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Appendix A: Fantasy Fiction Outside the Classroom: Writing, Publishing, and Activism
This appendix is intended to offer students and teachers advice on writing and publishing fantasy fiction. It contains a guide to different sizes and varieties of magazines and presses, as well as a discussion on the role of activism in the fantasy writing community. It is a companion to my book, Writing Fantasy Fiction from Bloomsbury Academic. Online appendices will be updated periodically.
Publishing
As a writer seeking to write fantasy (or any other kind of genre fiction) you will find yourself with a confusing array of options, largely due to the mostly separate literary ecosystems of literary and genre magazines. These two communities not only have very different rules and norms for publishing, but different awards they compete for, and different vocabularies.
To begin, literary magazines are called just that, or sometimes, lit mags. Genre magazines are usually referred to in the community as zines. When a writer receives as “yes please, we will publish this” from an editor in the literary magazine community, it is referred to as an acceptance. In the genre community, it is usually referred to as a sale. This difference in language derives from an important distinction in community expectations. Within the literary magazine community, most magazines don’t pay, or if they do, they pay very little (with some exceptions, The New Yorker, one of the few remaining glossies, pays more than pretty much anyone for short fiction) even at some of the most prestigious journals. Within the genre publishing community, almost all zines pay at least a token amount, and the pro-zines and semi-pro zines all pay, and at a set rate. SFWA (science fiction and fantasy writers of America) determines what counts as pro and semi pro pay, which as of this writing was three to five cents a word for semi-pro and eight cents or more is considered pro. Zines that pay the pro rate are considered pro qualifying markets, which after a certain number of sales, entitle you to join SFWA. Book publishers that don’t follow certain rules regarding author treatment can be dropped from the list as a qualifying market, essentially punishing them for bad behavior. The same goes for zines. In the genre community, paying a submission fee or not getting paid for your writing, is incredibly offensive. In the literary magazine community, a token submission fee (roughly what postage would have cost in the days of postal submissions) and no payment, are common.
These differences occur for a variety of reasons, but at their root derive because in the 20th century, literary magazines, and the glossies mostly refused to publish genre fiction, due to the perception that it was childish or low class (sci-fi novels and magazines were often shelved next to pornography). Thus, the pulp magazine evolved into a separate literary eco-system, with very few writers crossing back and forth. One of the exceptions, Ray Bradbury, was termed somewhat condescendingly, “the poet of the pulps” implying that the quality of his work and his prose was good despite his genre origins. As the glossies disappeared (and consequently the paying market for short fiction) in the mainstream literary community, the pulps and their descendants continued. In the wake of the glossies near total disappearance, literary magazines began to proliferate more than before. Many of them, as now, were supported by universities or non-for-profits, and so they have no obligation to make money, just to exist. Their staff weren’t (and aren’t) usually paid but work at the magazine in addition to being professors or graduate students. The non-university affiliated journals were and are often independent labors of love run by one or two people, in addition to their fulltime jobs. Publishing in literary magazines, outside the genre fiction community, is the norm, and helps writers secure agents, and for creative writing academics, get tenure. Booker prize winners like George Saunders publish in literary magazines. The writer gains exposure and increases the odds they will publish a book. They aren’t making anyone significant money, neither publishers, nor writers. There are good things about this (there are MANY more literary magazines than professional genre magazines, with enormous diversity in focus and content, the community is huge and vibrant) and bad things (it adds to perception that one can’t or doesn’t need to make money as an artist and lends itself to burnout).
The genre community, on the other hand, has continued post the pulp era to see writing and publishing as a profession. Thus, the magazines must sustain themselves financially, more likely to have paid staff, and are rarely affiliated with a university. This creates an ecosystem that values compensation but also a smaller pool of journals, and so the barriers to entry are substantial. The zine scene is vibrant and important to the literary ecosystem, but the requirement to pay does narrow the field.
As the hard lines between so-called genre fiction and so-called literary fiction continue to blur, there are more and more literary journals that will publish genre, and even specialize in it, and genre zines that specify that they like literary genre fiction.
Some of my favorite pro-zines: Lightspeed, Fantasy Magazine, Tor.com, Fiyah, and Apex, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Uncanny Magazine and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. For a full list of the current SFWA qualifying pro-zines, visit SFWA’s website.
A few favorite genre friendly literary magazines: Phantom Drift Limited, Corvid Queen, The Fairy Tale Review, F(r)iction, Lunch Ticket, Hunger Mountain, Electric Literature, and Booth.
In addition to differing language and attitudes surrounding pay, lit and genre magazines also have different submission norms. In the genre world, simultaneous submissions (submitting the same story to more than one place at once) is usually forbidden, while it is normal (as long as you notify the magazine) in most of the literary magazine world. In the literary magazine world, it can take months for a writer to hear back (some will even take a year or more), and so it would be impractical to submit stories to only one place at once. In the genre world, you will usually hear back within days, at most a month or two, and so submitting a story one place at a time isn’t a hardship. They also have different expectations for formatting. Genre zines want Shunn’s Standard Manuscript Format, literary magazines mostly just want double spacing and readable font.
Literary magazines and genre zines compete for different prizes. Stories in literary magazines hope to get chosen for a Best American anthology, or Best of the Net, or a Pushcart. These awards are mostly juried by a panel or chosen by editors. There is now a Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy anthology, but stories from genre publications rarely get play in the Best American series outside it.
Genre stories strive to win a Locus, Hugo, or a World Fantasy Award (among others). Most of these are nominated by members of organizations, or other writers within the genre, and then voted on by members of said organizations, who are generally the writer’s peers.
Books published by genre specific publishers don’t generally get nominated for the National Book Award (though genre book published by mainstream presses do) and most books that get nominated for Hugo Awards are published by genre publishers.
Trade publishing
Trade publishing is dominated by the Big 5, which nearly became the Big 4, because Penguin Random House tried to buy Simon and Schuster in 2020. The vast majority of books you see in bookstores are published by one of the imprints of the Big 5/4. Ali Almossawi made a handy chart that gets updated frequently with the big trade publishers and all of their imprints mapped out. It can be found here: https://almossawi.com/big-five-publishers/.
To be published by one of the big trade publishers you will likely need a literary agent. Tor does accept un-agented submissions, but the vast majority of the books they publish are agented. Getting a literary agent is the same process regardless of if you are writing genre or mainstream fiction, and information about this is readily available online. Poets and Writers is a particularly good source.
