Creative Writing Courses
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The Fourth Genre: Creative Nonfiction Joseph Harris Professor of English
The Fourth Genre: Creative Nonfiction Joseph Harris Professor of English Students often read varied and interesting texts in school: stories, poems, plays, speeches, histories, memoirs, accounts of explorations and discoveries, lives of famous people. But what they write tends to be much more limited—usually just paragraphs or brief essays summarizing or analyzing what they’ve read. As a result students often come to see school writing as dull and formulaic, unconnected to what they actually care about. (Or at least this is what many of the freshmen in my college writing classes tell me.) Even those occasional moments when students are asked to compose a story or poem can sometimes seem only to underline the distinction between the fun of creative writing and the routine of most school work. In this seminar we will try to break down the opposition between creative and school writing by looking at what is sometimes called the “fourth genre” of literature. Creative nonfiction is writing about facts—about real people, things, and events. But it is also writing that aims to be as engaging as fiction. The voice of the writer is key. We read a piece of creative nonfiction not only for what it tells us about its subject but also for what we can learn about its author. We’ll approach our study of creative nonfiction in two ways. First, we’ll read and discuss some of the best nonfiction writers at work today—authors like Joyce Carol Oates, Roxanne Gay, Oliver Sacks, Atul Gawande, Ta Nehisi Coates, and Naomi Wolf. -
Creative Nonfiction
WRITING CREATIVE NON-FICTION THEODORE A. REES CHENEY CREATIVE NONFICTION Creative nonfiction tells a story using facts, but uses many of the techniques of fiction for its compelling qualities and emotional vibrancy. Creative nonfiction doesn’t just report facts, it delivers facts in ways that move the reader toward a deeper understanding of a topic. Creative nonfiction requires the skills of the storyteller and the research ability of the conscientious reporter. Writers of creative nonfiction must become instant authorities on the subject of their articles or books. They must not only understand the facts and report them using quotes by authorities, they must also see beyond them to discover their underlying meaning, and they must dramatize that meaning in an interesting, evocative, informative way—just as a good teacher does. When you write nonfiction, you are, in effect, teaching the reader. Research into how we learn shows that we learn best when we are simultaneously entertained—when there is pleasure in the learning. Other research shows that our most lasting memories are those wrapped in emotional overtones. Creative nonfiction writers inform their readers by making the reading experience vivid, emotionally compelling, and enjoyable while sticking to the facts. TELLING THE “WHOLE TRUTH” Emotions inform our understanding all the time. So, to tell the whole truth about most situations that involve people (and most situations do), in the words of Tom Wolfe, we need to “excite the reader both intellectually and emotionally.” The best nonfiction writers do not tell us how we should think about something, how we should feel about it, nor what emotions should be aroused. -
Bridging the Voices of Hard-Boiled Detective and Noir Crime Fiction
Christopher Mallon TEXT Vol 19 No 2 Swinburne University of Technology Christopher Mallon Crossing shadows: Bridging the voices of hard-boiled detective and noir crime fiction Abstract This paper discusses the notion of Voice. It attempts to articulate the nature of voice in hard-boiled detective fiction and noir crime fiction. In doing so, it examines discusses how these narrative styles, particularly found within private eye novels, explores aspects of the subjectivity as the narrator- investigator; and, thus crossing and bridging a cynical, hard-boiled style and an alienated, reflective voice within a noir world. Keywords: hard-boiled detective fiction, noir fiction, voice, authenticity Introduction In crime fiction, voice is an integral aspect of the narrative. While plot, characters, and setting are, of course, also instrumental in providing a sense of authenticity to the text, voice brings a sense of verisimilitude and truth to the fiction the author employs. Thus, this paper discusses the nature of voice within the tradition of the crime fiction subgenres of noir and hard-boiled detective literature. In doing so, it examines how voice positions the protagonist; his subjectivity as the narrator-investigator; and, the nature of the hardboiled voice within a noir world. Establishing authenticity The artistic, literary, and aesthetic movement of Modernism, during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, describes a consciousness of despair, disorder, and anarchy, through ‘the intellectual conventions of plight, alienation, and nihilism’ -
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English 1 ENGL 2020 Introduction to Creative Writing: 3 semester hours English Prerequisites: ENGL 1100 or equivalent. This course is a creative writing survey and workshop focusing on the study of three genres-short fiction, Courses poetry, and creative nonfiction. Students learn primary concepts and techniques of craft, including narrative, voice, character, setting, imagery, ENGL 1030 Beginning Creative Writing: 3 semester hours metaphor, point-of-view. Students will explore literary conventions specific This course introduces students to the building blocks of creative writing to each genre, as well as universal qualities that make all writing effective and the writing workshop classroom. Students will explore how creative for an audience. The course requires three different kinds of writing: brief writers decide what material is best suited for a story, an essay, or a analytic essays, open-ended exploratory exercises, and carefully-revised poem. Pairing creativity with critical thinking, the course offers basic writing original work. This course fulfills the core requirement in Creative Writing practice and familiarizes students with primary concepts and techniques of and counts toward the Certificate in Writing. craft (e.g. narrative, point-of-view, voice and style, character development, ENGL 2030 Poetry Writing Jumpstart: 3 semester hours setting, imagery, and figurative language). Prerequisites: ENGL 1100 or equivalent. This course provides new poets, ENGL 1100 First-Year Writing (MOTR ENGL 200): 3 semester hours would-be poets, and curious non-poets with exercises, experiments, and Integrates critical reading, writing, and thinking skills and studies actual activities to explore two questions: what is a poem, and how does one writing practices. -
