SYLLABUS for FICTION WRITING



SYLLABUS for

REAL STORIES: THE NONFICTION NARRATIVE

with Aram Saroyan

(saroyan@usc.edu/323-298-5609/)

Spring Semester 2009

INTRODUCTION

From the personal essay to the memoir to the think piece to the nonfiction novel, writers often tell stories based on fact. How does the nonfiction writer’s approach differ from the fiction writer’s? This course explores the various ways writers tell true stories. The class will also consider how the techniques of fiction can be successfully applied in works of nonfiction. The student will learn to distinguish between the different approaches possible and the reasons one approach may prove more rewarding than another. Assignments will explore specific techniques in detail, so that the student will acquire a professional’s understanding of how the various nonfiction genres are practiced.

COURSE TEXT

A NONFICTION READER. A selection of classic nonfiction pieces edited by Aram Saroyan, the reader includes the following works:

MR. BENNET AND MRS. BROWN VIRGINIA WOOLF

TRANS-NATIONAL AMERICA RANDOLPH BOURNE

THE CRACK-UP F. SCOTT FITZGERALD

EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY EDMUND WILSON

NOTES OF A NATIVE SON JAMES BALDWIN

THE DUKE IN HIS DOMAIN TRUMAN CAPOTE

THE EXECUTIONER’S SONG (Chapter One) NORMAN MAILER

A DAY’S WORK TRUMAN CAPOTE

THE SIBLING (Jeb Bush) MARJORIE WILLIAMS

THE ALCHEMIST MARJORIE WILLIAMS

CONSIDER THE LOBSTER DAVID FOSTER WALLACE

ANDY WARHOL: I’LL BE YOUR MIRROR ARAM SAROYAN

The reading assignment will be given weekly. Each week we’ll consider the assignment in detail and I'd like you to have your impressions of the material freshly in mind. In essence, we’re reading as writers rather than strictly for pleasure, and the more specific you can be in your response the better.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

I will give regular writing assignments, but I encourage you to generate your own projects over the course of our weeks together: an interview, a profile, a memoir, an essay, etc.

I’ll give you notes on examples of your writing that you choose to turn into me three times over the course of the semester: after the fourth, eighth and twelfth sessions.

What’s important to me is that you’re participating in this course with the fullest attention and effort. If I sense that you have less than a full commitment to what we’re doing, it will affect your grade. At the same time, I know that each of you has your own rhythm and approach and I'm not expecting anything other than your best effort and attention individually, working in the way you personally are learning to work. I’ve read that a good writing instructor helps the student to write in his/her own way, while a bad one encourages the student to write in the style of the instructor. That's something I keep in mind.

COURSE SCHEDULE

January 12, 2009

Questionnaires and Introductions

Discussion of Syllabus

Telephone Tree

Review the three elements of narrative and how they may or may not apply in various nonfiction genres.

ASSIGNMENT: Bring in a typed double-space page comprising an excerpt from a published nonfiction literary treasure.

Reading assignment: “Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Brown” by Virginia Woolf.

January 26, 2009

Reading and discussion of literary treasure assignments and how each example utilizes the elements of narrative.

How the first and third person voices differ, and how various nonfiction genres differ from the essay to the memoir to the think piece, and so on.

Discussion of “Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Brown”—the way Woolf identifies a dividing line between the Victorian and the modern era in writing.

Reading assignment: “Trans-national America” by Randolph Bourne.

Writing assignment: Write about your experience on 9/11.

February 2, 2009

Discussion of “Trans-national America”—is the essay applicable to our current reality in America? What is the historical imagination? Reading aloud and discussion of the 9/11 assignment, and how the day does or doesn’t comprise a dividing line in contemporary history.

Reading assignment: “The Crack Up” by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Writing assignment: TBA.

February 9, 2009

Discussion of “The Crack-Up” and Fitzgerald’s famous comment: “There are no second acts in American lives.” And: “The test of a first-rate mind…”

Reading aloud and discussion of writing assignment.

Reading assignment: “Edna St. Vincent Millay” by Edmund Wilson.

Collect papers to return next week with notes.

February 23, 2009

Discussion of “Edna St. Vincent Millay.” Relate this memoir to the Fitzgerald memoir. Discussion of the friendship of Edmund Wilson and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and how their talents and careers differed and complemented one another.

Reading aloud and discussion of papers turned in for notes.

