Creative Writing (English) develops skills at CEFR level C1/C2. Whether interested in journalism, marketing, or serious literary writing, students will develop and hone their writing and editing skills, and learn how to utilize creative writing and storytelling to communicate meaning and appeal to larger audiences.
Objectives are as follows:
1. To demonstrate a practical and critical knowledge of the techniques of fiction/creative nonfiction, poetry, and screenwriting;
2. To develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of the relevant genres;
3. To improve writing and editing skills through the process of writing, workshopping, and revising original creative work;
4. To learn how to find markets and submit their work for publication.
Creative Writing (English) explores the genres of fiction/creative nonfiction, poetry, and screenwriting.
Students are required to:
1. Rread, analyze, and discuss selected short stories, poems, and screenplays from established authors;
2. Compose and submit original, initial drafts of fiction/creative nonfiction, poetry, and screenwriting in the standard accepted format for peer review in writing workshops;
3. Read, markup, and edit their colleagues’ manuscripts for in-class critique;
4. Actively participate in the writing process and workshops;
5. Submit a portfolio of revised, final drafts at the end of the semester.
Students also learn how to find markets and submit their work for publication.
The majority of classes are writing workshops (involving peer review of student work) in which editing and writing skills are honed. Students then revise initial drafts of their work based upon the recommendations of their peers and instructor. Individual conferences with the instructor help to guide the revision process. The remaining classes involve analyses of the techniques of fiction, poetry, and screenwriting. Students develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of the relevant forms and respective techniques by reading, analyzing, and discussing selected short stories, poems, and screenplays from established authors.
Boisseau, Michelle, Hadara Bar-nadav, and Robert Wallace. Writing Poems. 8th ed. New Jersey: Longman, 2011.
Burroway, Janet, Elizabeth Stuckey-French, and Ned Stuckey-French. Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft. New Jersey: Longman, 2010.
Field, Syd. Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting. New York: Bantam Doubleday, 1994.
Hemley, Robin. Turning Life Into Fiction. Ohio: Story Press, 1994.
Hugo, Richard. The Triggering Town: Lectures and Essays on Poetry and Writing. New York: WW Norton & Co, 2010.
Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. An Introduction to Poetry. 13th .ed. New Jersey, Longman, 2009
Minot, Stephen. Three Genres: The Writing of Poetry, Fiction and Drama. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988.
Stegner, Wallace Earle. On Teaching and Writing Fiction. New York: Penguin Press, 2004.
Trottier, David. The Screenwriter’s Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script. 4th ed. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press, 2005.
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