ENGL3800W: Intro Creative Writ (40780)

Harding, Lindsey

M 9:10 AM

Park Hall 61


Introduction to Creative Writing: 

Book Club and Small Bites

 

Writers gonna write, write, write, write, write.

Writers gonna read, read, read, read, read.

In this Introduction to Creative Writing class, we are going to read big and write small to learn together what it takes to be a writer. 

We’ll leverage two primary modes of engaging with texts to explore the elements of creative writing: reading books and writing shorts. First, students will create their own customized reading lists to explore quality fiction/nonfiction/poetry that will motivate and inspire them to think about stories and sentences, words and worlds. Early in the semester, students will build these reading lists in consultation with the instructor, and then students will spend the semester reading and collecting excerpts from their books that resonate with them. In addition, students will report out regularly on what they are learning about writing from their reading in class. Second, students will compose short works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that will then be shared and reviewed in class. By focusing on small forms—flash, micro, etc.—we’ll have the chance to explore all sorts of different writing styles and genres and work together to hone drafts and practices throughout the semester. At the end of the term, students will contribute their favorite pieces to a class collection and compile their revised works into their own portfolios. 

Students will have the chance to read

  • Book that were nominated for or have won the National Book Award or other top honors 
  • Books that push them out of their comfort zone
  • Books that show just how powerful, how beautiful words and sentences can be
  • Books that they help choose

Students will have the chance to write

  • Prose poems
  • Flash fiction
  • Micro narratives in a wide variety of forms, from lists to letters
  • Draft after draft after draft because that is what it takes