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COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE TITLE: Creative Writing TERM & YEAR: Spring 2023

COURSE & SECTION NUMBER: COURSE MEETING TIME:

ENG 273 Section 01 MWF 11:00AM-11:50AM

NUMBER OF CREDIT HOURS: 3-0-3 COURSE LOCATION: Taylor 217

INSTRUCTOR: Prof. Brendan Allen OFFICE LOCATION: Taylor 212

OFFICE PHONE: (260) 665-4342 OFFICE HOURS:

Mon: 1:00pm – 3:00pm
EMAIL: allenb@trine.edu Tues & Thurs: 9:00am - 10:30am & 1:30pm-3:00pm
Fri: 10:00am – 11:00am

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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
General course description: In this course students will experiment with a variety of creative writing genres in a
workshop setting. They will maintain and develop weekly writing practices (such as journaling, blogging, forum posting,
etc.). Students will engage with the style, form, process, and product of creative writing through the genres of poetry,
fiction, and prose.

Our specific course: This course’s primary function is to serve as structured space and time for us to write, discuss,
experiment with, and enjoy the process of writing creatively. No prior experience with creative writing is needed (nor
with particular authors or literary vocabulary). We will, certainly, learn some of prose and poetry’s formal strategies and
terms. We’ll also encounter a wide variety of professional authors and develop informed and critical responses to their
work. Both of these threads, however, are aimed to serve and support our primary goal as writers ourselves: reading and
writing with an open and exploratory mind.

I include “reading” with “writing” because we’ll be doing a lot of both this semester—each week, we will read a
collection of writing organized by a particular strategy they share. Our work as writers doesn’t succeed in a bubble, and
the myth of the solitary genius author is just that—a myth. Responding to the work of our contemporaries and
predecessors helps us understand where we “fit” in the expansive field of creative writing (as well as what parts of that
field we choose to resist). Reading others’ work alongside our own can stimulate our responses, galvanize our critiques,
spur our rebuttals, and even offer us the permission to try something really weird and new in our own material.

Unlike many other undergraduate courses, the success of our creative writing workshop depends on the earnest and well-
intentioned collaboration of all of us, every day. In this course, it’s the responsibility of each and every writer to provide
their colleagues with the same level of thoughtfully-considered feedback they hope to receive themselves. There’s more
on specific feedback guidelines below, and we’ll enact methods for bolstering each other’s work all semester long.

Expect to be writing every week of this semester, even when you are not directly up for workshop. In the first half of the
semester, we’ll experiment with prose, both nonfiction and fiction. In the second half, we’ll be experiment with poetry in
a variety of forms. By the end of the semester, I’ll ask you to choose the most exciting/curious/generative bits of your
work and shape it into a final, cohesive booklet, framed with an author’s statement.

PREREQUISITES: ENG 143 or ENG 133 [Students in ENG 333 must have also taken ENG 273 previously]

COURSE TEXTS:
1. Gay, Ross. Be Holding. University of Pittsburgh Press, 2020. ISBN: 9780822966234.
2. Halpern, Daniel, editor. The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories.
Penguin Books, 2000. ISBN: 9780140296389.
3. A back issue of the Indiana Review — process will be discussed in class.
4. Additional course readings and resources on Moodle.

[Students in ENG 333: We will work together in the first weeks to develop a personalized reading list.]
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ADDITIONAL MATERIALS:
Students are responsible for printing enough copies of their workshop materials for the entire class in the weeks prior to
their three scheduled workshops. Please become familiar with the printing services and locations on campus. We’ll
discuss strategies for efficient printing methods in class.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
1. Identify various stylistic techniques of poetry, fiction, and prose.
2. Analyze different creative writing genres
3. Create works of poetry, fiction, and prose
4. Cultivate a weekly creative practice over the semester (i.e. drafting, revising, forum posting, journaling, etc.)

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Attendance and Participation 20%
2. Weekly creative responses to writing prompts 20%
3. Timely submissions of workshop materials 20%
4. Book Response Essays 20% Total
- The Art of the Story Response Essay
- Be Holding Response Essay
- Indiana Review Response Essay
5. Final Chapbook/Portfolio 20%

ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION:
The success of our creative writing workshop — and the effectiveness of our practice and engagement — depends on the
earnest collaboration and participation of all of us. In this class, effective participation is just as much “the work” as is
your independent writing practice.

