Course Syllabus

Course Information

Creating Novels
HUAS 6351.501

Professor Contact Information

Lecturer: Tony Daniel

darkestcoffee@gmail.com
Cell: (214) 677-5750
Office: Jonsson 5.109
Hours: 5:15 to 5:45 Wednesdays
Please make an appointment

Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions

Graduate standing in Arts and Humanities, or permission from instructor.

Course Description

In this course, you’re going to propose a novel, outline it, then write the first portion of it.
Everything we do will be directed toward each student turning out a minimum number of
words each week of sufficient quality to have the opening section of a novel in the
making by term’s end. We’ll discuss the elements of fiction – character, plot, setting,
voice, tone, theme, etc. – as a means to the end of writing. We’ll write outlines and
proposals. In addition to issues of art and craft, we’ll also touch on the business of
writing.

The class period will usually be divided into two segments, and both will be highly
participatory. We’ll normally begin with talk and discussion, then workshop individual
writing. Students will be required to make copies of their work at their own expense for
distribution to the class, so budget that in and become friendly with the UTD print shop (if
you haven’t already). Student attendance and preparation are necessary for the class to
function, so expect to spend several weekly hours outside of class reading the work of
others as well as writing your own fiction. With sufficient engagement, the course
should prove an excellent tool for the journeyman fiction writer to use to improve his or
her work and reach a new plateau on his or her professional path.

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Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

Learning Objective and Outcome Overview

The course will revolve around students writing steadily, working this writing into novel
chapters during the whole of the term and, by term’s end, amalgamating this raw
material into the opening portion of a novel. Students will be expected to have written
20,000 to 25,000 words of a book by the end of the term, with a minimum of 15,000 to
pass. This may sound like an enormous task, but it is really well within your reach. In
order to produce the amount of words required, a good strategy is to write about five
hundred words a day during a five-day week. Saving one’s “weekly words” up until the
night before class is not a good strategy. While professional fiction writers have many
methods to obtain production from themselves, the “slow and steady” approach is one
with which every budding fiction writer should experiment – and this term will be your
chance to do so.

You will be expected to write a minimum of 2,500 words each week. That’s about ten
double-spaced pages. In addition, you’ll turn in several revised drafts of different novel
chapters over the course of the term after workshopping them with the class. Here’s the
grading breakdown:

• 70% original work.

• 25% critique of the work of others.
• 5% writing exercises.

70 % ORIGINAL WORK, INCLUDING:

35 % MINIMUM WORD REQUIREMENT

• 2,500 minimum words per week. No maximum. These by no means have to be

polished and complete works, but had better not be “I can’t think of anything to
write” set down 358 times). It also must be fiction, not a journal entry, or
personal essay.

o Late doesn’t count.

o Partials do count in 500-word increments. Round down.
o Unless this is a completed story for workshopping, you only need to print
these out for the instructor, not the entire class.
o Minimum wordage submissions should be formatted like a chapter
submission, with a title and your by-line (see below).

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 If your weekly words are an addition to a chapter you’ve been working on,
print out the entire chapter (so I can follow the story so far) and indicate
where the new wordage begins in this by centering on its own line just before
the newest addition in this manner:

((X,XXX NEW WORDS))

o I’m quite good at estimating wordage at a glance, so don’t cheat the

margins in hope that I won’t notice.
o Remember, only the instructor will see your weekly words, so don’t panic
if you have a block that week and they are not your most stellar work.
o Your weekly words will not be graded other than for word count (unless
they are wildly unrelated to what you’re working on), and I may or may not
comment on them.

WHY THE SEEMINGLY ARBITRARY QUANTITY REQUIREMENT?

Why not, instead, concentrate on a single silver bullet opening chapter all term long?
Isn’t quality far more important than quantity?

Of course it is. There are two answers. First, the course is not geared toward producing
immediately publishable work. It is intended to make you a better writer by pushing you
on your weaknesses and working to further develop your strengths. Second, more than
one highly-regarded writer has noted that it often takes one million words, or a war, in
order to get good and to be able to summon one’s talent on command. Let us avoid
going into battle and concentrate on getting the requisite writing under our belts.

THE WEEKLY WORDAGE EXCEPTIONS

On weeks when you:

• Turn in first draft of a novel chapter: no weekly words needed.

• Turn in revised draft of workshopped chapter: Counts as 1,500 words. 1,000
more weekly words (about four pages) needed. HINT: a good way to start your
next chapter.

35% REVISED DRAFTS

• To be turned in over the course of the term, usually the week following its
workshop critique. Exceptions can be arranged for works over 6,500 words in
length.

• REMEMBER: Revised drafts count 1,500 words toward your 2,500 weekly
words. You still have to do 1,000 additional words (about four pages) for the
weeks on which you turn in a revised draft.

