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Advanced Creative Writing
Mr. Edward L. Paciorek
Goal of this course
This course is intended to expand your creative writing skills.
Course content overview and materials
You will be selecting an area of study for the semester (writing a novel [historic, sci-fi, horror, romance, etc.], a stage play, a screen play or a collection of poetry) and working for the entire semester on that project.
This will generate a product that will be greater in scope and length than any school project had allowed for in the past. You will be expected to work each day upon your chosen project and there will be daily grades for your time on task, and a weekly grade on Fridays for what you have generated during the course of that week. Each student will be working upon a different and unique project, but there will be some similarities of expectations, such as character bios, setting descriptions, etc. You must generate at least 1,000 words of novel, screenplay, or play script during the course of the week. If writing a collection of poetry, at least 500 words of rhymed and illustrated work is expected. Even at this rate of productivity, one will have to do more than the minimum to generate a complete script or novel. We will be working primarily with the text The Complete Book of Scriptwriting by J. Michael Straczynski, or The Complete Book of Novel Writing, or The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Poetry.
Expectations
Attendance
Be in class. The Troy School District Policy on Attendance will be enforced.
See me for any assignments given during an excused absence. Ask your friends to share their notes from missed classes.
Be on time. You are to be in your assigned seat when the bell rings.
(Persuasive debate on this topic will not be accepted or given extra credit.)
Atmosphere
Be courteous to me and to your classmates. I want to conduct a pleasant and
stimulating classroom. Respect for others is expected and insisted upon. The more mature the learning atmosphere you help me create, the fewer rules we will need.
Be responsible. You are responsible for all of the lesson information. This
applies whether I present information orally, write it on the board, pass out a handout, or cover it in the text.
I am willing to go over things that have already been covered but only a reasonable number of times.
Materials
Be prepared. This means you need to bring a pen, white lined writing paper, your
notebook, and completed or in-process assignments. No hall passes will be issued to retrieve these items.
Be neat. Turn in all work on 8 1/2" x 11" white paper without any type
of fringe. All handwritten work should be executed in black or blue pen.
Please be prepared to learn. I understand that stopping in at the lavatory can
get a little hectic but please don't assume that you'll be let out to go during class time. We all have to find time in the six minutes we're given.
Feedback from me
Components of your grade
Class participation. There will be times when classroom discussion will be
critical in dealing with some of the writing topics.
Common courtesy is expected during these times. The raising of one's hand, although some may feel that it's childish, does help to keep control in the class so that every opinion can be expressed.
Quizzes and other assignments. Pop quizzes will be given in relative proportion
to the attentiveness of the class. In other words -- stay tuned in. It'll keep your GPA up and your homework load down.
There will be at least one formal paper and possibly a research project.
Final exam (20% of your grade).
Grades
Policy. All assignments will receive a letter which will be translated for final
averaging using the following scale:
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