STORY

Course Syllabus: ATEC 6342.501

MECHANICS OF STORY
Course Information
SPECIAL TOPICS: “MECHANICS OF STORY”
Course: ATEC 6342.501 Day/Time: MONDAY 7:00 PM - 9:45 PM Room: ATEC 1.103
Class Blog: writerscurtain.blogspot.com
Professor Contact Information
Dr. Adam Brackin – 214-354-6161 (leave a message and I will call you back asap!)
albrackin@gmail.com (alb032000@utdallas.edu)
[ATEC 1.602] I share office space with Dean Terry.
I am available MON from 10:00 - 12:00 & 1:15 - 3:45, and by appointment WED (and at other times).

Course Description
Students must be actively enrolled in or officially auditing this class in order to attend it due to UTD policy, fire code, and very
real seating restrictions. When you consider the millennia of storytelling that comprise our literary tradition, it is easy to
feel overwhelmed by the shadow of so many works. But there are common threads that link all stories--from Beowulf and
Hamlet to Gone With the Wind and The Godfather to the story you are drafting right now in your head. These threads form
the foundation that supports story whether you are writing a novel, a memoir, screenplay, video game, or other "Alternate
Reality" world. This class explores both historically traditional storytelling models and new models which require
recognition of the balance of aesthetic story and mechanics within new media storytelling. Topics include linear and non-
linear storytelling methods across multimedia and trans-media methods of delivery with a focus on 1) reading/viewing/
playing stories, 2) critical analysis of storytelling mechanics in various works, 3) creating and publishing original student
works using the most modern and appropriate new-media methods such as social networking tools. We will examine a
range of topics, including storytelling in a multiplayer environment; narrative techniques for a 3,000,000-page novel;
continuity (or the impossibility of it) in pervasive fictional worlds; managing multiple intertwined narratives; the spatial
experience of virtual worlds; Emergent adventure texts created by designers and fans; and the serial storytelling, among
many other essential insights into how fictions are constructed and maintained in very different forms of media through to
the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

Students will examine the range of media available for storytelling. Students will learn to think critically about various
storytelling issues and gain exposure to seminal examples of various writers and researchers in the field. Students will
also learn how to critique and analyze new media forms, and how to present this critical review in ways that are
appropriate to the ever-evolving genre. Students will engage in discussion and debate with each other and with
developers in the field where appropriate through a class blog. Finally, students will create original IP in various classic
and new media formats to demonstrate a fluency and proficiency in the above concepts.

Required Textbooks and Materials

The Hero with a Thousand Faces
by Joseph Campbell (Hardcover), New World Library, (July 28, 2008) 1577315936

The Art And Craft Of Storytelling: A Comprehensive Guide to Classic Writing Techniques
by Nancy Lamb (Paperback) F&W Media, Inc., (December 15, 2008) 1582975590

The Hero’s Journey

by Harold Bloom (Hardcover), Facts On File, Inc. (January 30, 2009) 0791098036

Third Person: Authoring and Exploring Vast Narratives

by Pat Harrigan (Hardcover) MIT Press (May 29, 2009) 0262232634

Quests: Design, Theory, and History in Games and Narratives

by Jeff Howard (Paperback), A K Peters Ltd (February 26, 2008) 156881347

(And selected short readings online and given in class as well as various selections from the book list - TBD.)

Course Syllabus Page 1

Assignments & Academic Calendar
Students will complete reading assignments throughout the semester followed by group discussion and individual analysis
as a part of a class blog as a part of a daily participation grade. Students will turn in five additional deliverables throughout
the semester: first by keeping a DAILY Story Journal, which will be supplemented by various WEEKLY Story Drills, then
by reading and critically analyzing a story example through a Critical Analysis (and Presentation) and finally creating an
Original Intellectual Property Story in an appropriate (new) media genre.

(Course requirements or due-dates may be amended or changed; such changes will be given in writing, with sufficient advance notice for completion.)

A more detailed description of the weekly reading assignments and other requirements will be posted each week on the
Class Blog: http://writerscurtain.blogspot.com/ Note: Case Studies are tentative and subject to change as “new media”
never stops – especially for academics such as ourselves.

WK 01: Jan 10 - Course introduction and expectations & Why STORY / What is “MECHANICS of STORY?”
*** Jan 17 - MLK, NO CLASS ***
WK 02: Jan 24 - Monomyth – Part 1
WK 03: Jan 31 - Monomyth – Part 2
WK 04: Feb 7 - Contextual Story
WK 05: Feb 14 - (D1 DUE) Non-Linear and Interactive Story – Part 1
WK 06: Feb 21 - Non-Linear, and Interactive Story – Part 2
WK 07: Feb 28 - Multi-Linear and Ergodic Literature – Part 1
WK 08: Mar 7 - (D2 DUE) Multi-Linear and Ergodic Literature – Part 2
*** Mar 14 - SPRING BREAK, NO CLASS ***
WK 09: Mar 21 - Character / CASE STUDY 1
WK 10: Mar 28 - Plot & Conflict / CASE STUDY 2
WK 11: Apr 4 - Setting / CASE STUDY 3
WK 12: Apr 11 - Point of View / CASE STUDY 4
WK 13: Apr 18 - Theme & Tone / CASE STUDY 5
WK 14: Apr 25 - (D3 DUE) Presentations I
WK 15: May 2 - (D4 & D5 DUE) Presentations II

Attendance and Grading Policy

Students will be expected to attend ALL classes unless you have a special circumstance in which case you MUST contact
me in advance by phone or email. A student who misses more than one class session or misses without approval will be
required to do an additional project or have their grade dropped by one letter. Late work will be dropped by one letter
grade (10 points) for each week it is late. No Exceptions!

There are five deliverables for this class NOT including any weekly homework or small assignments which will count
towards the student’s daily (attendance) participation grade. This class will be graded on a standard 10 point grading
scale for all deliverables. Grade weights will be determined as follows:

Weekly Attendance / Class & Blog Participation --------------- 15% of total grade
D1: Critical Analysis --------------------------------------------------- 10% of total grade
D2: Comparative Analysis / Presentation ------------------------ 15% of total grade
D3: Original IP Story / Presentation-------------------------------- 25% of total grade
D4: Daily Story Journal (Begins Jan 10) ------------------------- 20% of total grade
D5: Weekly Story Drills (Begins Jan 10) ------------------------- 15% of total grade

This class relies heavily on discussion and class participation, and a high level of professionalism and good citizenship is
expected. Attention should be given to the speaker at all times and respect shown as expected within the university
classroom environment. Appropriate multi-tasking is permitted only so long as it does not interfere with the high
expectations described above. This DOES NOT include personal use of the lab computers, social media sites, games, etc
unless directly related to instruction at that moment. Any student who attends all classes, completes all coursework on
time, and whose deliverables all meet the high standards expected of a UTD grad student, will receive an A in this course.

UT Dallas Syllabus Policies and Procedures

The information found at the following link constitutes the University's policies and procedures segment of course syllabi.
Be aware that all information contained at this link are considered to be fully a part of this syllabus herein without
exception as if it were printed below. http://provost.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies/

Course Syllabus Page 2