Course Expectations and Policies

I do think that a creative writing classroom should be fundamentally different than many other types of classrooms. There are few “experts” in creative writing that have the ability to transmit their craft to another- there are a lot of writers with differing levels of experience, understanding, and acceptance. As of this moment you are a playwright or screenwriter. Nothing magical. No rite of initiation. You just have no other choice for this semester. So I expect us to have mutual interests – developing our skills as writers and readers, honing our artistic senses, and creating scipts that are beautiful and profound.

I see these mutual interests as being different than some classes where teachers and students have competing interests. Everyone sees everyone else as an obstacle or a barrier or a proving ground. Just get through it and then… Unfortunately the grading system is a product (I think) of this mentality and we are forced (whatever that means) to employ it. So my idea is to try to separate our evaluations of each other’s work from the grading system, and simply rely on the grade system to provide extrinsic motivation to get the work done. (Because remember, the hardest part about being a writer is actually doing the writing.) So essentially if you do the writing (on time!), respond to your peers writing, attend a play and a movie, and read a few scripts– you’ll get an “A”. If you fail to turn in assignments, fail to read and respond to other’s work…you’ll get something less than an “A”.

Because we’ll be developing a common vocabulary as a community of writers and our responses to one another should be informed by previous conversations – attendance is mandatory. You may miss two class periods with no consequences; please reserve these skips for extreme cases like sickness or family emergencies. Your third skip will lower your overall grade a third of a letter grade. Each skip beyond your third skip will drop your grade another third of a letter grade.

Becoming a playwright demands that you become a truth – teller. Sometimes when you are responding to each other’s work telling the truth will be difficult. You are still responsible to tell the truth. But telling the truth means much more than being accurate and insightful in this class. Telling the truth means believing that there is truth in each other, and that our interactions may be just the thing to make that truth become more apparent. Respecting each other means appropriate words, helpful words, encouraging words, honest words; it also means pushing each other to think harder. You can and should question each other’s writing and the things that are said in class; but questioning is a big responsibility. You should work to make sure that your questions and input always builds up the other people in the class. Our dialogue must proceed with a great optimism about what each of us are going to become.

The destiny of scripts predetermines their format. Just as you wouldn’t think of sending a handwritten resume & you know full well that people do not exchange 5 x 11 business cards, you should have a working knowledge of the industry standards that professionals expect. All scripted projects must be typed and properly formatted. I am asking you to use CELTX software (a simple way of learning industry formats for stage and screenplays). We will discuss CELTX on the first day of class.

You may contact me using my office phone number x.8523. I prefer that you email me at arudd at malone dot edu (I only check the scriptwriting account for assignments and not as regularly. You may sign up for my office hours using the course google calendar for appointments.

Because playwrights and screenwriters should occasionally venture out of their holes to visit the theater, I will expect you to go to some plays and see some movies. The class will go to a play and a movie together. We will also read the scripts for these works together. Attendance and reading are mandatory.

Of course academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Any form of plagiarism, cheating, or unethical “sharing” will be dealt with according to the student handbook, and will be reported to the academic Dean. In a creative writing class, though, cheating would be more difficult than just doing your own work. But I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that…