Contemporary literary stories and those written in genre draw on historical antecedents and/or current literary and theoretical movements. Fables and fairy tales, experiments with realism or magical realism are all present in various forms of the contemporary short story, and stem from writers being influenced by past narratives and/or by reacting to their peers. This course will encourage students to read a variety of classical and contemporary short stories and to experiment with different styles and genres which have developed over the past two centuries, and which are still being questioned or utilised by contemporary authors.

Students will be expected to write two short stories and/or a few chapters of a novel in this course. Draft stories will be revised. The final versions of students’ stories will be arrived at through discussion in seminars and workshops, and through the reading of published fiction. The course will include some consideration of the practical processes involved in publishing stories and longer works.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Create prose pieces in two different genres, drawing on or reacting to a published work or works.
2. Experiment with and revise 2 diverse stories or chapters of a novel, integrating suggestions from writing workshops and/or utilising analysis of published or other students’ creative work.
3. Research, compare and contrast two stories, making a coherent argument about the relationship between these works.
4. Describe, analyse and make editorial suggestions for peers’ prose
5. Reflect on your own creative work in relation to its context, sources and formal qualities, and discuss your writing with respect to published work in a similar style or genre.

Required Resources

Required readings will be available via the Wattle course site.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Written and verbal comments on draft stories or novel extracts
• Written comments on portfolios submitted on time
• Written comments on essays submitted on time
• Verbal feedback on comments on peers’ work as appropriate

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

Referencing requirements

MLA style or Chicago-style footnotes are required for essays submitted in Advanced Fiction Writing. Please see Wattle for links to formatting guides.

Suggested Reading

 

Allen, Walter. The Short Story in English. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981

 

Bailey, Tom. A Short Story Writer’s Companion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001

 

Bayley, John. The Short Story: Henry James to Elizabeth Bowen. Brighton, England: The Harvester Press, 1988

 

Bennett, Bruce. Australian Short Fiction: A History. St. Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland Press, 2002

 

Flora, Joseph (ed). The English Short Story 1880-1945: A Critical History. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Twayne, 1985.

 

Forster, E.M. Aspects of the Novel. 2^nd Ed. London: Edward Arnold, 1974

 

Gardner, John. The Art of Fiction. New York: Knopf, 1984

 

Gass, William. Fiction and the Figures of Life. New York: Knopf, 1970

 

Grenville, Kate. The Writing Book. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2001

 

Head, Dominic. The Cambridge Introduction to Modern British Fiction: 1950-2000.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002

 

O’Connor, Flannery. Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose. Ed. S. & R. Fitzgerald. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1969

 

O’Faolain, Sean. The Short Story. Cork: Mercier Press, 1972

 

Prose, Francine. Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books, and for Those Who Want to Write Them. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006

 

Scofield, Martin. The Cambridge Introduction to the American Short Story. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006

 

Shaw, V. The Short Story: A Critical Introduction. London: Longman, 1983

 

Smith, Hazel. The Writing Experiment: Strategies for Innovative Creative Writing. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2005

