Creating Short Fictions Cristina Henríquez

HUAS 6395.001
Office hours: Mondays 2:30-3:30 in JO 4.636

Please note that the following is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.
Any changes will be duly communicated to students.

A course calendar will be provided at our second meeting.

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COURSE DESCRIPTION :

In this course, we will perform an in-depth exploration of the elements of short fiction—character,
dialogue, point of view, setting, etc.—by looking at how established writers have constructed stories
and through a number of writing exercises where students will produce their own work. We will
also discuss the somewhat more elusive aspects of writing such as process and publishing. Students
will be expected to generate at least two complete short stories over the course of the semester, as
well as written critiques of classmates’ work (please note that students will be required to make
multiple copies of their own stories for distribution at their own expense). Attendance is mandatory
and students should come prepared not for a lecture about fiction, but for a highly participatory
experience.

NOTES ON WORKSHOP:

• All creative work should be typed in 12-point Times New Roman, and double-spaced with
one-inch margins. Please include page numbers as well as your name in the upper right
corner of each page. Note that students are responsible for making legible
photocopies of all creative work in sufficient quantities for class distribution.
Photocopies may be double-sided.

• All critical work should be typed in 12-point Times New Roman, and single-spaced with
one-inch margins. Critical work includes peer critiques as well as response papers. Please
include your name in the upper right corner of each page. Note that students are
responsible for coming to class with two copies of their written critique in hand (one
of the author and one for me). Response papers to published stories require only one
copy (for me).

• All un-spellchecked work will be handed back and will count as a zero. If I see a
mistake in any of your work that would have been caught by spell-check, I will stop reading
and you will receive a zero on said work.
 • Failure to turn in completed work by the class period for which it is due will result in a zero
for that work. No late or incomplete work will be accepted.

• When you are reading other people’s work, try to read it on its own terms. You might not
like everything we read. It might not have been something you would have read if you didn’t
have to. That’s okay. Look at the basic elements—do things make sense? Do you feel like
you know the characters? Are there enough details for you to be able to visualize a world?
Try to read each piece as though you were reading a published work by an established
author.

• Even if the whole class seems to be in agreement that a particular sentence, paragraph,
whatever, was really great, if you don’t think it was so great, say so. Don’t be afraid to voice
your opinion. The writer needs to know how different people reacted to his or her work.
That being said, workshop is not a time to attack other students or their work willy-nilly. I
am looking for incisive comments that show you have thought about the work being
discussed and that you have read the work with an open mind.

GRADING :

• 50%—Creative Work. Creative work will be evaluated on the basis of quality as well as
progress over the semester. As such, students will be given the opportunity to revise one of
their creative pieces for a higher grade.

• 30%—Critical Work. This includes all response papers for published work and all critiques
of other students’ work.

• 10% —Class Participation. Both the quality and quantity of class participation will be
judged.

• 10%—Attendance. Students are required to attend all meetings. Do not show up late to
class. We will need all the time we can get. If you are more than half an hour late, it will be
counted as an absence. More than one absence over the course of the semester may result in
failure of the class.

The numerical equivalents of letter grades for this class are as follows:
A = 5.0
A-= 4.7
B+= 4.3
B = 4.0
B- = 3.7
C+ = 3.3
C = 3.0
C- = 2.7
D+ = 2.3
D = 2.0
D- = 1.7
F=1
 Incomplete/late work = 0

REQUIRED TEXTS:
The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction, edited by Michael Martone and Lex Williford
Creating Fiction, edited by Julie Checkoway

RECOMMENDED TEXT:
The Elements of Style, William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

ACADEMIC POLICIES:

• Scholastic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated. Scholastic dishonesty includes, but
is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, facilitating academic dishonesty, fabrication,
falsifying academic records, and failure to contribute to a collaborative project and sabotage.
For more information, please refer to http://utd.edu/student/slife/chapter49.html

• To obtain an incomplete, a student must have completed 70% of the coursework and must
have a reasonable expectation of completing the course in the specified time period. Both
the student and the instructor must sign the incomplete form. Students should be aware that
failure to complete the course on time will result in the conversion of an I to an F. For
more information, please consult the university catalog.

• The university aims to provide reasonable and necessary accommodations in order to

promote equal access to the University for students with disabilities. If you are a student in
need of special assistance, you should contact the Office of Disability Services at ext. 6104.
Disability Services provides students with letters to present to faculty members verifying that
the student has a disability and needs accommodations. Please come to me after class or
during office hours with this information. No student will be discriminated against on the
basis of disability.