Small presses
Both the genre and literary fiction community possess a bounty of small presses. Small presses can range from substantial and prestigious to micro presses that don’t have ISBN numbers or any distribution other than the person running the press taking orders from their website.
Small presses often publish some of the more experimental and interesting work in the publishing landscape (small publishers are usually less worried about if something has large commercial appeal). They tend to be a bit more inclined toward art for art’s sake. They don’t have shareholders or a big CFO watching their bottom line. Some independent genre presses of varying sizes not owned by one of the Big 5 that also win awards and make waves: Small Beer Press, Subterranean Press, Tachyon, Tartarus, Meerkat Press, Angry Robot Books, and Mythic Delirium. These presses are all US or UK based but take submissions and distribute globally.
Small Beer Press attends both genre and literary publishing conventions, and so crosses between worlds. While not a genre specific press, Two Dollar Radio in Columbus OH is a phenomenal small publishing house that puts out a lot of science fiction and fantasy.
Some small presses require agents, but most don’t. If you publish with a small press, you will receive a smaller advance, and you will be expected to do more of your own marketing, but your book will probably be kept in print indefinitely, and you will have a much more intimate personal experience with the publisher, since they publish fewer books a year, and give their whole attention to their list. There are tradeoffs with both large and small presses, which is a better fit depends upon you and your book.
Self-publishing
Self-publishing (authors who self-publish refer to themselves as indie authors, which is confusing for the rest of us since we call non-big 5 and non-university affiliated presses indie presses) is a legitimate choice if what matters most to you is having your book exist. If you want to be able to tell your friends and family to go download your book on or be able to hand out print-on demand copies to your friends and loved ones, and that’s what matters to you, go for it.
But realize that the vast majority of self-published books sell an average of 250 copies over their entire existence, while the average traditionally published book sells 3,000. If you want to make your living in self-publishing, know that it is extremely unlikely. The writers you hear about on the news that do so are about as representative of self-published authors as a kid playing basketball on the street getting scouted is representative of how most people get into the NBA. According to the SWFA, as of 2021, over seventy percent of the best sellers in the self-publishing world are romance novels. If you don’t write romance, your odds are exceptionally thin. Additionally, most bookstores won’t sell self-published books. Not only because of concerns about quality, but because traditional publishers give them bulk discounts, buy back unsold copies, and work through a standardized distribution system. Most libraries won’t shelve them unless you give your local library a copy for free and beg. Even then, it might not happen. Additionally, in order to make a quality product, if you are a self-published author, you must either learn book and cover design or pay a freelancer to do it. Similarly, you will have to pay in time (yours) or money (yours), or both, for any promotion or marketing. Not only that, but to get your book to be of a quality that is equivalent to that of a traditionally published book, you will likely need to employ a freelance editor. A traditionally published book has many professional eyeballs on it before it makes it to print, while a self-published book doesn’t unless the writer pays for the privilege. To be a successful self-published writer you have to be your own publisher, including paying for, or becoming an expert in (often both) all of the other roles a traditional publisher takes on, through the editing process (both developmental and copy editing), layout, design, promotion, marketing, distribution…the list goes on and on. It can be done, but most writers want to write, not be unpaid PR professionals.
SFWA’s Writer Beware section has an excellent guide to self-publishing, including reasons to beware hybrid publishers and others that pretend to be traditional publishers but then charge for marketing, editing, etc. (this is basically a scam).
In essence, self-publish if all you want is the knowledge that you’ve written a book. There is no shame in self-publishing, but don’t buy the hype that proliferates on the internet. To do it in a way that is even close to financially successful is no sure thing, even if you put in all the investment of time and money that it would require.
Other publishing resources:
SFWA’s website contains a list of pro-qualifying markets and a section called Writer Beware, that gives information about scams, and predatory publishers and agents. They also have information about writing query letters for agency representation, and other important topics.
Poets & Writer’s webpage is also useful for publishing and query letter information.
Useful books:
Poets & Writer’s Complete Guide to Being a Writer by Kevin Laramir and Mary Gannon
Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum
The Geek’s Guide to the Writing Life: An Instructional Memoir for Prose Writers by Stephanie Vanderslice
Publishing and activism
Fantasy and genre publishing has been plagued by an idea that is often fanned in the non-genre media, that it is somehow more male, or whiter, than publishing generally. While publishing (in all genres) is far too white, and genre publishing is no exception, there have always been women writing fantasy and science fiction, and writers of color. In early penny dreadfuls, dime novels, and pulp magazines, many writers had pen names, or published anonymously, and so it’s only recently that the real identities of many of these writers have been uncovered. The apparent homogeneity that pen names created has turned out to be an illusion. A complete accounting of the demographics of writers in early fantasy and science fiction is impossible because of poor recording keeping and pen names. However, Tor.com has an excellent survey of women in genre publishing in 70s and 80s (see bottom of this appendices for URL). It demonstrates the inaccuracy of the narrative that fantasy and science fiction publishing was a nearly exclusively male genre.
It’s a case of an extremely selective information gathering to ignore, for example, that the novel that is broadly considered the first science fiction novel (Frankenstein) was written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, and that one of the earliest proto-fantasy stories (a long narrative poem) The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish was published in the 1600s, and fairy tales have mostly been told by women for women for their entire history (most sources for folklorists like the Grimm brothers were women). Similarly, in the 1800s, Charles W. Chesnutt, a noted American black author, wrote stories that we would now consider speculative fiction. In 1859, Martin Delaney, one of America’s foremost black political leaders, began Blake: Or the Huts of America, a serialized example of black utopian speculative fiction. These are only two of many examples.
What has been and is true within genre fiction, unlike literary realism, is that its power to persuade, and the writer’s desires to do so, is often overt rather than covert. Fantasy and science fiction ask the reader to imagine a world different than the status quo. Sometimes for the purposes of calling attention to current social and cultural ills, to cry a warning, or posit alternatives. For much of the 20th century the mimetic fiction community (literary realism) has often said that one shouldn’t be overt about one’s ideology. That writing should exist first to tell a story, and anything else should be secondary, and extremely subtle, if present at all. Fantasy fiction intrinsically draws attention to the ways in which the status quo isn’t inevitable, simply by presenting a world different than the one we live in. It is disruptive and counter cultural. Margaret Cavendish imagined a world of empowered women. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, herself a counter cultural figure like her mother, wrote a novel that asked uncomfortable and then radical questions about free will and socialization. The power of asking “what if?” at the heart of genre fiction can be used for good or for ill. Some writers have used it for ill (I’m looking at you Lovecraft) but many writers have used it for good. By defamiliarizing the familiar, genre fiction can sneak past reader’s preconceptions, and potentially persuade readers who might otherwise through confirmation bias and the blowback effect, reject the writer’s point. By setting a story “elsewhere” or “once upon a time” defense mechanisms can be bypassed, and subversive ideas can take root. Fairy tales, for example, have at their heart a utopian desire for good people to win, and kindness to pay off. Through descriptions of the traumas the girls in the stories undergo, they speak truth to power, with the excuse of “once upon a time” acting as a shield against persecution.
