ENGL 392 Syllabus

1. ENGL 392: Intermediate Fiction, Spring 2021
Tuesday & Thursday 11AM – 12:15PM
Zoom Class Meeting Link: https://uidaho.zoom.us/j/82784795350
Stephanie Hamilton
Email: stephanieh@uidaho.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 12:30PM – 2:00PM
Zoom Office Hours Link: https://uidaho.zoom.us/j/88482805628
This course builds on the foundations of narrative craft from English 290. You will write a story
from two of three fictional “worlds”: the Investigated—dramas of another time and/or place
(deeply outward investigation), or—in the here and now—dramas of obsessive expertise and
specialization (deeply inward investigation); the Fantastic—dramas of the impossible, the
speculative, the unreal; and the Real—dramas of the mundane and the everyday, the dramas of
the small. You will engage in intensive discussion and analysis of short stories. You will bring
everything to bear in your practice of fiction craft to convince your reader of the emotional and
experiential truth of your stories. The principle guiding your work this semester will be this: that
all drama—from the quotidian to the surreal—is grounded in the human and in the humane. In
other words, all stories are about people.
Required Texts
Tales of the New World by Sabina Murray, ISBN: 0802170838
A Collapse of Horses by Brian Evenson, ISBN: 1566894131
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, ISBN: 039592720X
Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft 10th
ed. by Janet Burroway, ISBN: 022661669X
Grading
The course is based on a standard grading scale (A = 90+, B = 80-89, C = 70=79, F = 69 or below),
and the percentage breakdown is as follows:
Annotated Bibliography 10%
Story #1 + Craft Reflection 20%
Story #2 or #3 + Craft Reflection 20%
Workshop Submission and Responses 25%
Contribution 25%
Annotated Bibliography (10%)
In preparation for Story #1, you will complete an annotated bibliography (10+ sources) on a topic
you’re investigating.
Story #1 + Craft Reflection (20%)
You will write an Investigated story (2000+ words) informed by extensive research into a topic of
your choice: historical, scientific, philosophical, etc. You will share your story in a small

2. workshop group for feedback. You will submit the story and a craft reflection (500+ words)
discussing craft choices you made in light of what you’ve learned about the Investigative genre.
Story #2 or #3 + Craft Reflection (20%)
You will write a Fantastic or Real story (2000+ words) and share your story in a small workshop
group for feedback. You will submit the story and a craft reflection (500+ words) discussing craft
choices you made in light of what you’ve learned about the Fantastic or Real genres. You only
need to choose one of these two genres to work in, but if you decide to write both Story #2 and
#3, I will only use the higher grade in the gradebook.
Workshop Submission and Responses (25%)
In the final few weeks of the semester, we will hold workshop sessions. You will sign up for a
workshop day and submit a story (3000+ words) for us to workshop. You will respond to each of
your classmate’s stories with a ~1-page, double-spaced workshop letter. To submit the workshop
letter, email it as an attachment to the author and cc me. If you don’t cc me, you won’t get
credit.
Contribution (25%)
In this class, you will discuss and analyze texts, complete writing exercises, and share your
writing with other writers. Active, informed contribution is crucial to your learning and our
enjoyment of this course. Have you completed and engaged with the readings and writing
exercises? Are you mentally present during class? Do you participate in discussion in a way that
is productive and respectful of your classmates?
To help foster engaging discussions, you will sign up to lead discussion about a piece of leisure
reading that has not been assigned in this class. You will provide a pdf or URL of the text to
share with the class before your discussion day so that we can all read the text in preparation.
You will introduce the work by placing it in context (is it part of a larger work?), explaining how
the author uses craft elements we’ve talked about in class, and posing questions for our
consideration. Your reading of choice may be a short story or an excerpt from a novel, and you
are welcome to choose from any genre. The text you choose must be published, either as a book
or in an established print or online journal.
Attendance
Attendance in this class is mandatory. You may miss two class meetings without penalty. Any
additional absences will result in a 5% reduction in your total grade. Absences count double on
workshop days. You may get one absence excused by viewing the Brian Evenson craft talk in
February.
Technology
For this class, you will need Zoom, Microsoft Word, and access to a camera and microphone. As
a full-time University of Idaho student, you can download Microsoft software at no cost. All
submissions must be .doc or .docx files. More information is available here:
https://support.uidaho.edu/TDClient/40/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=89