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THE FIRST DRAFT CHAPTER FOR WORKSHOP

• These must be photocopied and distributed to the class the week prior to
workshopping. You are responsible for photocopying enough for everyone!
• Although first drafts aren’t evaluated as part of your grade, in order to get to a
revised draft -- which is -- you obviously have to have had a chapter
workshopped the week before. The whole point of the instructor’s not grading
first drafts is for you to turn something in without feeling it must be at an
advanced stage of completion.
• We will establish a schedule for individual chapter due dates at the first class
meeting.
• In general, expect to turn in a chapter every two to three weeks – or, if you have
very short chapters, two or three to total about 3,000 to 5,000 words at a shot.
• At the end of the term, you will be required to have written a minimum of
15,000 words of a novel. Shoot for 20,000 to 25,000 words. (In case you
were wondering, novels often average 100,000 words or so, so I want you to
have written a draft for one fifth to one quarter of your book.)

FORMAT FOR CHAPTERS

• All novel chapters should be double-spaced and presented in twelve point

Courier or Times New Roman type. Please avoid ten point type.
• Right hand margin should be unjustified and set at 6.5 inches.
• Center, italicize and bold title (Example: Chapter 1 of The Vanilla River). Center
your by-line under it. Triple-space and begin story.
• Indent paragraph first sentences, and do not triple- or quadruple-space between
paragraphs. This is neither a business document nor an academic report.
• Pages should be numbered in some non-handwritten fashion.
• Stories or novel chapters should be stapled or paper-clipped.
• Photocopies may not be double-sided.
• Everything must be crisp and legible.
• Be sure that all grammatical inconsistencies and misspelled words are deliberate
on your part.

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ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Chapters probably should be, but are not required to be, developed from your
2,500 weekly words.
• Turning in a novel chapter for workshopping counts as your weekly wordage for
that week -- unless it is merely a slight reworking of previous work and obviously
didn’t require much additional effort. I’ll know. If so, then treat it as a revision
and turn in an additional 1,000 weekly words (about four pages).

25% CRITIQUE OF OTHERS

We’ll discuss how to workshop the fiction of others in some detail. Here are three
important things to remember:

THE WORKSHOP

• Look for what the other person is trying to do with his or her story, and help
him or her do it better. Do no ask another writer to rewrite or re-conceive his
or her work as you would have written it.

• When you critique the work of others, you are teaching yourself how to write
better. By dissecting somebody else’s fiction, you are learning how to take a
more objective editorial eye to your own. Every moment you spend critiquing
another’s fiction, however disagreeably bad or brilliant you may think that
work to be, is simultaneously time well-spent developing your own work.

• Workshopping is a proven method that has turned out many fine professional
writers – many of whom swear by it. Sounds perhaps like the promise of a
weight loss program, but if you thoroughly engage yourself the process has a
multiplying effect that can take years off the time it will take you to develop as
a professional writer.

5% WRITING EXERCISES

These will often be individually determined, and some will be timed and in-class. The
exercises may include: structural imitation exercises, paragraph transition development,
work in other styles than your own, and, generally, exercises aimed at the development
of the various building blocks of fictional narrative.

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FURTHER NOTES ON GRADING AND EVALUATION

• Obviously, you cannot pass the course without turning in completed revised
drafts. How many will depend on how long your novel chapters turn out to be. I’ll
expect an average of three to five works from each student.

• There is no penalty, and every opportunity, for you to write more than is required.
We’ll all read it. But a caution: finishing what you start is far more important than
indiscriminate production. And working to improve your craft is what the course
is all about, and the main factor upon which your grade will be based. All other
considerations, however laudable, should be secondary.

Required Textbooks and Materials

• Characters and Viewpoint, Orson Scott Card

• Aspects of the Novel, E.M. Forster
• The Writing of Fiction, Edith Wharton
• On Writing, Stephen King

NOTE: Students are required to make legible photocopies of their first draft stories or
chapters at their own expense for distribution to the class.

Assignments & Academic Calendar

• Chapters due per individual timetable. 3-5 of average length should be the goal.
• Revised drafts usually due week following that story’s workshop critique.
• Last class: April 23. Class will be held. No exam.

Grading Policy

Grading Summary

• 70% original work.

o 35% weekly words
o 35% revised chapter drafts
• 25% workshop critique of the work of others.
• 5% writing exercises.

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Weekly Wordage Summary

2,500 words due at the beginning of class each week. Exceptions:

0 words due when turning in strongly reworked first draft for subsequent workshop.
1,000 words due when turning in a slightly reworked first draft for workshop.
1,000 words due when turning in a story or chapter revision after workshop.

Partials do count on weekly words, so get in as much as possible each week. Word
count is in 500 word increments. Round down.