When you try to make a point with fiction, you run the risk of writing a polemic, which isn’t advisable, as far as making a good story goes. But stories do have the powerful potential to help people see the world differently, without being a polemic. Fantasy fiction has a long history of presenting boundary pushing ideas about economic systems, sexuality, and much more. The genre community also has a history and present of being a place for those who don’t quite fit in. The weirdos, the outcasts, the non-normative. Not only those who write it, but in the community of the stories themselves. Because having a point to make (while telling a great story) is acceptable within the genre community, many writers do. Tor.com, both in its short fiction line, and its books and novellas, has focused on publishing underrepresented writers, and done so to great literary and social acclaim. Many genre presses and magazines have an activist mission at their hearts, like Uncanny, and Fiyah. C.S. Polk, in their novella, Witchmark (from Tor.com) combines period romance and political maneuvering in a turn of the century pseudo-England, centering a queer love story, and making people of color among the more prosperous groups of society, rather than oppressed. In Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind, the financial struggles of Kvothe trying to attend university area a sneaky attack on the American student loan system. Organizations, from Nisi Shawl’s Writing the Other courses, and Clarion West, focus on serving and funding study for writers from historically marginalized backgrounds. Genre fiction has the ability to reflect injustice back to society, by showing alternatives, or magnifying the problems that already exist, and say, just because it’s so, it doesn’t mean it should be.
Sources consulted:
Michel, Lincoln. “The Long Messy Road to Publishing My Novel.” Counter Craft. https://countercraft.substack.com/p/the-long-messy-road-to-publishing
Nicholl, James Davis. “Fighting Erase of Women SF-Writers of the 1980s Part I.” Tor.com. https://www.tor.com/2018/08/07/fighting-erasure-women-sf-writers-of-the-1980s-part-i/
Nicholl, James Davis. “Fight Erasure of Women SF Writers of the 1970s A-F.” Tor.com. https://www.tor.com/2018/01/22/fighting-erasure-women-sf-writers-of-the-1970s-a-through-f/
Appendix B: Teaching and Learning Materials
Appendix B contains resources to supplement teaching and learning. This will include substantial activities and lesson plans to facilitate effective fantasy writing, sample syllabi, suggestions for using the book, and suggestions for further reading on the history and craft of fantasy fiction.
Suggestions for further reading
· Craft: Thrill Me, by Benjamin Percy, Never Say You Can’t Survive by Charlie Jane Anders, Steering the Craft by Ursula Le Guin, and Collaborative Worldbuilding for Writers and Gamers by Trent Hergenrader, The Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer, Writing the Other by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward, Craft and the Real World by Matthew Salesses, and Refuse to be Done by Matt Bell.
· History of fantasy and science fiction, as well as literary scholarship on the field: A Battle of The Sexes in Science Fiction by Justine Larbalestier, The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley, The Victorian Fantasists: Essays of Culture, Society, and Belief in the Mythopoeic Fiction of the Victoria Age by Kath Fulmer, Fairytale in the Ancient World by Graham Anderson, Magic(al) Realism: The New Critical Idiom by Maggie Ann Bowers, Tolkien, Race, and Cultural History: From Faeries to Hobbits by Dimitra Fimi, Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts of Words, Women, Places by Ursula Le Guin, Myth and Fairytale in Contemporary Women’s Fiction by Susan Sellers, The Fabulous Realm: A literary historical approach to British Fantasy 1780-1890 by Karen Patricia Smith, Myths and Fairytales in Contemporary Women’s Fiction: From Atwood to Morrison by Sharon Rose Wilson, Once Upon a Time: A Brief History of Fairy Tale by Marina Warner, From the Beast to the Blonde by Marina Warner, Touch Magic: Fantasy, Faerie, and Folklore in the Literature of Childhood by Jane Yolen, and The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre by Jack Zipes.
· Terri Windling’s website Myth and Moore contains decades of her work on fantasy, fairy tales, and fiction. Tor.com also frequently publishes non-fiction about the history of fantasy, science fiction, and horror.
· Anthologies: Classic Fantasy edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, Modern Fantasy edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, The Uncanny Reader edited by Majorie Sandor, My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me edited Kate Bernheimer and Carmen Gimenez Smith, Queers Destroy Science Fiction (special issue of LGBTQ+ fantasy and science fiction from Lightspeed Magazine), Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction edited by Sheree Renee Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki & Zelda Knight, Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora edited by Sheree Renee Thomas, Broad Knowledge: 35 Women Up to No Good edited by Joanne Merriam, She Walks in Shadows edited by Silvia Morena-Garcia and Paul R. Stiles, Sisters of the Revolution edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, Where the Stars Rise: Asian Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Fonda Lee and Angelo Yuriko Smith, Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction edited by Grace L. Dillon, Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, and The Faery Reel: Tales From the Twilight Realm edited by Terri Windling, Snow White, Blood Red edited by Terri Windling, and Lovecraft’s Monsters by Ellen Datlow.
In general, the entire fairy tale retelling series by Terri Windling is stellar, though you have to find used copies. The annual anthology series, The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, that Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling did for decades, is phenomenal, to the degree that even though it is out of print libraries keep copies and there is a competitive market online. The annual Best American series now has a Best American Fantasy and Science Fiction anthology. Ellen Datlow has returned to editing a Year’s Best Horror anthology too, containing the darker side of the fantastic. The genre fiction community in general has a strong and vibrant tradition of anthologies, themed and otherwise.
Activities and prompts for fantasy fiction writing:
Writing Prompts:
· Write a story about a monster with a problem. The “monster” must be the main character of the story. The problem can be abstract or practical but be sure to think about how the problem would influence the character, drive the plot, and impact their interactions with the world. For example: a werewolf who is going bald (would it make him feel less masculine? Would he try to hide it?) a giant squid who develops an obsession with a boat, a sphinx who falls in love with someone inappropriate, or a dragon who wants to abolish private property in dragon society (all those hoards will be a problem).
