What I've learned in Creative Writing.
Nov. 29th, 2006 11:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icarusI would be a much better creative writing teacher than my professor. God, I just have my head in my hands watching him.
I'm learning a lot in his class. I've learned nothing about writing, but a great deal on how to teach (and how not to).
First, the attitude towards the students. Yes, yes, beginning stories suck. But when we try something new we're always terrible at it. I'm a decent writer now and my friends laugh at my original Lord of the Rings fics. Everyone goes through phases where their writing sucks royale. When you first rode a bike, how did you do? You fell off, of course!
People need to learn how to fail. We need to be comfortable with falling flat on our faces as adults, so we can continue growing and learning. Writing automatically takes you out of your safe zone and students can sense if your attitude is negative.
Second, professionalism. You can be friendly with students in the same polite way you're friendly with business clients: there are certain subjects that are off-limits. You don't discuss your faults. You don't discuss how "wow, we did badly on your company's project, heh, heh." You don't slam other clients -- i.e., other students. You remain pleasant and recall that you're representing your profession even when off the clock.
Third, feedback. It's good to be able to say "I don't know," but you don't leave it there. A good teacher says, "Let me think about that" and revisits a question they don't know the answer to. It's a sign they care about the subject.
Creative writing feedback is aimed at mining the gold out of a story. Since the source of the story is the student, the focus needs to be on open-ended questions. You need to be honest, but since 90% of beginning students are unsure of themselves, most of the feedback has to be focused on the positive, developing the students' skills as they are.
The goal isn't great stories. The goal is improved writers. There's a difference.
Fourth, flexibility vs. toughness. How do you deal with a student's irresponsibility? That's a tough one. I think the student's learning comes first but leeway for lateness et al should be doled out with a moment's pause, a sigh, and then, "Okay, I'll do it this time. But please be on time for the next." One quarter isn't long enough for the student to figure out you always say yes. ;)
Though it depends on the subject. Creative writing I'd give more leeway. History, I might bump the grade down .5 points for every day an assignment's late.
The most important aspect of discipline is to lay the rules out in advance and follow them. The person who gets any leeway is the student, not you. Don't break your own rules. If you've said that mid-terms are going to be graded, don't change your mind and say, "I've decided not to give grades for the mid-terms." (Oh yes, my creative writing teacher did just that.) You also don't start out soft and then later come down hard.
If you need to be late on something, be honest. The teachers I respect most have been honest with me: "I'm still grading those papers, but I'll get them done as soon as possible."
Build into due dates extra time for students to be late. It's a reality that someone's going to be late, so make your life easy. It's like my old babysitting job: I set the kids' bedtime for 8:30, with the full intention of actually sending them to bed at 9. At 8:10 and 8:15 I gave them warning that it's time to get ready for bed. They complained and begged and pleaded, and I (grudgingly) moved the deadline to 9. I do this at the office, too.
Fifth, preparation. This is where I probably would struggle myself. But never try something new without a good game plan. If I'm short on time to prepare, it's time to bring out the lesson plans that have worked in the past. (Yes, my creative writing professor tried something new when he was running behind. Midway through the quarter he threw in mis-matched materials that had nothing to do with what he taught earlier.)
The teachers that have impressed me most have had Powerpoint presentations with photos, art, diagrams and maps to back themselves up. The Powerpoint presentation with just bullet points might as well not be used.
Workshops should have a hand-out that describes what points a student should cover in workshopping stories, so the conversation doesn't go in circles or focus on "I like, I don't like."
Writing exercises should be 50% in-class exercises, 50% take-home exercises. Some students need the spark of in-class writing. Others don't do well with it. I would require a writing journal, absolutely, and require 10 photocopied pages from it for the final portfolio (counted towards class participation). I would have a few minutes of journal time in the first few weeks of class, just to give people a sense of it. I'll keep copies of the in-class writing exercises partially to check handwriting on those journals. ;)
Sixth, grading. If I've been consistent and reliable, the students should feel that I'm going to be a fair grader. I think giving a quiz early, or some other form of graded work early in the first 2-3 weeks should give the students a feel for how I grade so they can adjust their efforts accordingly.
I think that a creative writing class should largely be based on a final portfolio of writing, but students should be collecting check-marks for assignments handed in.
I think a mid-quarter quiz on aspects of lecture and readings is important so that students who aren't talented writers can earn points for their hard work.
I would want all final stories to be handed in with a copy of the first draft and attached with all the feedback sheets. Students who didn't edit, who ignored all the feedback, would be dinged for that.