Course & Instructor Policies

Instilling steady production is a major goal of the course, so late weekly wordage does
not count. Weekly words are also how attendance is taken. Again, partials do count on
weekly words, so get in as much as possible each week. Word count is in 500 word
increments. Round down.

Attendance is not mandatory, but missing a three-hour class without an excuse will
obviously substantially lower your grade.

Instructor is available for individual consultation during office hours. Please try to make
an appointment.

There are no exams.

Plagiarism or aiding and abetting plagiarism is impossible to get away with in a fiction
writing course. Violators will be shamed on national television by Oprah. Plagiarism is,
in fact, serious business and will result in severe academic disciplinary action (see
below).

IMPORTANT: On the last day of class, please provide me with a self-addressed

envelope stamped with the appropriate postage (weigh envelope and story together on a
postal scale and affix the right amount of stamps to make it first class) so that I can
return you final submissions with notes. Information on how to figure postage can be
found at: http://postcalc.usps.gov/.

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Field Trip Policies
Off-campus Instruction and Course Activities

Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to state law and
University policies and procedures regarding travel and risk-related activities. Information
regarding these rules and regulations may be found at the website address
http://www.utdallas.edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm. Additional information is
available from the office of the school dean. Below is a description of any travel and/or risk-
related activity associated with this course.

Student Conduct & Discipline

The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules and regulations
for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It is the responsibility of each student and
each student organization to be knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern
student conduct and activities. General information on student conduct and discipline is contained
in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all registered students each academic
year.

The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the procedures of
recognized and established due process. Procedures are defined and described in the Rules and
Regulations, Board of Regents, The University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3, and
in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities of the university’s Handbook of Operating
Procedures. Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the
Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and
regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).

A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities of citizenship.
He or she is expected to obey federal, state, and local laws as well as the Regents’ Rules,
university regulations, and administrative rules. Students are subject to discipline for violating the
standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place on or off campus, or whether civil or
criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct.

Academic Integrity

The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty. Because
the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the
student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual
honor in his or her scholastic work.

Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to
applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as one’s own work or
material that is not one’s own. As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the
following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records. Students
suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from any other
source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the university’s policy on plagiarism (see

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 general catalog for details). This course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the
web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.

Email Use

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of communication between
faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At the same time, email raises some issues
concerning security and the identity of each individual in an email exchange. The university
encourages all official student email correspondence be sent only to a student’s U.T. Dallas email
address and that faculty and staff consider email from students official only if it originates from a
UTD student account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in the
identity of all individual corresponding and the security of the transmitted information. UTD
furnishes each student with a free email account that is to be used in all communication with
university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method
for students to have their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.

Withdrawal from Class

The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any college-level courses.
These dates and times are published in that semester's course catalog. Administration procedures
must be followed. It is the student's responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any
class. In other words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork
to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not to attend the
class once you are enrolled.

Student Grievance Procedures

Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities,
of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures.

In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or other fulfillments
of academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student first to make a serious effort to
resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor, administrator, or committee with whom the
grievance originates (hereafter called “the respondent”). Individual faculty members retain
primary responsibility for assigning grades and evaluations. If the matter cannot be resolved at
that level, the grievance must be submitted in writing to the respondent with a copy of the
respondent’s School Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the written response provided by the
respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is not
resolved by the School Dean’s decision, the student may make a written appeal to the Dean of
Graduate or Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint and convene an Academic
Appeals Panel. The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is final. The results of the academic
appeals process will be distributed to all involved parties.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of
Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and
regulations.

Incomplete Grade Policy

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed at
the semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete grade
must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the
required work to complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the
specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F.

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Disability Services

The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational opportunities
equal to those of their non-disabled peers. Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the
Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and
Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:

The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)

Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable adjustments
necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. For example, it may be necessary
to remove classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides) for
students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment requirement may be substituted (for example,
a research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is hearing impaired). Classes
enrolled students with mobility impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities.
The college or university may need to provide special services such as registration, note-taking, or
mobility assistance.

It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such an
accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to present to faculty members
to verify that the student has a disability and needs accommodations. Individuals requiring special
accommodation should contact the professor after class or during office hours.

Religious Holy Days

The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other required activities for
the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a religion whose places of worship are
exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.

The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as possible regarding
the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment. The student, so excused, will be allowed to
take the exam or complete the assignment within a reasonable time after the absence: a period
equal to the length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who notifies the
instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not be penalized for the absence. A
student who fails to complete the exam or assignment within the prescribed period may receive a
failing grade for that exam or assignment.

If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for the purpose of
observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement about whether the student has
been given a reasonable time to complete any missed assignments or examinations, either the
student or the instructor may request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the institution, or
his or her designee. The chief executive officer or designee must take into account the legislative
intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief
executive officer or designee.

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.

Course Syllabus Page 10