· Do an internet search about the region where you live or go to school. If you are in an area that has been colonized, like the US, what was it like before European colonialism? Write an alternate history fantasy in which that ecosystem is still in place, and society developed alongside nature, rather than suppressing it. For example, Northwest Ohio used to be called The Black Swamp, before all the trees were cut down and the wetlands drained. What if that hadn’t happened, and all the towns were built on stilts? My students wrote a collaborative story where our campus floated, and the black swans that live in our ponds were giant mutant monsters.
· Write a story where your college or workplace is haunted. Use real buildings and places, but no real people. Interpret haunting as broadly or narrowly as you like.
· Pick a classic story in the public domain, and rewrite parts of it, but add the fantastical and magical. Pick only one or two things to change.
· Choose a historical figure, and make them a magical being of some kind, who has to keep their identity secret. For example: Jack the Ripper is homunculus, Christopher Columbus feeds on souls and misery (literally), or Queen Victoria was a secret witch.
· Think of some event in history, or social convention, and design a fantasy world or story in which a fantastical or magical explanation radically changes our understanding of it. For example, in Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, mad King George isn’t actually mad but tormented by faeries. In The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett, the restrictive gender codes of Regency England are explained by a fear of women’s magic. In Maplecroft by Cherie Priest, Lizzie Borden killed her father and stepmother because they are possessed and is now a secret lesbian monster hunter.
· Combine one or more genres into one, such as a mystery novel and a vampire story, or dragons and a comedy of manners.
· Retell an old story from an unconventional point of view.
· Change the gender of one or more characters in an old story: like Emma Donoghue’s “Tale of the Rose,” a queered retelling of Beauty and the Beast where the Beast is a woman.
· Pick a genre of fantasy you’ve never tried to write before and give it a go! What do you notice about the process?
· Write a fantasy story that uses some expected tropes (like the pre-destined hero, for example) and invert expectations. For example, what if the hero thinks he’s predestined, but he’s actually delusional?
· Invert an expected power dynamic in a story. For example, what if you wrote a story about a selkie woman who, in revenge for a human man capturing her mother, she becomes a serial killer, hunting down human men?
· Invent a fantasy story that radically changes a social norm or power structure from the real world.
· Design a fantasy world with eight recognized genders. What types of stories could you write within it?
· Write a story where place is really important. A city built on an ever-shifting delta, a village in a forest they can never leave, a port city where people trade magical goods, a giant castle that has been mostly abandoned, or a city state where all technology comes from plants.
· Go to the Atlas Obscura webpage. Pick a random location or browse until you find one that sparks your interest. Set a story in that place. This is designed to make you do something different than your default regarding setting, and to make you really think about how setting and place influence a story. Exp place: Sassi di Matera, Italy.
· Write a fantasy story from the point of view of a character with a profession that might not conventionally be that of a protagonist, like a chef, or a seamstress.
· Pick a legend or fairy tale and move it into a modern time period and re-tell it. This is designed to show how you can use the same basic plot in innovative ways, based upon when and where it is set, and how that influences character values, reactions, etc.
· Pick something happening in real life that you think will turn out terribly if it continues. Something specific, like, say, invasive species in Florida, and then set a story in that future, with a character who is in some way intimately impacted by that problem. One of the primary modes of speculative fiction of all kinds is to warn, or cry alert. Avoid directly preaching.
· Write a story from the point of view of a dead person. Interpret this how you will. Ghosts, zombies, or…? This requires you to think about who would know what, and to think about agency.
· Write a story from the point of view of an animal. Stay away from being cute. Make it meaningful. Take seriously the concerns of that creature, and what it might want or need in the circumstances in the story. Exp: https://electricliterature.com/the-great-silence-by-ted-chiang/
· Write a fantasy story of any genre in which two people are in love and for some reason can’t tell each other, or one person is in love with someone who they think doesn’t love them. We should be able to tell, however, through the actions of the point of view character. Use this to practice sub-text in action and dialogue.
· Write a fantasy story in which a character is angry, sad, worried, or discontent with their life, and they displace their problems onto something else unconsciously, but the reader can figure out what is really going on. For instance, an unhappily married couple where they are unhappy with each other, but they make it all about the kitchen remodel. Or someone who is a really driven professional (lawyer, spaceship captain, assassin, cook, doesn’t matter what) who displaces all of their desires for acceptance and or love onto their work. This is another sub-text and motivation-based exercise.
· Write a fantasy short story in the form of made-up newspaper articles, or a guidebook, or some other kind of document.
· Write a fantasy story about a character who everyone is pushing to be or act a certain way, and they resist. Examples: someone destined for a throne that they don’t want, a trans-identified person fighting not to be put into a gender binary, or someone whose parents are trying to force them to become a doctor when what they really want is to become a musician.
· Invent a town and set a series of stories in that invented town.
· Write a fantasy story from the point of view of an unreliable narrator. This doesn’t inevitably mean that they are lying...it means that their worldview doesn’t necessarily truly reflect reality, and the reader has to read around them.
· Search the collection of a museum online (most major museums have searchable collections). Write a story or stories that are inspired by objects that you find there. Who might have owned them? What were their lives like? Use this exercise to contemplate the importance of material culture in lived experience, in culture itself.
· Pick a historical event and write a story that speculates on the effects of one major part of it occurring differently. Exp: the premise of the show and novel The Man in the High Castle, which asks the question: What if the Allies lost WWII?
· Write a story in which a character is all alone, but there is still conflict, internal and external. This can be in whatever style you choose. Examples: a character stranded on a mountain after a skiing accident. An old person living only with their memories. An astronaut on a long-term space mission where everyone else is in cryogenic hibernation. A hermit wizard, ala Merlin.
Writing activities to perform in class or assign outside of class:
· To encourage students to write stories influenced by fairy tales, type up a list of objects common to fairy tales (like apples, magic rings, etc.), places (a castle, a forest cottage, a deep dark forest), characters (a talking cat, an old woman, a witch, a princess in disguise, the kind youngest daughter), and events (involuntary shapeshifting, getting lost, mistaken identity, a bargain with a magic being, running away from home, the death of a parent). Print out the lists, then cut each character, place, event, and object out of the paper so it is on its own slip. Put all of the events in one envelope, characters in another, and so on and so forth. Have students draw at least three slips from each envelope, and then start a story using one or more slips from each category.
