CRWR - Creative Writing

CRWR 240RA  Introduction to Creative Writing: 3 Credits (3 Other)

(F, Sp) Introduction to the principles and techniques of creative writing, aimed at developing literary craft and the creative process. Includes lectures, readings, and writing exercises in genres that may include fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction.

View Course Outcomes:

  1. write original works in prose and poetry that demonstrate basic knowledge of the conventions of these genres
  2. demonstrate an understanding of the terminology and concepts that apply to the genres of ;creative writing;
  3. practice the art of writing and revising creative works, including approaching and framing creative problems at multiple stages of the writing process
  4. critique the quality of their own work and that of fellow students.
  5. articulate their own writing’s relationship to the larger literary tradition
  6. demonstrate a basic awareness of the literary and cultural contexts surrounding the production and consumption of creative texts

CRWR 310  Intermediate Fiction Workshop: 3 Credits (3 Lec)

PREREQUISITE: CRWR 240RA. (F) An intermediate fiction writing workshop focusing on short stories or novellas. Although some outside material will be considered, the primary emphasis will be analysis and discussion of student work

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Identify and describe the craft techniques of fiction, including characterization, scene and exposition, and point of view;
  2. Identify storytelling problems (such as clichéd ideas, inconsistent characters, unclear timelines, and others) in a workshop format;
  3. Analyze stories of published writers to show how point of view, scenes, and concrete details are used to create meaning;
  4. Recognize a range of storytelling traditions
  5. Solve storytelling problems with pacing, characterization, and clarity through revision

CRWR 311  Intermediate Poetry Workshop: 3 Credits (3 Lec)

PREREQUISITE: CRWR 240RA. (Sp) An intermediate workshop involving critical analysis of students' work-in-progress as well as reading and discussion of Published poems. Numerous directed writing assignments, experiments, exercises focused on technical considerations like diction, rhythm, rhyme, and imagery

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Identify and describe craft issues in poetry, including rhythm, line endings, and figurative language\\n\\n
  2. Recognize a range of poetic forms and traditions
  3. Identify creative problems of poems (such as clichéd ideas, clichéd expressions, and mixed metaphors) in a workshop format;
  4. Analyze poems of published writers to show how sonic elements, metaphors, and imagery are used;
  5. Solve creative problems through revision that uses imagery, metaphor, rhythm, and sound

CRWR 312  Intermediate Nonfiction Workshop: 3 Credits (3 Lec)

PREREQUISITE: CRWR 240. (F) An intermediate nonfiction workshop. Students read and respond to model essays, in addition to creating and revising original essays for workshop review. Assignments and exercises focus on writing craft and research techniques

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Identify and describe craft techniques of creative nonfiction, including scene and exposition, concrete and abstract diction, and point of view.
  2. Identify at least three subgenres of creative nonfiction (personal essay, memoir, travel writing, profiles, nature writing, literary journalism, and others)
  3. Identify structural and rhetorical problems in the nonfiction in a workshop setting;
  4. Analyze professional examples of creative nonfiction;
  5. Solve structural and rhetorical problems in nonfiction (pacing, clarity, and vividness) through revision

CRWR 340  Intermediate Creative Writing Workshop: 3 Credits (3 Other)

PREREQUISITE: WRIT 101W and CRWR 240RA or equivalent. Beginning exploration, through workshops, discussions, and readings, of creative writing techniques in genres that might include fiction, poetry, play writing, autobiographical writing, or creative nonfiction

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Explain the essential craft techniques of a given genre in substantial detail;
  2. Write original works in a specified genre and submit for peer review;
  3. Analyze and discuss the work of other students in a workshop format;
  4. Read and discuss the work of established writers in a given genre;
  5. Assemble a portfolio of creative work completed and revised during the semester.

CRWR 410  Advanced Fiction Workshop: 3 Credits (3 Lec)

PREREQUISITE: CRWR 340 Or CRWR 310 or consent of instructor. (F) Odd years. An advanced fiction writing workshop with an emphasis on generation and revision of student manuscripts

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Identify and describe multiple storytelling traditions (for example: tales, psychological realism, fabulism) and the narrative strategies they use
  2. Revise more consciously by applying feedback from other writers and editors and defending artistic decisions
  3. Demonstrate basic familiarity with various publishing venues and the procedures for submitting work for publication
  4. Identify the effects of creative choices made by other writers in a workshop setting
  5. Create stories that show a complex understanding of the various relationships between scene, character, setting, point of view, and time.

CRWR 411  Advanced Poetry Workshop: 3 Credits (3 Lec)

PREREQUISITE: CRWR 311 or CRWR 340 or Consent of Instructor. (F) Even years. An advanced writing workshop involving critical analysis of students' work-in-progress, as well as reading and discussion of poems by established poets. Discussions will focus on structure and stylistic refinement, with emphasis on revision. Different techniques, schools and poetic voices will be explored

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Identify and describe a range of contemporary poetic movements (confessionalism, Black Mountain Poets, Breakbeat poets, etc.) and the characteristics of their poetry;
  2. Revise poems effectively by developing a distinct artistic vision and applying feedback from other poets
  3. Describe various publishing venues and the procedures for submitting poems;
  4. Identify and use techniques of published poets in their own work;
  5. Identify the effects of creative choices made by other poets in a workshop setting;
  6. Create a portfolio of poetic work that displays an understanding of the relationships between sound, rhythm, image, diction, and figurative language.

CRWR 412  Advanced Nonfiction Workshop: 3 Credits (3 Lec)

PREREQUISITE: CRWR 340 or CRWR 312 or consent of instructor. (Sp) Even years. An advanced creative writing workshop focused primarily on reading, writing, and revising nonfiction; some classes may focus on specific genres such as personal essays, memoirs, or lyric essays

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Identify and describe narrative styles and essay formats that belong to the creative nonfiction genre;
  2. Revise nonfiction more effectively by applying feedback from other writers and editors and defending artistic decisions
  3. Identify and use techniques of published essayists in their own work
  4. Demonstrate basic familiarity with various publishing venues and the procedures for submitting essays for publication
  5. Identify the effects of creative choices made by other nonfiction writers in a workshop setting;
  6. Create a portfolio of near publishable essays through revision that show a complex understanding of the various elements of nonfiction, point of view, narrative voice, imagery, exposition, and theme.

CRWR 437  Topics in Craft and Genre: 3 Credits (3 Other)

PREREQUISITE: CRWR 240RA. (Sp) Students will read and analyze historical and contemporary literary texts to study how writers have responded to particular challenges in a genre that involve issues of craft and rhetoric. Students will simultaneously write and revise their own texts in that genre, applying what they have learned from the reading
Repeatable up to 6 credits.

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Define relevant terminology related to the creative writing process within certain literary genres;
  2. Identify and analyze techniques related to creative writing within selected literary genres;
  3. Discuss particular topical questions related to craft, form, and genre used in a cultural and historical context;
  4. Apply techniques discussed in class in original creative texts, and justify choices within the ;context ;of the literary genres under review.

CRWR 440  Advanced Creative Writing Workshop: 3 Credits (3 Lec)

PREREQUISITE: CRWR 340 or consent of instructor. Continuing exploration of creative writing in which experienced writers act as an audience for each other through workshops, discussions, and readings. Emphasis on techniques in a particular genre, such as fiction, poetry, play writing, autobiographical writing, or creative nonfiction.
Repeatable up to 6 credits.