Irvine Valley College

Online Creative Writing Workshop

Writing 10 - Introduction to Creative Writing

Spring 2012 - Ticket # 64580

Class runs from 1/9/2012 to 5/17/2012

 

Marjorie Coverley Luesebrink, MFA, Instructor

About Your Class

be sure to visit the

Mandatory Online Orientation Page

Overview: The IVC Online Creative Writing Workshop/Writing 10 is a beginning class in writing techniques for fiction, poetry, and drama.  Students will participate in online discussion, read and critique weekly assignments, workshop submissions, and assigned reading, and write weekly exercises.  All work will be carried on electronically, so you will need a computer and e-mail and Blackboard Discussion Group access.

**Website for your class can be accessed directly from my server

<http://califia.us/writing10remember these addresses are case-sensitive!  Please go to this URL and Bookmark it!

 

Each session we will address some specific issues about writing style and mechanics.  The activities for each week will include five important aspects (and I suggest that you try to do these tasks in this order):

1.  Read the Online Lecture

2.  Do the Assigned Reading

3.  Submit your Weekly Writing Exercise 

4.  Read and Respond to your classmates' submissions

5.  Work toward completion of your own Formal Workshop Piece

Remember, the Class Discussion and Critique of Weekly Exercises and the Formal Workshop Pieces are all critical to your participation in the class.  You should be sure to post your own Weekly Assignment and to comment on at least one other submission.  [Note:  You must post every single week of the class to PASS the class!]

 

All of our activity will be carried on with e-mail and discussion groups, and your experience in the class will be enhanced by an active participation in these events. If you have specific questions, the menu bar at the bottom will give you detailed information.  

1.  Online Lecture:  At the beginning of each week, I will offer some thoughts on writing technique particular to that week's Weekly Writing Exercise Assignment.  Each Weekly Writing Exercise will focus on a specific writing aspect, and the lecture will give you direction and ideas for your exercise.

2.  Assigned Reading:  The assigned reading for the week will consist of a short selection of fiction or a poem.  You might read these to help you get started with your exercise.  Links will be provided on the syllabus for each week so that you can do your reading online.

3.  Weekly Writing Exercise:  Good writing is the result of play as well as "work."  Weekly exercises give us a chance to experiment with character, voice, time, and style - without having to think about a command performance or a finished story.  You might, however, find yourself at the beginning of something you want to continue (and perhaps submit to the Workshop)!

4.  Class Discussion and Workshop Critique:  This is the heart of the course, the class time where we all meet to share and explore our writing.  The Class Discussions will, first of all, address the Weekly Writing Exercises - allowing all of us a chance to post our own work and to respond to the writing being done by other students in the class.  You are required to post at least one response to another student's work each week in addition to your own Weekly Exercise post.  It's important to remember that you can learn a great deal about your own writing through the critical reading of and response to other's work!  Also, in the Discussions, you are encouraged to talk about your own writing process and experiences.  Finally, many of you have stories or novels which are already in-progress or complete.  You are invited to submit your piece to the "Formal Workshop" for feedback (you should submit at least one work during the semester); we will also discuss these on the Discussion List.  See Discussion for details!

5.  Formal Writing Workshop:  Your Weekly Writing Exercises are designed to introduce you to some important techniques of writing fiction, poetry, and drama.  These will not be finished pieces, however - they are just exercises and fragments of things you might want to write.  The Formal Writing Workshop is where we will showcase finished work.  Some of you may have pieces that you have completed before class began, some of you may choose to "finish" one of your Weekly Exercises, and some of you may choose to write a new piece to submit to the Formal Workshop.  You must complete and submit at least one piece to the Formal Workshop during the semester.  You can do that as soon as you are ready, and I will be taking names of writers and which week they would like to submit!  

The Lecture Notes for Week 1 contain a discussion of some guidelines for reading and responding to the work of your classmates.

Please see 

Syllabus

Assignments

Weekly Writing Exercises

Workshop Page

Discussion List

and Lecture Notes for more information!

Enjoy the Magic!

 

Marjorie Coverley Luesebrink, MFA, your Instructor, is a Professor of English in the School of Humanities and Languages, Irvine Valley College, Irvine, California.

See My Online writing at my Home Page.

About Your Class // Class Syllabus // Workshop Pieces // Weekly Writing Exercises // Lecture Notes  // Reading List // Recommended Reading // Assignments // Grading Policies // Contact Your Instructor // Announcements //  Discussion