Workshops rely upon the golden rule of reciprocity—it is your responsibility to provide your classmates and their work
with the same level of care and attention that you hope to receive from them. Choosing not to show up and/or participate
when you are otherwise able—whether it is your turn for workshop or not—does our collective time and labor a
disservice.

Missing a class will reduce your opportunities for gaining “Attendance and Participation” grades. Missing your own
workshop session means that we’ll skip discussing your work, you’ll lose the valuable resource that is your classmates’
undivided attention, and you might make your colleagues grumpy about their efforts to respond to your work.

Unless clearly negotiated in advance, missing your scheduled workshop slot will disqualify you from receiving in-
class feedback on your work.

ABSENCE POLICIES:
I will take attendance daily. If you need to miss class, please let me know ahead of time if you are able—especially if you
are scheduled for workshop.

Illness: Generally speaking, if you are feeling sick and/or experiencing symptoms of illness, please stay home and let me
know when you are able. While discussing our work in person is a priority, your health (and the health of those in close
proximity to you) should always be a priority.

University-excused absences: These include participation in university-sponsored activities (such as athletic events and
field trips), serious illness, disabling injuries, and/or death or illness in the family. If you are missing class for a university
event, please notify me directly by email.

If you accrue six unexcused absences (an equivalent of two weeks of class), we will need to have a discussion
regarding your attendance and any challenges you may be experiencing — missing additional classes after that
point may disqualify you from earning a passing grade in this course.
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Trine University COVID-19 Attendance Policies:
• Students who are placed in COVID-related quarantine or isolation by the University will be able to attend their
class virtually via Zoom.
• For all other absences, both excused and unexcused, students are expected to communicate with their instructor
to determine the appropriate course of action.
• Due to the ongoing severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and highly infectious nature of the disease, all students
who feel ill should contact the Health Center immediately, and to contact their instructor for guidance.

GRADING/EVALUATION:
The following short descriptions outline how I will be assessing your work in this class. Further in-depth descriptions of
expectations will be provided through individual assignment prompts throughout the semester.

- Attendance and Participation (20%):

o Each week students may earn up to six points in this category. Three of these points will be assigned for
attending each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday session of our course (one per session). The remaining
three of these points will be assigned for contributing substantive and thoughtful comments, feedback,
questions, or other points of discussion in class each day. The overall percentage of these points will
make up 20% of your final grade at the end of the semester.

- Weekly creative responses (20%):

o Starting on Week 3, every Monday I will assign readings of short stories and/or poems centered around
a particular theme and/or writing strategy. Throughout that week, I’ll ask you to read through the
samples, consider what speaks to you, and write a creative response to what you’ve read, due by the
following Sunday. The key to this work is consistent practice and experimentation—I will not be
evaluating the “quality” of your writing; I’m instead interested how you maintain a regular relationship
with creative experimentation. Due to the importance of a weekly practice, late submissions will only
receive half credit.
o ENG 333 Students: Early in the semester, we will develop a plan for your larger creative project—
after that point, you are welcome to choose between submitting a response to the weekly prompt or
providing evidence of your weekly progress on your independent project. (You can also choose both,
especially if you find that participating weekly exercise might benefit your project)

- Timely submission of workshop materials (20%):

o Your workshop materials are due the Wednesday prior to your scheduled workshop week, as listed
in the course schedule below. It is your responsibility to print (and staple, if necessary) enough copies
for each member of our class—24 copies. Points in this category are awarded for successfully providing
copies of your work and meeting the expectations of each workshop prompt. Failure to submit your
workshop materials on the appropriate day may disqualify you from receiving written feedback. All
students are expected to provide feedback on all workshop submissions aside from your own.

- Book Response Essays (20%):

o Throughout the semester we will read three larger texts: A collection of short stories from the anthology
The Art of the Story, Ross Gay’s Be Holding, and back issues of the Indiana Review. After reading each
text, I will ask you to submit a 3-5 page response essay discussing and analyzing the creative strategies
employed by each author(s). I will average the grades of these three papers to comprise 20% of your
overall course grade. I will provide more detailed prompts for each essay later in the semester.
o ENG 333 Students: As you have already read the AotS anthology and Gay, we’ll work together to
develop an independent reading list that complements your creative goals. For your three Response
Essays, you will respond to two of your independent texts and an issue of the Indiana Review.

