Course Description
Official Description: Directed investigation of advanced rhetorical and composition practices within a selected field or mode. May be repeated when topic varies. Prerequisite: 12 hours of English or permission of instructor. Three lecture hours a week.
Credits: 3
Semester: Fall 2019
Unofficial Course Description: As Joyce Carol Oates suggests in her introduction to The Faith of a Writer, we don’t believe there are set principles by which every writer should write by. We do want to acknowledge, however, that there are character strengths that outfit writers to weather the storms of isolation and doubt that even the most talented writers face.
PILLAR I
FAITH
“How to attain a destination is always more intriguing (involving, as it does, both ingenuity and labor) than what the destination finally is,” says Oates (63). Writing is a great act of faith. At every stage in the process, there is hoping, wishing, regretting, and simultaneous fulfillment. The faith of any writer can die many little deaths inasmuch as it can witness many little resurrections. How do you nurture your faith as a writer?
PILLAR III
STRATEGY
Strategy is attention to opportunity. Freelancers actively seek writing opportunities: to publish, to receive feedback, to build relationships with editors, to seize the moment, and much more. Rarely does an editor mention your impressive command of the English language to a friend in need of more qualified writers. You have to seek the work, and you have to do so with humility.
PILLAR II
WELLNESS
Writers tend to notice their bodies most in the throes of procrastination or poor health, but how often do we notice our bodies when the writing is going well? It takes health of mind, body, soul, and movement to feel this good in any creative endeavor. How do you synergize your wellness and your writing practices?
PILLAR IV
DISCIPLINE
It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Good writers pace themselves by setting schedules, accomplishing small tasks each day, and most importantly: completing what they start. Discipline is one of the first words careerist writers use to define their commitment to their craft. Not every day will be a good day, and sometimes discipline means getting it done; every day is an opportunity to show up and work.
Publications
We were delighted to have several students publish pieces they wrote for this class. Abigail Beard had a preview feature (PDF here) that was published in the Denton Record-Chronicle, and Margaret Nelson published a personal essay in The Mighty (PDF here). Click on the images below to be directed to these features.
Portfolios
For the final assignment in this course, we emphasized the pillar of strategy by discussing what self-promotion looks like in the twenty-first century, what tools help us find freelancing opportunities, and how digital portfolios can help specifically. The examples that follow were created by students in this course. Plamedie Ifasso's is especially thoughtful in its aim to be a disability-friendly platform. Click on the images below to explore.
Class Magazine
For our final exam sharing session, I asked each student to submit her, his, or their favorite piece written for this course .To view these pieces, click here or click the image to the left to download a copy of this file.
Please read the introduction for an explanation as to why some pieces appear differently, and note that all students featured in this magazine signed a non-exclusive rights contract before submitting their work.
Finally, if you have questions about this collection or this course, please email me at jhelliott@twu.edu. I am happy to discuss with you.