English
414 is a meat-and-potatoes fiction writing workshop. Students will be required
to submit a minimum of twenty-four pages of fiction, and each page will be
subject to in-class peer evaluation during the semester. Student work will then
go through the editing process and be re-submitted to the instructor at the end
of the semester.
That being said, other issues are bound to come up like:
- Publishing (both locally and nationally).
- Editing (we will examine the Carver/Lish debate).
- What it means to write in Hawaii.
At times,
this class will also go off on tangents and explore questions like: On average,
how many copies of a book does a writer sell? What kind of employment
opportunities exist for English majors? What is the writing lifestyle like?
What is the state of publishing today? We will discuss all the things I wish I
knew (both good and bad) when I started out.
Grades will be based on attendance and
participation, writing and editing quality, and overall effort. No textbook
required. Laptops are welcome, but not necessary in class.