- Final Chapbook/Portfolio (20%):

o At the end of the semester, I will ask you to create an intentionally curated and designed collection of
your revised work from throughout the semester. This final document will be 15-20 pages long,
introduced by a short author’s statement. I will assign this grade in response to the amount of work
provided, your attention to revision and feedback, and the critical self-reflection evident in your
author’s statement. I will provide a more detailed prompt for this project later in the semester.
o ENG 333 Students: Rather than a final portfolio, you will submit a final, cohesive project of
approximately 25 pages at the end of the semester. We’ll discuss what that project looks like as the
semester develops.
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- Grading System: I use a standard grading system, as follows:
100% – 90% A
89.9% – 86.6% B+
86.5% – 80.0 % B
79.9% – 76.6 %C+
76.5 % – 70.0% C
69.9% – 66.6% D+
66.5% – 60.0% D
59.9 % – 0 F

ADDITIONAL NOTES FOR STUDENTS IN ENG 333: ADVANCED CREATIVE WRITING:

- Creative Project Conferences

o In addition to our regular course meetings, we will also schedule a series of independent conferences
throughout the semester. These will take place on the following weeks: Week 1, Week 3, Week 6,
Week 10, Week 13, and Week 16. These weeks are marked with an asterisk in the course schedule.
§ In Week 1 and Week 3 we will determine your selection of independent reading and outline
your initial goals for your creative project.
§ For the remainder of the semester, we will dedicate our conferences for discussing your drafts-
in-progress of your creative project. These meetings will be an opportunity for us to not only
discuss the results of your initial experiments but to also develop evolving revision strategies
for your work.
- Discussions of The Art of the Story and Be Holding
o While you have already encountered these texts in our prior workshop, please take the time to reread
and reconsider these texts when preparing for class discussion—returning to a familiar text with some
distance can often lead to new and unexpected interpretations. Your own work, as well as the overall
class conversation, will benefit from your reconsideration of these readings and your participation.
- Final Creative Project
o As stated above: Rather than a final portfolio, you will submit a final, cohesive project of approximately
25 pages at the end of the semester. The goal for this project is to develop a larger creative work that
centers on particular themes, questions, and/or aesthetic stakes. This might look like a collection of
poems, several short stories, or even something that blends genres into a more hybrid structure.

CREATIVE CODE OF CONDUCT

Because our workshop’s success is based on collective trust, please do not include references to any instructors or
students in your writing without their explicit consent. Furthermore, our writing must remain respectful and sensitive to
all cultures, creeds, and social experiences that are not our own. We must therefore always aim to not speak over the
voices of others nor speak over cultural or social experiences that are not our own. Whether on the page or in person—
racism, sexism, and other harmful language will not be tolerated.

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT
Adapted from the Trine University Student Handbook. See “Academic Misconduct,” p. 9.
The University prohibits all forms of academic misconduct. Academic misconduct refers to dishonesty in examinations
(cheating), presenting the ideas or the writing of someone else as one’s own (plagiarism) or knowingly furnishing false
information to the University by forgery, alteration, or misuse of University documents, records, or identification.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following examples: permitting another student to plagiarize or
cheat from one’s own work, submitting an academic exercise (written work, printing, design, computer program) that has
been prepared totally or in part by another, acquiring improper knowledge of the contents of an exam, using unauthorized
material during an exam, submitting the same paper in two different courses without knowledge and consent of
professors, or submitting a forged grade change slip or computer tampering. The faculty member has the authority to
grant a failing grade in cases of academic misconduct as well as referring the case to Student Life.

PLAGIARISM
Adapted from the Trine University Student Handbook. See: “Community Standards,” p. 18-19.
You are expected to submit your own work and to identify any portion of work that has been borrowed from others in any
form. An ignorant act of plagiarism on final versions and minor projects, such as attributing or citing inadequately, will be
considered a failure to master an essential course skill and will result in an F for that assignment. A deliberate act of
plagiarism, such as having someone else do your work, or submitting someone else’s work as your own (e.g., from the
Internet, fraternity file, etc., including homework and in-class exercises), will at least result in an F for that assignment and
could result in an F for the course.
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COURSE SCHEDULE:
This calendar is tentative. Changes will be announced in class and on Moodle.

Week 1*

Mon Jan 9 Welcome to class!