Oh.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wildernessguru wants a shot at the computer, so I'll leave it at that for now.
I'm learning a lot in his class. I've learned nothing about writing, but a great deal on how to teach (and how not to).
First, the attitude towards the students. Yes, yes, beginning stories suck. But when we try something new we're always terrible at it. I'm a decent writer now and my friends laugh at my original Lord of the Rings fics. Everyone goes through phases where their writing sucks royale. When you first rode a bike, how did you do? You fell off, of course!
People need to learn how to fail. We need to be comfortable with falling flat on our faces as adults, so we can continue growing and learning. Writing automatically takes you out of your safe zone and students can sense if your attitude is negative.
Second, professionalism. You can be friendly with students in the same polite way you're friendly with business clients: there are certain subjects that are off-limits. You don't discuss your faults. You don't discuss how "wow, we did badly on your company's project, heh, heh." You don't slam other clients -- i.e., other students. You remain pleasant and recall that you're representing your profession even when off the clock.
Third, feedback. It's good to be able to say "I don't know," but you don't leave it there. A good teacher says, "Let me think about that" and revisits a question they don't know the answer to. It's a sign they care about the subject.
Creative writing feedback is aimed at mining the gold out of a story. Since the source of the story is the student, the focus needs to be on open-ended questions. You need to be honest, but since 90% of beginning students are unsure of themselves, most of the feedback has to be focused on the positive, developing the students' skills as they are.
The goal isn't great stories. The goal is improved writers. There's a difference.
Fourth, flexibility vs. toughness. How do you deal with a student's irresponsibility? That's a tough one. I think the student's learning comes first but leeway for lateness et al should be doled out with a moment's pause, a sigh, and then, "Okay, I'll do it this time. But please be on time for the next." One quarter isn't long enough for the student to figure out you always say yes. ;)
Though it depends on the subject. Creative writing I'd give more leeway. History, I might bump the grade down .5 points for every day an assignment's late.
The most important aspect of discipline is to lay the rules out in advance and follow them. The person who gets any leeway is the student, not you. Don't break your own rules. If you've said that mid-terms are going to be graded, don't change your mind and say, "I've decided not to give grades for the mid-terms." (Oh yes, my creative writing teacher did just that.) You also don't start out soft and then later come down hard.
If you need to be late on something, be honest. The teachers I respect most have been honest with me: "I'm still grading those papers, but I'll get them done as soon as possible."
Build into due dates extra time for students to be late. It's a reality that someone's going to be late, so make your life easy. It's like my old babysitting job: I set the kids' bedtime for 8:30, with the full intention of actually sending them to bed at 9. At 8:10 and 8:15 I gave them warning that it's time to get ready for bed. They complained and begged and pleaded, and I (grudgingly) moved the deadline to 9. I do this at the office, too.
Fifth, preparation. This is where I probably would struggle myself. But never try something new without a good game plan. If I'm short on time to prepare, it's time to bring out the lesson plans that have worked in the past. (Yes, my creative writing professor tried something new when he was running behind. Midway through the quarter he threw in mis-matched materials that had nothing to do with what he taught earlier.)
The teachers that have impressed me most have had Powerpoint presentations with photos, art, diagrams and maps to back themselves up. The Powerpoint presentation with just bullet points might as well not be used.
Workshops should have a hand-out that describes what points a student should cover in workshopping stories, so the conversation doesn't go in circles or focus on "I like, I don't like."
Writing exercises should be 50% in-class exercises, 50% take-home exercises. Some students need the spark of in-class writing. Others don't do well with it. I would require a writing journal, absolutely, and require 10 photocopied pages from it for the final portfolio (counted towards class participation). I would have a few minutes of journal time in the first few weeks of class, just to give people a sense of it. I'll keep copies of the in-class writing exercises partially to check handwriting on those journals. ;)
Sixth, grading. If I've been consistent and reliable, the students should feel that I'm going to be a fair grader. I think giving a quiz early, or some other form of graded work early in the first 2-3 weeks should give the students a feel for how I grade so they can adjust their efforts accordingly.
I think that a creative writing class should largely be based on a final portfolio of writing, but students should be collecting check-marks for assignments handed in.
I think a mid-quarter quiz on aspects of lecture and readings is important so that students who aren't talented writers can earn points for their hard work.
I would want all final stories to be handed in with a copy of the first draft and attached with all the feedback sheets. Students who didn't edit, who ignored all the feedback, would be dinged for that.