· Put students into pairs and give them each a character, either from a well-known story (like a myth, or contemporary pop culture if you want to take a fan-fiction angle), or characters that you design. Give students time to talk together in class, fleshing out the personalities or problems of the characters you’ve assigned them. Then, tell one student to write a letter or email from the point of view of their character, to the character their peer was assigned. Actual emails, or a google doc work well for this. Then, the other student will write a reply to the letter / email they receive. Ideally, this exchange can go on for at least seven exchanges, over a few weeks. If you want this to take place over just one class period, tell the students to write texts (thus, very short messages). Ideally paired with previous readings of epistolary stories. After the activity is over, have a class discussion about the process.
· After your students have workshopped a story, assign them to write one or more journal entries from the point of view of one of their characters, preferably the point of view character(s). How does it expand or enhance their understanding of their character(s)?
· Give each student a piece of posterboard to cover with images that represent the tone, aesthetic, and visual vibe of their fantasy universe. Have them come to class a week or so later, and all present their posterboards informally to the class, explaining how it represents the world of their fantasy story. Ask the students to turn in a short reflection about what they learned from the vision board making project.
· Ask your students to write down the major motivations of their story’s main character. What are the character’s dreams and dreads? How do dreams and dreads drive their character’s decisions, for good or ill? What obstacles get in their way as they strive to achieve their desires? If the plot isn’t being driven by the main character’s desires, goals, and fears, how might it be revised to do so? How would that change tie the plot closer to the character?
· Put students into pairs with a peer who has read their story in progress. Have them dissect together, in each of their stories, major pivot points within the story where the main character makes a choice that influences following events. Imagine a few different options for each pivot point. What if instead of doing x she did x? How might that change the story?
Syllabi:
1. A dummy syllabus for a course based upon Writing Fantasy Fiction
2. A dummy course proposal for a literature course on fantasy fiction using Writing Fantasy Fiction
3. A syllabus I have taught with an explanation of how I would adapt the course if I had Writing Fantasy Fiction available to me.
A dummy syllabus for a fantasy fiction writing course using this textbook, Writing Fantasy Fiction.
Writing Fantasy Fiction: A Specialized Creative Writing Workshop
Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Pullen. Monday/Wednesday/Friday 10-10:50.
In this course we will be studying fantasy fiction, with the twinned goals of broadening our knowledge as readers of fantasy, and becoming more sophisticated writers of fantasy, informed by the long tradition and vital present of the genre. To that end we will be studying the history of the genre, and its evolution, including an examination of many of its most widely disseminated sub-genres. We will mix reading and analysis with the creation of our own stories. When we study a particular sub-genre of fantasy, you will be tasked with creating a story in that sub-genre, experimenting with form and content, rather than simply settling into a favorite sub-genre. Then, at the end of the semester, you will have the opportunity of developing your favorite piece into a longer, fully developed story. While we will write short fiction for the purposes of allowing space for experimentation, the course will also include readings of novellas and at least one novel, facilitating a conversation about how different forms influence your artistic choices. We will end the semester with a conversation on fantasy fiction and publishing, with an eye towards helping you become literature and prepared participants of fantasy publishing, potentially submitting your final story of the semester to a journal of your choice.
Course goals:
· Increase literacy in the depth and breadth of the fantasy fiction tradition, from old to new, from experimental to traditional.
· Learn about how elements of fiction writing craft apply specifically to fantasy fiction.
· Develop specialized vocabulary for discussing the writing of fantasy fiction.
· Apply all of the aforementioned skills towards creating developed and stylistically sophisticated fantasy fiction and fantasy worlds of your own.
· Begin to understand how fantasy fiction publishing intersects with and differs from literary publishing.
Course texts:
Pullen, Jennifer. Writing Fantasy Fiction: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology for Writing Fantastical Fiction. Bloomsbury Academic.
VanderMeer, Jeff. The Big Book of Classic Fantasy. Vintage.
Wilson, Kai Ashante. A Taste of Honey. Tor.
Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. Of Love and Other Demons.
Kushner, Ellen. Thomas the Rhymer. Spectra.
Assignments:
Daily writing 200 points, 100 per compilation (20%):
For each day we have a reading of any kind, I will ask you to do one of three different types of writing. 1. Discussion notecards. Discussion notecards will ask you to come up with one good open ended discussion question to ask the class. Focus on either how something is written, understanding it and how it works, or, with craft essays, what you think an author’s argument is, and how to apply it. Don’t ask literature class type of questions, about symbolism, etc. These are perfectly good questions to ask, but less useful in this context. Then, on the other side of the notecard, come up with one major writing strategy of technique you see the author using to accomplish their effects. Describe it, how it works, and what it does. 2. Reading responses. Reading responses will consist of a summary of what the text does / is (for instance, something like, this is a first person narrative about a truck driver, that uses first person narration, and fractured chronology, to tell a story (brief summary here), that looks at the pains of working class life without employment choices), an analysis of how it is working, and what aesthetic tradition it appears to be a part of (related it to other stories, etc.), and then, a brief paragraph of just your general thoughts. I am not interested in if you liked a story or not. While you are welcome to like or dislike a story, it’s not very relevant to understanding how a story works. So, just share your thoughts about the story. For example: If it made you uncomfortable, for example, why, and what choices on the part of the author cause that reaction, and what do you think is the point of those choices, why did the author want to elicit that reaction? Or, for another example, if the piece did something unusual, with structure, POV, etc. how might you apply it? What seems to be the potential advantages, pitfalls, etc. of using that technique. In other words, focus on the writing. 3. Imitations. Imitations ask you to imitate a technique that the author uses. Structure, POV, prose style, genre, etc. Then, explain in the self-analysis portion, in about 200 or so words, how your imitation is an imitation of the piece, and what you were trying to do, what technique you were using, and why.
I will evaluate based upon the clarity of your understanding and the amount of depth given in the response. I will mark each response and tell you what is acceptable or unacceptable, and why. Then, at two points during the semester, mid-way through and towards the end, you will turn in a compilation of your daily writings thus far. Then I will actually grade the work as a whole. That way, I will be grading your response holistically, in other words, how well you did overall. Any missing assignments will result in a deduction from your grade on the compilation. While some extra credit is available for making up missed responses or absences (see the list latter in the syllabus) you will make your own life easier if you do everything on the day it is due. In addition, if people haven’t read, I will count them absent.
