ENG 273: Reading and Writing Short Stories
Summer Session 1, 2023
Asynchronous: M,T,Th
Synchronous Zoom: W,F at 10:30am
Instructor: Brittany Winland
Email: bwinland@hawaii.edu
Short stories are generally considered to be between 1,000—8,000 words, and they usually differ from novels in more than just word count; according to writer Lorrie Moore, “A short story is a love affair, a novel is a marriage. A short story is a photograph; a novel is a film.”
In this class we will read short stories from various writers of varying lengths, forms, and genres, and discuss them in class together, trying to pinpoint how they work (or even, how they don’t work). We will also read some essays on craft and do writing exercises in class. Each week, you will compose a Writing Experiment of your own and workshop it along with peers’ work in a small group.
Some craft elements we will explore:
- Plot
- Narrators
- Point of View
- Form & Structure
- Character
- Voice
- Setting
- Story time
- Revision
ENG 273 Introduction to Literature: Creative Writing and Literature (3) Study of significant works through analytical and creative writing. Repeatable one time. Pre: FW. No waiver. DL
This is a Writing Intensive (WI) course; in total, you will produce 4,000 words of prose to meet the Writing Intensive designation of this course.
Student Learning Outcomes
* Students will augment their knowledge of how literature is organized by historical periods, genres, cultures, and cultural formations.
* Students will improve their ability to ask questions of and to read, analyze, and interpret complex literary texts, using relevant literary terminology critically and creatively.
* Students will improve their ability to express ideas by organizing, developing and supporting a description, analysis, or argument in written formats, within the conventions of academic writing.
* Students will produce a significant amount of writing such that the course fulfills the requirements of its mandatory W Focus designation (i.e., 4,000 words).
Texts
All texts will be provided as pdfs or are available free online.
Course Assignments
Weekly Experiments — You will compose 5 Writing Experiments. I will provide prompts and guidelines.
Workshop Memos — You will come to workshops with a prepared Workshop Memo for each piece/peer in your group.
Revision Plan + Workshop Critique — After your workshops, you will turn in a brief reflection on how it went, and also what you plan to do next as you think about revising your piece.
Forum Posts — Each Tuesday, you will respond to a prompt on the Discussions Forum on Laulima on the readings for the day.
Final Portfolio or Story — For your final project, you will either A) expand and revise one of your Experiments into a finished, complete, and polished short story, or B) revise and polish 3 of your Experiments into a portfolio of your best work during the course.
Final Exam — I am required to give a final exam in this class, so you will write a process reflection, telling me both how you approached revising your final project, and how you think your writing has evolved over the course.