Reading assignment: “Notes of a Native Son.”

Writing assignment: TBA.

March 2, 2009

Discussion of “Notes of a Native Son”—how history and one’s life can intersect and one’s personal story resonate with a larger story. The sixties etc. The darker side of the experiential palette seen also in “Howl” and “Kaddish” by Allen Ginsberg.

Reading aloud and discussion of writing assignment.

Writing assignment: Write a memoir, perhaps focusing on a specific person and/or relationship.

Reading assignment: “The Duke in His Domain” (Capote’s New Yorker profile of Marlon Brando mid-career).

March 9, 2009

Discussion of “The Duke in His Domain”—how does our celebrity culture differ with that of the mid-20th century in Capote’s chronicle.

Reading aloud and discussion of writing assignment.

Writing assignment: Reread your work and edit it as you decide what to turn in for notes in two weeks.

Reading assignment: Excerpt from “The Executioner’s Song” by Norman Mailer and “A Day’s Work” by Truman Capote.

SPRING BREAK—NO CLASS on March 16, 2009

March 23, 2009

Discussion of “The Executioner’s Song” and how the technique of the nonfiction novel differs from the techniques usually identified with nonfiction.

Discussion of “A Day’s Work”—how Capote combines virtually all of the genres he has practiced in this short nonfiction piece.

Discussion of the editing process. How reading your own work repeatedly is a vital part of the literary process.

Collect papers to return next week with notes.

Reading assignment: “The Sibling” by Marjorie Williams.

March 30, 2009

Reading aloud and discussion of papers turned in for notes.

Discussion of “The Sibling,” a contemporary magazine profile—comparison with Capote’s portrait of Brando from 50 years earlier.

Reading assignment: “The Alchemist” by Marjorie Williams.

Writing assignment: TBA.

April 6, 2009

Discussion of “The Alchemist”—a personal memoir; compare and contrast with Williams’s “The Sibling.”

Discussion of the possibility of publishing a class magazine. Why Doing It Yourself (DIY) makes sense in today’s literary culture. Possible titles for a class literary magazine.

Discussion of blogs (pro and con).

Writing assignment: Rewrite a previous piece novelistically.

Reading assignment: “Consider the Lobster” by David Foster Wallace

April 13, 2009

Discussion of “Consider the Lobster,” the postmodern touches and the underlying emotion.

Reading aloud and discussion of writing assignment.

Choose title for class magazine, settle details of production.

Collect papers to return with notes.

No writing assignment.

Reading assignment: “Andy Warhol: I’ll Be Your Mirror.”

April 27, 2009

Reading aloud and discussion of pieces handed in for notes.

Distribute and celebrate publication of class magazine.

Goodbyes.

EATING IN CLASS

In general, try to confine your eating to before or after the class and/or during the break (which is usually around 8:30 p.m.) If you must eat in class, try to make it quiet food and/or food without crinkly wrappers, noisy tops et al. which I find distracting. Thank you.

GRADE CRITERIA

1. Writing assignments (75%). The writing you do during our weeks together is by far the most important measure I have to calculate your grade. That said, what I’m looking for is your understanding of the primary concepts we discuss in class, including the three elements of narrative and how they may or may not be utilized in our reading assignments and in the writing of class members responding to the assignments.

2. Class participation (15%). Our discussions in class can be an energizing and vital part of the workshop experience. Often you and your fellow class members will make the most important and generative comments in the class. Being ready to hear those comments and to make your own is important to the success of the class as a whole.

3. Reading assignments (10%). The contents of the nonfiction reader have been selected carefully to provide a good sampling of the breadth and depth of writing to which the term nonfiction is applied. A good case could be made, I think, for the idea that careful reading is a corollary of good writing.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

I encourage you to seek one another out since this is a unique and temporary society you have here as fellow writers.

EVALUATION DAY

Your opportunity to write your evaluation of the course and instructor generally occurs during our last session together.

ABSENCES

I will excuse a necessary absence, but please try to be in touch before the class in question. Otherwise, I expect you to be here promptly for class and not depart until the class is dismissed.

LAST WORD

I look forward to working with you. Tell me any concerns or interests you have which you would like to have discussed, clarified or otherwise elaborated. I want your ongoing feedback. This course is what we make it together.

Statement for Students with Disabilities

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

Statement on Academic Integrity

USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A: . Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: .

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