Workshop fiction (25%):
We will workshop a lot of stories in this class, with the goal of being able to pick your favorite one to revise and expand into a your full length final story. Throughout the semester you will try writing in different sub-genres of fantasy fiction, and in different styles. With each workshop piece (which may evolve out of your imitations in response to the readings) you will try something new. Each week that we are workshopping, you must turn in a complete story, which doesn’t mean perfect, but complete, in the sense of having a beginning, middle, and end. Or, if you are writing a novella, each class period we workshop you should turn in at least 10 pages. Stories must be turned in ON TIME. If they aren’t, you will lose points, and they will be considered late. Timeliness is just as important in this class as any other. Also, with the amount of work we are doing, if you get behind, you and I will get buried by work very quickly.
Revised final story (20%) 200 points
Towards the end of the semester, you will complete a polished and developed fantasy short story, either a full-length story, or a series of flash fiction pieces. This piece should have the goal of being at or close to publishable quality. At the end of the semester, you will turn it in to me with a short (500-1000) word self-analysis, explaining your goals for the piece, where you think it might be well suited for publication, and why. The project itself (not counting the short self-analysis essay) should be at least 3000 words (ten pages) although it can and probably will be longer, because, as we have learned, fantasy short fiction tends to be longer than realistic short fiction.
Worldbuilding reference document for final story (5 %) 50 points
When preparing to revise and expanding your favorite workshop story into your final piece, I will ask you to write a document in which you cover the basics of worldbuilding as described in the Worldbuilding chapter and apply them to the world you are creating. Ideally, this will be laid out like an encyclopedia or Wikipedia entry, where you will cover the basics of the social system of your world (including issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, etc.), the geography, the magic system (if any), and how it will apply for your characters. While much of this will not make it onto the page for your story, it will inform the choices you make as a writer, and the behavior of your characters. Requirements: typed single spaced, 3000 words or more, following the chart for worldbuilding elements from Writing Fantasy Fiction to make certain you cover every essential area.
Peer critique compilation (20%): 200 points
For every piece of work written by your peer, you will write a peer critique letter. You will turn in a printed copy to me, but you can print or email your peer, based upon preference. That letter should include: a brief summary of what the piece is / does (see reading response explanation for how to do this), a paragraph or so of things you think the story is doing well, and then, about a paragraph of suggestions and or questions, ways to help guide the revision of the piece. This should be about 500 words, which is about one-page single spaced. At the end of workshop time, I will ask you to turn in a compilation of all of these, and then I will grade them as a whole. I will look at overall quality, and at completion. Points will be deducted for missing peer critiques.
Attendance/Participation –100 points (10%)
Because this is a course that hinges on discussion and a sense of community in order to succeed, your attendance and participation are essential. As such, I expect you to be here and contribute. Still, I understand that sometimes you will be unable to, so you are allowed only three absences without penalty after that any unexcused absences will count against your overall course grade. You may NOT miss a day you are being workshopped. There are not enough days in the semester to be able to make them up. In addition, I do expect you to talk in class. Your points in this category hinge upon regular contributions, as well as your attendance. I know some of you are introverted, which I understand, but I promise to treat everyone’s contribution with thoughtfulness and respect. Also, asking a question is just as acceptable as making a statement, observation, or a claim.
Calendar (in the case of a syllabus I am actually teaching I write out a very detailed day by day calendar, but since this is a dummy syllabus, I will simply lay it out by week, rather than going into specifics that would not be interesting or helpful for others)
· Week 1: Syllabus, Writing Fantasy Fiction, Chapters 1, 2, and 3. Chapters 1 and 2 will be read on the same day. Daily writing will include a reading response, and a notecard.
· Week 2: Read two short stories per day for the first two days. One classic fantasy story from VanderMeer, and one contemporary from the Writing Fantasy Fiction anthology, to show the evolution of fantasy over time. On the third day, read Chapters 4 on Character. Imitations for the first two days, a notecard for the third.
· Week 3: Read one short story per day, chosen to exemplify different aspects of craft. Pair each story with a chapter on craft from Writing Fantasy Fiction, chapters 5, 6, and 7. Anthology selections of teacher’s choice, although I would choose Singh, Link, and Sherman. Imitations each day.
· Week 4: Read chapters from Writing Fantasy Fiction, 8, 9, 10. Pair with fiction a piece of fiction chosen from the Writing Fantasy Fiction anthology, except for Chapter 9, which will be read alone. I would choose the piece by Russell for chapter 8 (setting and detail) and the piece by Samatar for chapter 10. Imitation for Samatar, notecard for Russell, and a reading response for Chapter 9.
· Week 5: Read chapters the entirety of Section 3 of Writing Fantasy Fiction this week. Two or three genres or sub-genres chapters per day. Reading responses or notecards for daily writing.
· Week 6: Read Wilson, A Taste of Honey, and one classic short story this week, and one contemporary story, chosen from the Writing Fantasy Fiction anthology. Imitations for two days, a notecard for one.
· Week 7: Workshop in small groups.
· Week 8: Marquez, Of Love and Other Demons, also two contemporary short stories from Writing Fantasy Fiction anthology. Should be fabulist and or magical realist stories. Two imitations and a notecard.
· Week 9: Read three short stories from Writing Fantasy Fiction Anthology, and three classic fantasy stories, paired for stylistic similarity connections. Imitations on two days, a notecard on a third.
· Week 10: Large group workshop.
· Week 11: Large group workshop.
· Week 12: Read Kushner, Thomas the Rhymer. Imitation on the last day of reading the novel. Notecards the other days.
· Week 13: Read four short stories from the Writing Fantasy Fiction Anthology, two each day. Third day, in class writing or activities. Imitations for each short story reading day.
· Week 14: Small group workshop, revision focused.
· Week 15: Small group workshop, switch members of groups, continue revision focus, for two thirds the week. During final class period, discuss appendices on publication from Writing Fantasy Fiction. Reading response.
· Week 16: Final’s week, turn in Revised Final Story with the self-analysis essay to instructor.
A dummy course proposal for a literature course on fantasy fiction with or without a creative writing element:
Below you will see a sample course proposal (as though I was proposing a course to my department and university) for a literature course that could use the fantasy textbook. I often have my students combine creative and critical work in a literature course. I find that it makes them more engaged. To what degree someone does that would of course be optional. The proposal shows how I would do it.