Wood, James. How Fiction Works. London: Jonathan Cape, 2008

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Lecture: Introduction: Influence and Intertextuality Readings: No readings this week Workshop: Bring an opening paragraph of a story or novel you plan to workshop in this course Bring a copy of a story or a novel that you have found influential for your writing
2	Lecture: Realism(s) Readings: Anton Chekhov, “Misery” Kate Chopin, "A Pair of Silk Stockings” Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits (chapter 1) Workshop: Come prepared to discuss realism, magic realism, and related readings (and to lead the discussion, if it's your scheduled seminar week) Bring a draft story or novel chapter—or as much as you have managed to write—to the workshop	Draft version of first short story or novel extract due Wednesday 6th March. These drafts will be workshopped in later classes, and the revised version submitted as part of your final portfolio. (See assessment items 1 and 4) In the workshop this week, one or more students will be scheduled to lead a class discussion on one of the week's e-brick readings. An essay on the same topic will be due two weeks after this seminar (see assessment item 2 for details)
3	No lecture this week – Canberra Day public holiday Topic: Effective Editing Readings: Student pieces for workshopping this week Workshop: Think about what you hope to get out of the workshops, and what you think makes an effective, productive creative writing workshop. Come prepared to share your ideas. Come prepared to workshop student short stories/novel extracts Bring your written comments on other students' work (if you've been assigned someone to do a written critique for this week)	Written/verbal comments on other students' work due this week (see assessment item 3)
4	Lecture: Modernism Readings: Student pieces for workshopping this week Ernest Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants” and “In Another Country” Katherine Mansfield, "The Garden Party” Workshop: Come prepared to discuss Modernism and related readings (and to lead the discussion, if it's your scheduled seminar week) Come prepared to workshop student short stories/novel extracts Bring written comments on other students' work (if you've been assigned someone to do a written critique for this week)	In the workshop this week, one or more students will be scheduled to lead a class discussion on one of the week's e-brick readings. An essay on the same topic will be due two weeks after this seminar (see assessment item 2 for details) Written/verbal comments on other students' work due this week (see assessment item 3)
5	Lecture Topic: Fairytales and Feminism Readings: Student pieces for workshopping this week Various traditional versions of “Little Red Riding Hood” Angela Carter, “The Company of Wolves.” Workshop: Come prepared to discuss fairytales, feminism and related readings (and to lead the discussion, if it's your scheduled seminar week) Come prepared to workshop student short stories/novel extracts Bring written comments on other students' work (if you've been assigned someone to do a written critique for this week)	In the workshop this week, one or more students will be scheduled to lead a class discussion on one of the week's e-brick readings. An essay on the same topic will be due two weeks after this seminar (see assessment item 2 for details) Written/verbal comments on other students' work due this week (see assessment item 3)
6	Lecture topic: Writing Diversity: The Politics of Representation Readings: Student pieces for workshopping this week (see folder below) Other readings tba Workshop: Come prepared to discuss the week's topic and related readings (and to lead the discussion, if it's your scheduled seminar week) Come prepared to workshop student short stories/novel extracts Bring written comments on other students' work (if you've been assigned someone to do a written critique for this week)	In the workshop this week, one or more students will be scheduled to lead a class discussion on one of the week's e-brick readings. An essay on the same topic will be due two weeks after this seminar (see assessment item 2 for details) Written/verbal comments on other students' work due this week (see assessment item 3)
7	No lecture this week - Easter public holiday. Information on this topic will be available on Wattle for you to read prior to class. Lecture topic: Postmodernism Readings: Student pieces for workshopping this week Dave Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (extract) Workshop: Come prepared to discuss postmodernism and related readings (and to lead the discussion, if it's your scheduled seminar week) Come prepared to workshop student short stories/novel extracts Bring written comments on other students' work (if you've been assigned someone to do a written critique for this week)	In the workshop this week, one or more students will be scheduled to lead a class discussion on one of the week's e-brick readings. An essay on the same topic will be due two weeks after this seminar (see assessment item 2 for details) Written/verbal comments on other students' work due this week (see assessment item 3)
8	Lecture topic: Popular/Genre Fiction Readings: Student pieces for workshopping this week E.L. James, Fifty Shades of Grey (excerpt) Ken Gelder, "Popular Fiction: The Opposite of Literature.” (Chap. 1) in Popular Fiction: The Logics and Practices of a Literary Field. New York: Routledge, 2004. Pages 11-40. Workshop: Come prepared to discuss popular/genre fiction and related readings (and to lead the discussion, if it's your scheduled seminar week) Bring (or at least think about) your favourite work of popular/genre fiction Come prepared to workshop student short stories/novel extracts Bring written comments on other students' work (if you've been assigned someone to do a written critique for this week)	In the workshop this week, one or more students will be scheduled to lead a class discussion on one of the week's e-brick readings. An essay on the same topic will be due two weeks after this seminar (see assessment item 2 for details) Written/verbal comments on other students' work due this week (see assessment item 3)
9	Lecture Topic: Writing for Children and Young Adults Readings: Student pieces for workshopping this week Dav Pilkey, Captain Underpants (chapters 1, 2 and 3) John Green, The Fault in Our Stars (chapter 1) Workshop Come prepared to discuss children's/YA fiction and related readings (and to lead the discussion, if it's your scheduled seminar week) Bring (or at least think about) your favourite work of children's/YA fiction Come prepared to workshop student short stories/novel extracts Bring written comments on other students' work (if you've been assigned someone to do a written critique for this week)	In the workshop this week, one or more students will be scheduled to lead a class discussion on one of the week's e-brick readings. An essay on the same topic will be due two weeks after this seminar (see assessment item 2 for details) Written/verbal comments on other students' work due this week (see assessment item 3)
10	Lecture topic: The Writing and Editing Process Readings: Student pieces for workshopping this week Other readings tba Workshop: Come prepared to discuss this week's topic and related readings (and to lead the discussion, if it's your scheduled seminar week) Think about, and come prepared to share, your best tips and strategies for productive writing and effective editing Come prepared to workshop student short stories/novel extracts Bring written comments on other students' work (if you've been assigned someone to do a written critique for this week)	In the workshop this week, one or more students will be scheduled to lead a class discussion on one of the week's e-brick readings. An essay on the same topic will be due two weeks after this seminar (see assessment item 2 for details) Written/verbal comments on other students' work due this week (see assessment item 3)
11	Lecture topic: Publishing and the Marketplace Readings: Student pieces for workshopping this week Workshop: Come prepared to discuss this week's topic Come prepared to workshop student short stories/novel extracts Bring written comments on other students' work (if you've been assigned someone to do a written critique for this week)	Written/verbal comments on other students' work due this week (see assessment item 1)
12	No lecture this week – Reconciliation Day public holiday Readings: No readings this week Workshop: Bring your portfolio as it currently stands for some final (informal) workshopping and feedback

