Williamston High School

Creative Writing, Spring 2015

Instructor(s) Colin Konkel (1/27-5/4); Katie Nolen
Contact If you have questions or comments, feel free to direct them to me (Mr. Konkel)
personally during regular class hours, AOT, or before/after school. (As a general rule of
thumb I get to school around 7:30am and stay until around 3:30pm, but I suggest that
you set up some sort of loose appointment with me beforehand, just to be safe.)
I can also be reached at konkelc@gowcs.net (and Mrs. Nolen can be reached at
nolenk@gowcs.net) if any pressing questions/comments/concerns strike you while
youre at home. Please note, however, that I generally keep the same hours as a normal
human being. That being said, if you find yourself with a burning question about an
assignment at 1:27am, I will probably not see that email until at least 7:32am.
Course Description This is a creative writing course (please note the words creative
and writing) that intends to meet you where you are as a writer, wherever that may be,
and build up and out from there. I do not expect you to come into this class with the
skills and mindset of a professional writer, but I do expect you to accept the fact that
there exists the potential within you to become a really great writer and thinker. In other
words, at the end of this class you will find yourself one (or two, or three, or four, etc.)
step(s) closer to being a great writer. It goes without saying that what you put into this
class is what you will get out of it. This class wont do the work of getting better for you-only you can decide how much you will improve.
Structurally, this course is meant to be more of a colloquium/writers workshop
than a teacher-led this is what good writing is class. You will engage in structured
criticism concerning the work of published writers, your peers and yourself (more on
this to follow). We will operate under the idea that the best writers are also the best
readers, and will learn to read like writers.Therefore, you will also be reading in this
class (and reading widely). Our readings will span across time, space, genre and
medium. Readings will include such things as short stories, creative nonfiction,
editorials, journalism, music, art (visual), film, and more. We will pay careful attention
to style, structure and craft while reading, hoping that it will inform us in our
development as writers. At the same time, we will be considering what modifiers like
important, good, and influential mean in regard to writing in all of its forms.

Grading The vast majority of your grade in this class will be based upon your writing
and participation. Im estimating there will be about 600 points up for grabs by the end
of this course. While only the final exam will be officially weighted (it will be 20% of
your final grade), here is an estimated percentage-type breakdown of what your final
grade will be based on:
Finished, polished writing and rough drafts = 45-50%
Peer Review Letters = 20-25%
Journals = ~15%
Participation and miscellaneous assignments = ~15%
FYI- Ill use numerals in computing grades for your writing projects, according to the
following scale:
20 = A+ = Mind-blowingly good
19= A = Extremely good
18 = A- = Very, very good
17 = B = Very good
16 = B- = Good
15 = C = Mildly subpar
14 = C- = Severely subpar
13 = D = Markedly poor; we need to talk
12, 11 = D- = see above
Below 10 = F = Obvious.
If you earn a grade of 14 or less, you are required to rewrite the assignment.
After doing so you may earn up to 19 points. Additionally, if you earn a grade of
15 - 19, you may rewrite the assignment to try to earn a better score.
Assignment Due Dates If you are present when an assignment is given out and are
also present when the assignment is due, it is your responsibility to get it finished on
time regardless of absences in between the assigned and due date.
Late Work Quite simply, your assignment will be marked late if you do not have the it
completed by the start of class on the due date. Late work on general assignments will be
marked down 10% for every additional day you fail to hand in the assignment. (After
50% it turns to a 0%.)
Extra Credit and/or Make Up Work There are various ways to earn extra credit OR
to retrieve points from assignments that are too old to turn in. You can sign up to be an
absent log recorder or you can earn extra credit for being a member of the Grammar
Police (more info on that later).
***Any extra credit and/or make up work is due AT LEAST 3 days prior to the end of the
semester.

Participation As stated above, what you put into this course is what you will get out of
it. Therefore, your participation and attention are the bread and butter of this
classroom.
There will be days (quite a few of them) when I ask you to do nothing more than
write. On such days your participation will be assessed by how diligently you work.
Generally speaking, good participation on these days will look like writing/drafting/
planning/researching. Bad participation might look like web surfing, irrelevant side
conversations, texting, and other such off-task behaviors. In other words, Im asking you
to show me that you care about your work by working.
On days that we are not writing we will be reading/viewing/discussing/etc. On
days like this I expect you to participate in discussions, respond to writing and/or
speaking prompts to the best of your ability, and just generally put your best foot
forward.
- - - A Note on Participation - - Cell Phones As a general rule of thumb, dont have them out.
Look, I get it. Ive owned/operated a cell phone for years now. I know what its like to
feel that buzz in your pocket mid-class and then feel that seemingly irrepressible urge to
read and respond to it immediately. Im asking you to quell that urge of immediate
response not because I dont understand, but because for you to progress in writing you
need to be here and now. Writing well takes concentration. Limit your potential to be
distracted by not texting in class. If you need to, pretend that every time you walk into
this classroom youve embarked on a mini no-phone vacation. (Have you ever heard
your parents or other adults talk about the insane amount of voicemails or emails they
have to respond to in a given day and how they just want to get away? Treat this class
as your opportunity to get away.)
If I see phones out, Ill ask you to put them away. If I see them out and say something to
you multiple times in one class period, Ill take it up to my desk for the rest of the hour.
Please, dont make me do that.
A minor exception: I know that some people do better writing while listening to music.
Therefore, on writing days I will allow you to use your phone to listen to music IF you
have headphones and IF myself and your peers cant hear it. If its too loud Ill ask you to
turn it down. If it happens more than once, youll lose music privileges for the day (and
possibly the semester if it proves to be an ongoing problem).
Journals We will write in our journals at the start of class at least three times per week.
On journal days you will walk into the classroom and see some sort of prompt on the
board. You are expected to respond to the prompt as best and as thoughtfully as you can
in the time allotted (which will generally be less than 10 minutes). Despite the fact that I
will not be reading the majority of your journal entries, I expect you to take them
seriously. Treat them as a warm-up exercise to get your creativity flowing.

I will, however, collect your journals periodically. On Collection Days you will flag
at least two journal entries that you want me to read and grade. For entries you have not
flagged, I will simply put a check mark at the top of the page without reading them.
Points will be awarded for each check mark I give you, in addition to the flagged and
graded entries. This being said, YOU WILL LOSE POINTS IF YOU DO NOT JOURNAL.
Peer Edits and Constructive Criticism After each rough draft youll write this
semester you will engage in some sort of peer review/feedback session. It is likely that
you will be less-than-thrilled by some of the work your peers have written. When these
situations arise, it is absolutely imperative that you be respectful of your fellow human
beings. The goal of this course is for you (ALL of you) to become better writers. Your
comments, both written and spoken, to your peers (and yourself) should be geared in
that direction. Your objective during peer reviews and class discussions is not to be
critical merely to be critical, but to help your fellow classmates improve as writers.
Personal attacks, teasing, jeering, scoffing, general meanness and the like will not be
tolerated and will be taken seriously.
Additionally, it is the job of writers to break down stereotypes, not bolster them,
in the pursuit of some form of truth.
Plagiarism is defined as taking someone elses work and passing it off as your own or
not giving an author credit when using his/her work. Direct quoting and/or
paraphrasing someone elses work without giving credit IS PLAGIARISM.
Dont do it. Be original.
First offense = 0% for the assignment
Second offense = 0% for the whole unit and any activities pertaining to the unit
Third offense = 0% for the semester
____________________________________________________________
I understand the policies outlined in this syllabus and if I have any
questions I will contact either Mr. Konkel or Mrs. Nolen.
Signature:________________________
Students name (printed):_________________________