Literature of the Fantastic: Study Literature through Experience and Experiments
Fantasy literature has a long history, one that often gets ignored, or flattened to Beowulf, followed by Tolkien, followed by Harry Potter and George R.R. Martin, as though there is nothing else, as though medieval texts lead seamlessly to the pseudo medieval epic fantasy, with a diversion into the magic school, and beyond. Occasionally people will admit Arthurian literature. But the full rich, varied, and vital history often gets ignored. This specialized literature class will focus on fantasy literature, in hopes of giving a sample of both its past and its present, showing the way it has evolved over time. Thus, it will include both historical and contemporary texts. Short stories for the sake of variety, some novellas, and a few novels, with an emphasis on going beyond the well-known canonical novels and story worlds already mentioned. However, unlike a standard literature course, we will not simply be reading the stories, reading about the stories, and then performing literary analysis. Instead, we will engage with these stories in the way that fantasy literature has long been engaged with—as passionate fans who want to participate. The pulp magazines and all the other early specialized publications were part of creating fandom as we know it today. In letters fans wrote passionate and detailed analysis of the stories they read, presenting evidence from the text, and debating with each other and the editors. Further, they also wrote fanfiction, a practice that goes back as long as there have been stories to tell (what is a folk tale, but a popular tale spread out over time and space with endless reiterations by different tellers?) but was formalized in the specialized genre magazines. Fanfiction has been the start for many famous fantasy writers, from early writers like Marion Zimmer Bradley, to contemporary writers like Seanan McGuire. In this course we will use the textbook Writing Fantasy Fiction by Jennifer Pullen, which covers both the historical literary history aspects of fantasy fiction, publishing, and creative writing. We will also use the anthology The Big Book of Fantasy Fiction, edited by Jeff VanderMeer for our historical examples. Further, we will read several major fantasy novels, starting from the 19th century, including News from Nowhere by William Morris, and Hope Mirlees early 20th century classic Lud in the Mist, and contemporary fantasy novels like A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan, and N.K. Jemisin’s Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Inspired by the things we read, students will write fanfiction, paired with self-analysis essays, paired with annotated bibliographies, explaining how they are using the literary tools that they have learned, and how their work would fit within the historical and literary context. This is not a workshop, but rather a literature course where student engagement with texts is predicated upon analysis paired with participation.
A real syllabus I have used, and an explanation:
Below you will see the syllabus I used for a creative writing course focused on science fiction and fantasy. If my textbook had been available, I would have made several changes to this course. First, I would have changed it to focus on only fantasy fiction. Second, in each class period I gave brief lectures on genre history and form. I also gave a handout to the students on the literary genealogy of each of the books we read. With my textbook that would not be necessary. I would have them read Chapters 1 and 2 the first full class period after syllabus day, and then Chapter 3 the day after that. After spending the first week on the historical overview (and probably doing a brief writing activity in class), I would proceed to pair chapters on craft with particular novellas or short stories that I thought exemplified an effective use of that particular aspect on craft. For instance, I would definitely pair a chapter on point of view with Victor LaValle’s fantastic Lovecraftian novella The Ballad of Black Tom. Third, every place in this syllabus that currently has a science fiction book, I would switch that science fiction book out for several short stories from the anthology. The only craft chapters that I wouldn’t pair with a short story, novella, or section of a novel, would be the chapters on Worldbuilding and Revision.
Just before halfway through the class, when we transitioned to workshopping, I would assign chapters 11-17 in two class periods. Each of these chapters will be quite short, so it would not be a problem to have a survey of sub-genres of fantasy put into two class periods.
Then, only right before the end of the semester, once students are in revision mode for their projects, would I go to the appendices on publishing and have the students read that, and discuss the implications for their projects.
Topics in Writing: Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature: Form and Genre: ENG 3761
Here there be dragons! Dr. Jennifer Pullen, Fall 2018 10:00-10:50.
Course description:
In this class we will read science fiction and fantasy novels, novellas, and short stories in various sub-genres, including urban fantasy, sword and sorcery, post-apocalyptic science fiction, hard science fiction, and magical realism, among others. We will also write science fiction and fantasy, each student beginning a long form project, either a novella, a novel, or an interconnected series of short stories. Many people love science fiction and fantasy, but very few people realize the great variety and complexity of either genre. I want to invite you to see a sampling of the vast range of science fiction and fantasy, sampling from it, reading contemporary award-winning authors, and working to see them in their context. We will investigate the great variety in science fiction and fantasy, paying attention to the tradition(s) out of which it arises, and its common thematic and ideological preoccupations. We will also pay attention to form and technique, to craft, thinking about what makes a successful science fiction and fantasy story, and how different forms (novel, novella, short story) affect the definition of success. All of the aforementioned investigations will be in service of creating our own science fiction and fantasy stories.
The first half of the semester will be spent reading and practicing, the second half writing and workshopping.
● Learn more about the narrative grammar of science fiction and fantasy
● Learn to see the ways in which science fiction and fantasy is an evolving tradition, one that exists in a historical and cultural context.
● Learn to discern different subgenres of science fiction and fairy tales, and how those genres effect the way the story is written, based upon genre conventions and audience expectations.
● Increase skill and flexibility of one’s one writing.
● See the vast depth and breadth of science fiction and fantasy.
● Create our own large scale science fiction or fantasy project.
Required texts and materials:
● Hoffman, Alice. Blackbird House. 978-0345455932
● Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles. 978-1451678192
● Wilce, Ysabeau. Prophecies, Libels, and Dreams: Stories. 978-1618730893
● Mandel, Emily St. John. Station Eleven. 978-0804172448
● Kushner, Ellen. Thomas the Rhymer. 978-0553586978
● Brennan, Marie. A Natural History of Dragons. 978-0765375070
● LaValle, Victor. The Ballad of Black Tom. 978-0765387868
● Johnson, Kij. The Dream Quest of Vellitt Boe. 978-0765391414
● Wilson, Kai Ashante. A Taste of Honey. 978-0765390042
● Wells, Martha. All Systems Red. 978-0765397539
● Melissa, F. Olson. Nightshades. 978-0765388506
● Okorafor, Nnedi. Binti. 978-0765385253
● I will have copies of all the books ordered at the University Bookstore. However, they can all be ordered on-line, inexpensively from betterworldbooks.com, which has free shipping, carbon-off-sets, and gives free books to literacy charities, so in the spirit of this class, if you choose not to buy your books from the university bookstore, I do highly recommend it.
● A notebook
● Pens/pencils
● A folder
● Expect to spend money printing copies of your work for your peers in the second half to the semester.
