workshop. In-class writing exercise.
Homework: Finish up your portfolios, if you haven’t already. Practice reading your
favorite thing you’ve written this semester. Please limit yourself to two pages of prose or
four poems.
WEEK FIFTEEN
Monday, May 9th
Class #28: Portfolios are due! We will have a reading. Please feel free to bring
snacks (I will, too).
OTHER INFORMATION:
Office Hours: I will expect to meet with each of you at least twice during the
semester. One of these must be after your first workshop.
Attendance Policy: You are expected to be at every class, and to meet with me at
least twice for office hours. If you have an emergency and can’t attend class, make
sure to give me a note (e.g., from a doctor). Two or more unexcused absences will
cause a 10% drop in your grade. You can miss one class without it reflecting on
your grade.
Grading Policy:
- Attendance: 20%
- Participation: 30%
- Final Portfolio: 30%
- Workshop Submissions: 20%
Please note that you’ll be required to attend at least one reading and write about it as
part of your final portfolio. I’ll send information about readings, but you should also
feel encouraged to go to one that more specifically fits your interests.
Plagiarism Policy: You are expected to do your own work for this class. Because
you’re graded on effort and participation (and not on the success of each individual
piece), there should be very little pressure in terms of grades. This class is what you
make of it, and your improvement or stagnation as a writer will hinge on how much
work and attention you put into it. Plagiarism will not be tolerated, and will be
reported in every instance.
Formatting: Poetry shouldn’t be double-spaced, but prose must be. Use a 12-point,
legible font and number your pages. Bear in mind that you’ll need to make copies of
your work for the class and turn it in a week early (to be workshopped the next
week). Work cannot be emailed.
Reading List:
- Handouts
- Course packet
-
Workshop submissions
The Wife, by Meg Wolitzer