In order to become a surgeon, a person endures years of training, one cadaver, graduation, an internship with live (one hopes) patients, and finally, private practice. Becoming a skilled writer takes as many years as becoming a surgeon. However, there is no support for the process of becoming a writer. The emphasis is on the product. Writing can be taught. It is not a mysterious process. The basic and advanced principles of writing can be taught to anyone who demonstrates an aptitude for the work. True, there is genius, as there is in any field, but a competent individual can be turned into a fine craftsman, if not a blazing genius. Nowhere in the United States is there a program to train writers equivalent to medical school or that other worthy model, a music conservatory. There should be.
Language is the greatest resource of a culture. It is the repository of thought and the expression of dreams. No activity above the level of brute survival can be accomplished without language. When language is raised to the level of literature, one approaches heaven. Creating a program to develop writers is not a mere idyll for an English department. It is an act of cultural integrity.
What follows is an abbreviated model of a four-year program to form writers. What is not addressed here is aptitude tests and entrance requirements. This program starts at the point of student admission.
Each student is required to take Poetics 1A within the four-year span. Poets must complete all Poetics courses. They need not take the Technique courses with the exception of Technique 1A. All students must complete the Shakespeare series, outlined later, within their junior or senior years. So, poets take all the Poetics courses, which are rigorous training in all meters. Novelists, dramatists, and screenwriters must take all Technique courses. In the following breakdown, you will notice there are no nonfiction courses. Nonfiction is a journalistic instrument and not suitable for a true literary program.
FIRST YEAR, FIRST SEMESTER
| Latin 1: | If a student has had four years of Latin s/he may choose an elective instead. |
Anglo-Saxon
| Reading: | Support materials attached regarding this requirement. |
| Poetics 1A: | All poets start here but this course must be completed by every student. |
| Technique 1A: | Must be taken by everyone. Technique 1A involves close study of the current English word pool. Anglo-Saxon and Latin 1 are a necessity for full understanding of word choice and implication. |
Modern language of student’s choice
FIRST YEAR, SECOND SEMESTER
Latin 1B
Reading
| Poetics 1B: | Poets only. |
| Technique 1B: | All others. Focus on the difference between first person and third person in narrative. |
Modern language 1B
Elective
SECOND YEAR, FIRST SEMESTER
Latin 2A
Reading
| Poetics 2A: | Poets only. |
| Technique 2A: | All others. A careful examination of verbs, the constant tension between active voice and passive voice. Also, special emphasis will be centered on the lost subjunctive in English. By this time, each student will be struggling with the subjunctive in Latin. |
Modern language 2A
Elective
SECOND YEAR, SECOND SEMESTER
Latin 2B
Reading
| Poetics 2B: | Poets only. |
| Technique 2B: | All others. Students are now ready to consider the creation of character. Sex, race, and class must be considered here as well as idiosyncratic language. The author as hidden character must also be revealed, and this is sometimes quite a difficult topic. |
Modern language 2B
Elective
THIRD YEAR, FIRST SEMESTER
Latin 3A
Reading
| Poetics 3A: | Poets only. |
| Technique 3A: | All others. Advance character work. Field work is an exciting part of the advanced class. Students will be given specific character assignments. |
Modern language 3A
Elective
THIRD YEAR, SECOND SEMESTER
Latin 3B
Reading
| Poetics 3B: | Poets only. |
| Technique 3B: | All others. Students are now prepared for plot development. The basic plot lines will be studied. The effect of voice on plot will also be scrutinized. |
Modern language 3B
Elective
FOURTH YEAR, FIRST SEMESTER
Latin 4A
Reading
| Poetics 4A: | Poets only. If all meters have been mastered, this will be an independent study. |
| Technique 4A: | All others. Independent study. Student must be creating either a novel, a play, or a screenplay. |
Modem language 4A
Elective
FOURTH YEAR, SECOND SEMESTER
Latin 4B
Reading
| Poetics 4B: | Poets only. Independent study. |
| Technique 4B: | All others. Independent study. |
Modem language 4B
Elective
The plays of Shakespeare must be read and seen, if possible, in the order in which they were written. As BBC television has filmed the plays, it would be wonderful if the school had a library of those productions. It’s much more important for a writer to see the plays then to read them. Shakespeare is perfect for students, since he combines all the disciplines within his work. This course will take two semesters. It is strongly suggested but not required that the student also take a history course of the Elizabethan Era, so s/he knows what Shakespeare’s actual materials were.
ELECTIVES
Drama
Screenwriting
Publishing as an industry
Financial planning for writers
Nonfiction as a way to survive: This is not a true nonfiction course but rather a way to introduce students to markets that are not literary but which may help them support their literary work.
Greek and Roman literature
Literature courses from any non-English-speaking nation
Psychological survival for writers: Special attention will be given to substance abuse and to relationships with other people—people who are not creative.
It is hoped that some of these electives can be satisfied by the general college. It would not be within the scope of this program to hire people to teach, say, French literature.
The reading requirements are very simple: The student will read, in the order in which they were written, those works that are of permanent importance to the English language. Therefore the questions of style and content are paramount but only as the years go on. If you glance at the following reading list, you will see the early years are easy, since there is so little material. As publishing advances, more and more becomes available. I have culled what I think are the critical works but there is such a gargantuan body of literature written in the English language that my selections are bound to arouse debate. Also, I am weak in the areas of Australian, South African, and Canadian literature. While I have read authors of these nations, I just don’t have a perspective on the body of national work. So, please forgive me if you are Australian, South African, or Canadian. I hope to correct my lack of depth here over the next five years.
I do repeat, these works must be read in the order in which they were written. Only in this manner can the student fully appreciate the growth and the majesty of the English language.