Course Assignments:
Daily Writing: 200 points (20%): For each day we have a reading by an author other than one of your peers, you will do some kind of writing. Sometimes it will be a short creative writing exercise. Sometimes it will be an analytical reading or viewing response. So, once a week, choose one of our readings to ask you to write a one-page single spaced response, or short creative writing piece, of about 500-1000 words (unless a different length is specified in the assignment). This ends up being about one-page single spaced. You must PRINT that response. If you are in not in class that day, you may email it to me. For each day that we read work other than that of your peers, I will ask you to write an imitation of the author that we have read that day. Imitate their style, their world building, the genre, etc. Include a scene of imitation, and a paragraph of about 100 words in which you discuss what you were trying to accomplish with the imitation, how your imitation is based off of particular writerly choices from the text we read that day. You may (although you are not required to do so) choose to use the same characters in all of your imitations. In other words, if you already have a story idea, or if you are developing one in class, feel free to use these exercises to help you discern things about the characters, or what style, genre, and point of view might be useful for your big project. At the end of the reading section of the course you will re-turn in all of your daily writing in daily writing compilation, paper clipped together, or in a folder. I will then grade it as a whole. For each day that you do NOT do an imitation (two days out of the week) turn in an index card with your name and the text you are responding to on the top. Include on this index card one discussion question about the text, and one observation about HOW it is written. Can use both sides of the card. I will provide the cards. That will count as your response for that day. Any missing assignments will deduct 10% from whatever grade you get on your compilation. Creative texts are evaluated based upon effort and completion. While some extra credit is available for making up missed responses or absences (see the list latter in the syllabus) you will make your own life easier if you do everything on the day it is due. You MUST read everything assigned. In addition, if people haven’t read, I will count them absent. Without reading this course simply can’t function, and no one will learn. For every response missing from the Compilation, I will deduct ten percent from the Compilation grade.
Workshop pieces 300 points (30%):
During the semester you will turn in writing to be workshopped. For each of those pieces it is expected to not be finished, necessarily, but be polished and ready for your peers to read. You will hand out copies to your peers and to me a class week before. So if you are workshopping on Wednesday, you will hand out the preceding Wednesday. There will be three types of workshop: short workshop (in two people go in a day) that will happen four times for each person. Long workshop (in which only you get workshopped) and that will happen once for each person. And pair workshop. In that workshop you will turn in a full length version of your work, all compiled together (novella, start of novel, or interconnected short stories) and workshop it with your assigned peer. Each of you will have two days devoted to that time.
Final project: 250 points (25 %):
You will turn in a final project, either the start of a novel, of novella length, a novella, or a series of interconnected short stories. This will be a revision and or expansion of what we worked on in class during workshop. With it you will turn in a brief cover letter, about 500-1000 words, describing what you are trying to do, and the literary context informing it. This is intended to contextualize your writing, and get you thinking about the sorts of ideas that will be important for your capstone critical intro.
Responses to your peers 150 points (15%):
For every class period in which we have a workshop, you will write a letter to your peer, in which you describe what you think your peer is trying to accomplish, give some compliments, and give some substantial suggestions. Each section should take about a paragraph. Letters should be about 500-1000 words. Each day we workshop, bring in a copy for your peer and for me. At the end of the workshop time you will turn in a compilation of peer responses which I will grade as a whole.
.
Attendance/Participation/Community member –100 points (10%)
Because this is a course that hinges on discussion and a sense of community in order to succeed, your attendance and participation are essential. As such, I expect you to be here and contribute. I know some of you are introverted, which I understand, but I promise to treat everyone contribution with thoughtfulness and respect. Also, asking a question is just as acceptable as making a statement, observation, or a claim.
Schedule
This schedule is preliminary, I reserve the right to change it for the needs of the class as I see fit. You have a responsibility to check your email and pay attention to in class announcements in order to make certain you don’t miss notification of any changes.
Week 1: 8/20-22-24
Monday—Syllabus and class policies.
Wednesday—Read: Binti. Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus).
Friday— Read: All Systems Red. Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus).
Week 2: 8/27-29-31
Monday—Read: The Martian Chronicles. Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Wednesday— Read: A Taste of Honey. Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Friday—Read: The Ballad of Black Tom. Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Week 3: 9/3-5-7
Monday—Labor Day.
Wednesday—Read: Prophecies, Libels, and Dreams (first half). Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Friday— Read: Prophecies, Libels, and Dreams (last half). Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Week 4: 9/10-12-14
Monday—Read: The Dream Quest of Vellitt Boe. Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Wednesday—Read: Blackbird House (first half). Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Friday—Read: Blackbird House (second half). Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Week 5: 9/17-19-21
Monday— Begin reading Thomas the Rhymer, Part I and halfway through part II approximately pg 123, stopping at the section break that begins with “The Queen did not send for me that day.” Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Wednesday— Read: Thomas the Rhymer, finish Part II and Part II. Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Friday—Read: Finish Thomas the Rhymer. Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Week 6: 9/24-26-28
Monday—Read: Station 11, first third. Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Wednesday—Read: Station 11, middle third. Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Friday—: Read: Station 11, last third. Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Week 7: 10/1-3-5
Monday—: Read: A Natural History of Dragons (first third). Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Wednesday—Read: A Natural History of Dragons (second third). No Daily writing. Or note card.
Friday—Read: A Natural History of Dragons (the rest). Daily writing: An imitation plus self-analysis (see syllabus). Or note card.
Week 8: 10/8-10-12
Monday—: FALL BREAK NO CLASS
Wednesday—Read: Nightshades. Daily writing: Imitation plus self-analysis.
Friday—In class writing. Daily Writing Compilation due.
Week 9: 10/15-17-19
Round 1: Workshops all week, two students a day.
Week 10: 10/22-24-26
Workshops all week, two students a day.
Week 11: 10/29-31-11/2
Round 2: Workshop all week, two students a day.
Week 12: 11/5-7-9
Workshop all week, two students a day.
Week 13: 11/12-14-16
In class work.
Turn in work to your assigned peer for pair workshop after break.
Week 14 11/19-21-23
Thanksgiving Break no class.
Week 15: 11/26-28-30
Monday— Paired Workshop.
Wednesday— Paired Workshop.
Friday— Peer critique compilation due. In class work and party.
Week 16: 12/3-5-7
Conferences, no class.
Week 17: 12/10-12-14
Final’s week: please turn your final completed project with cover letter to me during final times.