Tutorial Registration

Workshop registration is required, via Wattle

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Fiction Portfolio	60 %	05/06/2019	19/06/2019	1,2,5
Seminar and Essay	25 %	01/01/2029	01/02/2029	3,5
Written and Oral Comments on Peers’ Work	15 %	01/01/2029	01/02/2029	4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website. Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Your attendance and participation in all workshops is crucial for the development of your fiction and your understanding of editing practices. For that reason, students are required to attend all workshops; attendance will be recorded. If you know you will have difficulty attending all classes, please discuss your situation with the lecturer. If you think you will miss more than three workshops, you may be unable to receive a pass mark for the course.

Attendance at lectures is also highly recommended. Students who attend lectures and engage with the reading material receive higher marks for the course than students who miss lectures or listen to recordings online. While I acknowledge that the lecture format can be tedious, I will endeavour to encourage participation and engagement.

If your overall mark is on a grade border (i.e. between pass and credit or credit and distinction), your situation will be regarded more favourably if you have regularly attended and contributed to lectures.

Workshop attendance is compulsory. If you miss more than three workshops you may be unable to complete the course.

Assessment Task 1

Fiction Portfolio

Details of task:

Drafts

• At two points in the semester (March 6 and April 15) you are required to hand in a draft version of a story or a novel extract, which will be workshopped in class, revised, and submitted as part of your final portfolio.
• These drafts should be between 1000 and 3000 words (for your final portfolio, you will have a word limit of 4000 words for the two pieces combined).
• You can write genre fiction, children's or YA fiction, if you like.
• The drafts themselves are not graded.
• Submit via Wattle, preferably as a Word document. Include your surname in the title of the file.
• If you do not want your work to be available electronically, please email it to me or give me a hard copy. In your email, let me know that you would prefer other students to receive it in hard copy only.
• We may not have time to discuss assignments which are handed in late (especially those submitted more than a week late) in class.

Final portfolio

Value: 60%

Due Date: 5th June, by 11.55 p.m., via Wattle

(Late work will incur a penalty of 5% per working day)

Your portfolio should contain:

1. Final versions of 2 stories or 2 chapters from a novel, or 1 story and 1 chapter. Word count: 3000-4000 words
2. At least one draft version of each story or chapter.
3. A brief summary of the changes you have made to your work, the rationale behind your changes and your influences.

Presentation:

• Typed, 12 point font (Times New Roman is preferable), 1.5-spaced
• Correctly formatted.
• You should include page numbers.
• If you have drawn on published work, or referred to or adapted an existing story, you must include a bibliography in MLA or Chicago style.

Assessment:

• You will be assessed primarily on how your fiction has developed since it was workshopped. To obtain a credit or above, you must substantially revise your stories. If you are uncertain about how to do this, please consult me.
• If you are submitting two stories, they are expected to be in different styles or genres. If you are including two sections from a novel, try to choose sections that demonstrate the range of your abilities as a writer.
• The marking rubric will be available via Wattle

Assessment Task 2

Seminar and Essay

Details of Task:

As part of your assessment for Engl 2078, you will choose one story or novel excerpt from the readings available through Wattle and devise three questions to ask the class about it. You will also moderate the discussion for approximately 15 minutes of one workshop. Your aim is to provoke discussion, like a tutor.

This enables you to test your ideas and encourages you to think about how you can use published work to develop your own prose. An essay about the story/novel extract will be due two weeks after your seminar.

Part One: Seminar

The seminar is not assessed.

It is advisable to do some research into the piece you have selected and the author before your seminar. This will be helpful for your essay.

