Welcome to Worldbuilding: Fantasy.

As your instructor, it is my job to instruct and foster growth in your creative writing skills as well as condition your brain to think like a fantasy writer. As a student in an elective course, it is your job to complete class material on time, respect everyone and thing involved in that process, and take yourself seriously as a scholar.

Grades:

This course automatically allows you to reassess any assignment you actually hand in on time. This means that if you hand in Assignment I on time and score a 60%, then on Assignment II you handed in on time, you score a 90%, your grade goes up to a 90%. In this way, students can focus on improving their craft piece by piece, skill by skill and not have early drafts reflected in their current capabilities at the end of the semester. It will instead, reflect their approach to mastery of the standards included in the course.

So that students are encouraged to also apply practical self-management skills and professional discipline necessary in nearly every profession, student's grades will also reflect a portion from a professionalism rubric given to them at the beginning of the course. It includes basic professional practices expected in real-world writing jobs as well most professions in the world such as meeting deadlines, being on time and prepared, respecting peers and handling conflict, and accepting feedback on their work with an understanding that it's there to assist them to mastery. I take every draft seriously, despite my normally-joking personality, and truly believe that every student can write creatively if given the application and challenge to work within a professional atmosphere that takes their creativity seriously.

Any student who shows up on time, ready to at least engage in class, and takes themselves seriously as a creator is bound to get an A. I have yet to be disproven.

Tl;dr - Stop worrying about your grade and do your work. Have fun, and don't be a bummer.

Assignments

We will often participate by posting a written response on a discussion thread. We will practice that here in a moment.

Discussions have a due date and anything posted after the due date will not be graded since that material will be needed in some way for the next assignment. Posts that sound too similar to others or who don't add anything to the discussion that hasn't already been said will not score on the rubric per the 0 scale being "no new information or view". So the earlier you respond, the more ideas there are to choose from. Try to keep your responses under the maximum limit given.

Writing assignments are like the climax of a story on a basic plot diagram. They are the summative that will rock your grade or roll it, but they are also your chance at redemption. If your early work scores low, don't fret. You're being graded the same way you will be at the end of the course because the standard for good writing doesn't change-- but you will!

The major writing assignments are your chance to show off what you understand about worldbuilding as we progress, and when you improve, your grade will be changed to reflect it rather than having early writing factored into a grade that is supposed to reflect your grasp of the concepts at the end of the semester.

And just like a basic plot diagram, there is some resolution! Some chance to reflect on your piece as we "artfully edit" --an often overlooked piece of worldbuilding.

In all honesty, I'm sorry you got stuck with the course. If you haven't already, try talking to the guidance office. I can only hope that this class can change your mind, as students aren't often given the freedom to write creatively. I can also tell you that I take the slow-in theory to heart and we do begin as if we've never written creatively before and sort of lean into it slowly, rather than jumping right in. This approach is the same as when someone begins a serious exercise regimen to ensure they don't burn out or get injured.

Wait, how do you know about that?