Wed Jan 11 Read: Intro packet (provided on first day)

Intro packet discussion – in-class writing prompt
Friday Jan 13 Intro packet discussion – in-class & weekend writing prompt
Assign prose workshop dates
Sunday Jan 15 Weekly response due
Week 2

Mon Jan 16 Martin Luther King Jr. Day – NO CLASS

Wed Jan 18 Read: Week 2 Readings

Discuss Week 2 Readings
Friday Jan 20 In-class writing & discussion
Explain workshop weekly process
Sunday Jan 22 Weekly response due
Week 3*

Mon Jan 23 Read: Week 3 Readings

In-class writing & discussion; Go over workshop feedback structure
Wed Jan 25 Discuss Week 3 Readings
Group A Prose Workshop Material Due
Friday Jan 27 Discuss Week 3 Readings
In-class writing & discussion
Sunday Jan 29 Weekly response due
Week 4

Mon Jan 30 Read: Week 4 Readings; Feedback: Group A

Workshop Group A
Wed Feb 1 Workshop Group A
Group B Prose Workshop Material Due
Friday Feb 3 In-class writing & discussion

Sunday Feb 5 Weekly response due

Week 5

Mon Feb 6 Read: Week 5 Readings; Feedback: Group B

Workshop Group B
Wed Feb 8 Workshop Group B
Group C Prose Workshop Material Due
Friday Feb 10 In-class writing & discussion

Sunday Feb 12 Weekly response due

Week 6*

Mon Feb 13 Read: Week 6 Readings; Feedback Group C

Workshop Group C
Wed Feb 15 Workshop Group C
Group D Prose Workshop Material Due
Friday Feb 17 In-class writing & discussion

Sunday Feb 19 Weekly response due

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Week 7

Mon Feb 20 Read: Week 7 Readings; Feedback: Group D

Workshop Group D
Wed Feb 22 Workshop Group D

Friday Feb 24 In-class writing & discussion

The Art of the Story Response Paper Due
Sunday Feb 26 Weekly response due
Week 8

Mon Feb 27 Intro to Poetry

Read: Week 8 Readings
Wed Mar 1 Discuss Weekly Readings
In-class writing & discussion
Friday Mar 3 In-class writing & discussion

Sunday Mar 5 Weekly response due

Week 9: Spring Break: March 6 – 10 (NO CLASS)

Week 10*

Mon Mar 13 Read: Ross Gay, Be Holding

Discuss Gay
Wed Mar 15 Discuss Gay; In-class writing & discussion
Group A Poetry Workshop Material Due
Friday Mar 17 In-class writing & discussion

Sunday Mar 19 Weekly response due

Week 11

Mon Mar 20 Read: Week 11 Readings; Feedback: Group A

Workshop Group A
Wed Mar 22 Workshop Group A
Group B Poetry Workshop Material Due
Friday Mar 24 In-class writing & discussion

Sunday Mar 26 Weekly response due

Week 12

Mon Mar 27 Read: Week 12 Readings; Feedback: Group B

Workshop Group B
Wed Mar 29 Workshop Group B
Group C Poetry Workshop Material Due
Friday Mar 31 In-class writing & discussion
Be Holding Response Paper Due
Sunday Apr 2 Weekly response due
Week 13*

Mon Apr 3 Read: Week 13 Readings; Feedback Group C

Workshop Group C
Wed Apr 5 Workshop Group C
Group D Poetry Workshop Material Due
Friday Apr 7 Good Friday – NO CLASS

Sunday Apr 9 Weekly response due

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Week 14

Mon Apr 10 Read: Week 14 Readings; Feedback Group D

Workshop Group D
Wed Apr 12 Workshop Group D

Friday Apr 14 In-class writing & discussion

Sunday Apr 16 Weekly response due

Week 15

Mon Apr 17 Read: Week 15 Readings

Catch-up workshop day
Wed Apr 19 Catch-up workshop day
How to make a Chapbook/Portfolio
Friday Apr 21 Chapbook/Portfolio Workshop
Indiana Review Response Paper Due
Sunday Apr 23 Weekly response due
Week 16*

Mon Apr 24 Class Reading Part 1 – Location TBD

Wed Apr 26 Class Reading Part 2 – Location TBD

Friday Apr 28 In-class writing & discussion

Week 17 – Finals Week

Mon May 01 Final Meeting @ 11:00AM

Physical Chapbook/Portfolio Due