Oh.
wildernessguru wants a shot at the computer, so I'll leave it at that for now.
no subject
Date: 2006-11-30 12:57 am (UTC)2. You remain pleasant and recall that you're representing your profession even when off the clock.
That part of it terrifies me, actually. Right now I'm TAing for two giant lecture classes in Greek Myth, and I've already had at least three students recognize me off campus. (Who knows how many recognize me but don't say anything? I certainly wouldn't be able to recognize them--I've got 750 of them this semester.) It's daunting to think that I have to act like a professional *all the time* on the off chance that a student might be watching.
3. I learned very quickly the art of dithering when a student asks a question I don't know the answer to. ("That's an excellent question. It's not really my area of expertise, but I'll look into it and get back to you...") It's a skill that I'm told will really came in handy when I present more at academic conferences and get cross-examined by established scholars. ("That's an excellent question. It goes a bit beyond the scope of my current research, but I'll keep it in mind for future work.")
4. This is a tough issue. On the one hand, shit happens. And it's cruel to students when shit happens to them and the teacher won't give them any slack. On the other hand, I've TAed for profs who pretty much let students turn in late work at *any* time, so we (the TAs) got buried in late papers at the end of the semester just when we're trying to get our own essays written. And it sucked. So my general take is that I'll be accommodating when it's reasonable to do so, but I'll not bend over backwards or rearrange my schedule to give a student a make-up exam because they "forgot" to come to class the day of the midterm. (This has happened.)
5. I'll keep copies of the in-class writing exercises partially to check handwriting on those journals. ;)
But...some of us don't write by hand! Really. I'd keep a journal, but I'd type it. I write *very* non-linearly. As in, I will start a sentence, wander off and write a relative clause in the middle of the sentence, go back to the beginning of the sentence and finish *that* clause, and then write my final clause. I suppose that if required, I would write by hand, but between the non-linear writing, a bit of dyslexia, and the unfortunate habit of accidentally leaving out words (or phrases) I could guarantee that it wouldn't be pretty.
6. Yes. I pretty much assume that the first quiz is a practice quiz so that the students know what they're getting into. And I try to give it early on so that a student can still drop the course if they feel they need to. (This came up in Latin more than Mythology...)
Creative Writing always seemed like it would be an amazingly difficult sort of class to teach. I suppose one could grade primarily on objective definitions of good writing (grammar and style and such) but then it's really just an English Comp class. But the "creative" part of it seems like such a matter of personal taste. I know what *I* think is good writing. But so much of my tastes are a matter of culture and upbringing and education and era--not to mention my plain ol' sense of personal aesthetics--that I wouldn't know where to begin to go about assessing one thing as "good" creative writing and another as "bad" (given that all the basics of English composition are satisfied). It seems like for every creative writing "rule" there's some Great Author who flagrantly breaks it.
(One of my bestest friends is a Creative Writing MA student and TA with ambitions to become a prof someday. I always marvel a bit over what she does.)
no subject
Date: 2006-11-30 01:52 am (UTC)That part of it terrifies me, actually.
Let's put this in context. My professor (a T.A.) has confided in me that he wasn't prepared for this class (time snuck up on him), has said to me of other students, "they were probably getting high over the weekend," and once when I was late with an assignment said (in front of other students) "and you wanted to do NaNoWriMo...." in a fairly nasty sarcastic tone.
Likewise, if you run into a client on your off hours, you avoid being rude to them and generally saying offensive things about other people. It's fairly simple. If you run into your client or student at your local S&M event then all bets are off (sort of like running into them at a gay bar). I'm not asserting anything other than basic human decency and common sense.
5. I'll keep copies of the in-class writing exercises partially to check handwriting on those journals. ;)
But...some of us don't write by hand! Really. I'd keep a journal, but I'd type it.
Not an important issue, really.
6. Yes. I pretty much assume that the first quiz is a practice quiz so that the students know what they're getting into. And I try to give it early on so that a student can still drop the course if they feel they need to. (This came up in Latin more than Mythology...)
Creative Writing always seemed like it would be an amazingly difficult sort of class to teach. I suppose one could grade primarily on objective definitions of good writing (grammar and style and such) but then it's really just an English Comp class.
Not so difficult. You grade according to theme, plot, characterization, etc., taking each element and rating them on a scale of say 1-10. It's harder than literature but not a matter of pure arbitrary judgement, no.
Unlike my professor, however, I would teach theme, plot, characterization, and so forth before grading on them. This idiot taught writing cinematically and then graded people on things he'd never fucking even mentioned.
What an asshole.
Icarus