It is also advisable to read the essay questions and make a tentative decision about which question you plan to answer. This may help you to think about which questions would be most useful for you to ask.

Before your seminar, think of three questions that will be useful to you when you write your essay. These questions can be provocative, or could address parts of the works you are having trouble interpreting.

Sample questions might be:

Which images in the excerpt from The House of the Spirits would you consider ‘magical realist’? Why?

If you were going to try to imitate the writing in Saunders’ ‘Sea Oak’, which aspects of the writing would you try to focus on and emulate?

i.e. the questions can be quite informal.

Seminars are expected to last no longer than 15 minutes. You may give a short introduction to the story or poem, but the emphasis should be on asking questions and provoking discussion.

If you fail to attend your scheduled seminar (and don’t give prior notification), you will lose 5% from your essay mark. If for some reason you are unable to give your seminar as planned, please notify me in advance and we can reschedule it.

Part Two: Essay

Due: Two weeks after the seminar on your chosen poem/story by 11:55 p.m. via Wattle.

Stories and novel excerpts are to be selected from the readings available through Wattle.

Weighting: 25%

Length: 1000-1500 words

Presentation: Typed, 12 point font (Times New Roman is preferable), 1.5 spacing

You must include a bibliography. Further guidelines for presentation and formulation of a bibliography are available through wattle and under ‘Referencing Requirements’ below.

See the “Course Readings Bibliography” on Wattle for the full reference to the relevant story.

Estimated Return Date: 4 weeks after submission

Choose ONE of the following questions:

1. Essay question of your choice on a text selected from the readings on wattle. Please discuss your proposed essay question with your lecturer.
2. Compare and contrast two stories in the brick, in terms of their formal qualities and/or genre. As part of your answer, reflect on your own work’s location with respect to one or both of these stories.
3. Research and discuss the influence of one writer on another writer in the reading brick, in terms of the story’s formal qualities and/or genre. To what extent has your work for this course been affected by your reading of one or both of these writers?
4. Research and discuss the intertextual references in a text available via wattle. To what extent is intertextuality integral to the story or excerpt, and to what degree has it inflected the story’s form or genre?
5. Research and discuss the cultural context for a text available via wattle. To what extent are debates which were contemporaneous with the work’s production legible in its formal qualities (such as its characterisation, narrative, or figurative language, for example)?
6. Write a 500-word creative piece which is an imitation or parody of one of the readings available via wattle. Then, write a 500-1000 word justification of the formal and stylistic choices you have made when parodying or imitating the published story. Utilise critical scholarship in your answer.

Late Work will incur a penalty of 5% per day, excluding weekends.

I may not have time to write comments on late work.

The assessment Rubric for the essay will be available via wattle.

Assessment Task 3

Written and Oral Comments on Peers’ Work

From week 3, student stories will be available through wattle. Students read up to 5 stories each week, annotate them and bring at least a paragraph of comments in hard copy to each workshop.

Across the course of the semester, students will be assigned 7 pieces by other students to write written critiques for. Critiques should be about half a page to a page in length, preferably typed, and can include in-text edits (eg. with Track Changes). Students must also participate in the discussion of all students’ work.

?Written comments on other students’ writing will not be accepted late. Comments need to be submitted in the workshop in which a student’s work is under discussion. If you are unable to attend a workshop, it is preferable for you to bring your comments one week early. Comments submitted one week late will receive half marks. Comments submitted more than one week late will not be graded.

Value: Written Comments: 10%

Oral Comments: 5%

Comments may focus on:

1. Strengths of the work
2. Issues of clarity/ grammar / language/ presentation
3. Structure, Characterization, Plot
4. Dialogue, Scene description
5. Relationship of work to writing of a similar style and genre
6. If part of a novel: relationship of chapter to the rest of the novel
7. Perceived authorial intentions for the work
8. Suggestions for development

Assessment criteria for Written Comments on Peers’ Work

Your written comment on student work for a particular week should be provided in hard copy. It will be checked as ‘complete’ (1) or ‘incomplete’ (0) each week to generate your grade for this assessment (i.e. you can receive 100%).

Students must attend the workshop in which their work is scheduled to be discussed, or inform the tutor if unable to attend. Failure to attend or give prior notification will affect your mark for ‘Written and Oral Comments on Peers’ Work’.

Students, or the lecturer, will hand over comments to the student whose work has been discussed.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with. The University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

Marks and comments on essays and the portfolio will be returned via Wattle.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Students will not be able to re-submit essays or portfolios.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students