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Up
Slam
Koffeeklatsch
Contracts
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The Course:
ACW is much like an independent study, in that you will each have very
individual goals and responsibilities. As the next logical step in the
Creative Writing process, another possible title for this course should be
Attempt to Publish. If you are here…and you are…it is assumed you have some
ambitions towards getting someone to accept your work for publication and,
perhaps even pay you for it. Entries into writing contests also serve to
fulfill this goal. Thus whatever medium you wish to pursue—short story,
novel, poetry, drama, screen writing, or a combination of several—you will
seek a market for your work with an eye toward that end. I will be expecting
each of you to meet with me on an individual basis and work out a contract
regarding your responsibilities. You do not have to be published to get an
“A,” but you do have to try. Feedback from the editors who will peruse your
submissions will be invaluable.
Weekly Schedule
(This is subject to change based on alterations
in the school schedule and possible schedule conflicts)
Mondays we meet in my room (293) This day is for in-class activities.
These skill-sharpening exercises will alternate between genres and styles from
week to week. Writing and Revision Contracts cannot be DUE on Mondays.
These days are important to your Participation Grade.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are in-class
workdays in the computer lab. I will meet individually with authors to
discuss their Reviewed work. Any of these days are eligible as DUE dates
for contracts.
Fridays we meet in 293 again for Coffeehouse.
Students may read any original work to the class and offer constructive critique
to peers. Although this activity is a continuation of the Coffeehouse you
experienced in regular Creative Writing, it is expected that you will take part
with even greater enthusiasm and fervor and offer useful criticism at an
elevated level.
Class Grading
Criteria
 | Writing
Contracts (3Q - 4 weights: 4Q
3 - weights)--You must be on contract every day to receive an A+ in this
category. A student is considered "off-contract" if a DUE date is not
fulfilled or a new contract is not submitted with enough time for me to review
and approve it before the end of the period.
A contract is considered fulfilled if the written work for it is submitted in
the first fourteen minutes of class (on an ordinary schedule, this will be
before 2:30 pm). A new contract should be submitted before 2:55 pm. |
| Revision
Contracts (3Q & 4Q 3 -
weights)--You must create and fulfill one revision contract for every three
Writing Contracts you submit. When planning the due date, please keep in
mind that these run concurrently with Writing Contracts, so plan carefully.
These contracts can be fulfilled any time before 4:00 pm on the day they are
due. |
| Publication
Contracts (3Q & 4Q 1 -
weight)--Three
times during the 3rd quarter and twice during the 4th
quarter you must send your work into the outside world. This can be a
magazine accepting submissions, any of the various contests we have available,
and anything else we think of. These contracts do not fulfill daily
goals—they are concurrent with working contracts. These contracts are
are counted fulfilled when you bring me your submission, your properly
addressed—unsealed envelope (s), and I mail them. The school will
stand postage—if you mail this yourself it DOES NOT COUNT. I don’t care if
you have an affidavit from the postmaster general; if I don’t mail it, it
never happened. E-submissions must be finalized under my watchful eye to be
fulfilled. Extra contracts are eligible for extra credit in this
category. |
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Coffeehouse
/ Slam
(1 weight each quarter)--To receive an A+, each member of the class must read
at Coffeehouse at least five times. Participation at outside Poetry
Slams and readings is not required, but will count towards this weight.
Extra readings are eligible for extra credit in this category. |
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Participation
(This is a 1 weight grade each quarter)--I keep track of
every time a students speaks in the course of a week. At the end of the
week I tally all the points and take the class average as a B- for the week.
Thus extra credit is available on a weekly basis for those at the top of the
participation curve. |
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Koffeeklatsch
(1 weight in Q4) This refers to the nighttime
poetry reading that we hold in May. Everyone reads at this one. You are
encouraged to invite at least one parental unit and at most one friend. The
prospective date for this shindig is Wednesday, May 27, 2009, starting about
7:00 pm and ending whenever. Attendance and participation is mandatory for
each and every student, so clear your calendars now. |
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The
Final Exam Grade Everyone will be given the
opportunity and responsibility to collect her or his best work into a class
anthology; everyone receives one (1) copy. |
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