Book Review: Reading Style: a Life in Sentences, 24 Perspectives: Teaching Legal Res
Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing | Vol. 24 | No. 1 & 2 | Summer 2016 32 Cite as: Deborah L. Borman, Book Review: Reading Style: A Life in Sentences, 24 Perspectives: Teaching Legal Res. & Writing 32 (2016). Book Review: Reading Style: A Life in Sentences “To become better writers, By Deborah L. Borman Davidson defines the concept of transcendent students need 2 Deborah L. Borman is Clinical Assistant Professor of Law reading as the “high glimmer factor.” to read great at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago, Ill. Davidson’s book consists of a series of lectures authors. Set the scene: you are hunkered down to grade a set on literature she gave in 2009. Each chapter ” of student briefs. Before long before your eyes glaze stands alone as a unique lesson students can over, your lids grow heavy and you start to doze glean from literature to better inform their because of the dull, uninspired writing. Suddenly you legal writing. While Davidson’s book analyzes find yourself going micro and writing this sentence fiction writing (and a little bit of nonfiction in in the margin: “make the subject more compelling.” the last chapter), and some concepts are more Legal writers, especially novices, are often so focused relevant to crafting good legal communication on technical details that they forget good written than others, she offers many writing techniques communication begins with sentences that engage, that are adaptable to legal communication, “glimmer,” and at their best transport the reader. particularly when it comes to advocacy. To become better writers, students need to read The first step to crafting better sentences great authors. -
Terms: Definitions
Broken Arrow Public Schools 3rd Grade Literary Terms Alliteration- The repetition of the same sounds or the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables. Autobiography- the story of a person’s life written by that person, telling the story of your own life is an autobiography. Beat- a sound or similar sounds, recurring at regular intervals, and produced to help musicians keep rhythm or give a pattern of rhythm to a poem as it is read Biography- the story of a person’s life. Cadence- balanced; rhythmic flow, as of poetry or speeches. A falling inflection of the voice, as at the end of a sentence. People who do not have any cadence to their voice speak in a dry, boring monotone. Cause and Effect- the reason (cause) something happened and what happened (effect) to it. (example: The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank, with the loss of over 1,000 lives. Cause—hitting an iceberg; Effect—Titanic sank and people died) Character- any of the people, animals, or creatures who are involved with the story. Compare and Contrast- to look at two events, time periods, people or almost any two things and tell how they are alike and different. Conflict- A struggle or problems between opposing forces which is the main force of a story and its plot. It is what keeps the reader reading. Conflicts can exist between characters (called man vs. man), between a character and society (called man vs. society), between a character and any aspect of nature (called man vs. -
Foundations of ELA Honors 9
PLANNED COURSE OF STUDY Course Title Foundations of High School English Language Arts - Honors Grade Level Ninth Grade Credits 2 Content Area / English Language Arts Dept. Length of Course One Year Author(s) Course Description: Foundations of ELA 9 Honors is designed to take students on a reflective and evaluative exploration of both classic and contemporary texts. Students will have the opportunity to explore the texts independently, as well as in cooperative groups, while demonstrating initiative and comprehension through manipulation of the text. Through the study of core texts—Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Homer’s The Odyssey, Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese, and William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet-- students will delve into the structure of language with a focus on specific themes, such as the journey as a metaphor, fate vs. free will, trust, coping with change, the struggles of overcoming obstacles, and perseverance in the face of adversity and stereotypes. While actively seeking and recognizing thematic strands within the texts, students will be encouraged to form personal and creative connections to their lives and to the world around them. Students will also engage in a study of selected poems and short works to closely analyze literary devices in connection to the author’s purpose. In addition, Foundations of ELA 9 Honors requires students to analyze literature and rhetoric with intellectual curiosity, persistence, and a readiness to engage in independent risk- taking. ELA 9 Honors students will be expected to process course material with an increased pace and demonstrate critical thinking skills with limited guidance. Course Rationale: Many of the works read in our ninth-grade curriculum are the most celebrated canonical pieces of their time. -
Discovery Writing and Genre
Discovery Writing and Genre Submitted by Richard James Heeks, to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education, December 2012. This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. ……………………………………………………………………………… 1 Abstract This study approaches ‘discovery writing’ in relation to genre, investigating whether different genres of writing might be associated with different kinds of writing processes. Discovery writing can be thought of as writing to find out what you think, and represents a reversal of the more usual sense that ideas precede writing, or that planning should precede writing. Discovery writing has previously been approached in terms of writers’ orientations, such as whether writers are Planners or Discoverers. This study engages with these previous theories, but places an emphasis on genres of writing, and on textual features, such as how writers write fictional characters, or how writers generate arguments when writing essays. The two main types of writing investigated are fiction writing and academic writing. Particular genres include short stories, crime novels, academic articles, and student essays. 11 writers were interviewed, ranging from professional fiction authors to undergraduate students. Interviews were based on a recent piece of a writer’s own writing. Most of the writers came from a literary background, being either fiction writers or Literature students. -
An Analysis of Narrative and Voice in Creative Nonfiction
An Analysis of Narrative and Voice in Creative Nonfiction Michael Pickett1 ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Available Online August 2013 This manuscript surveys and analyzes the relationships between 25 Key words: published essays identified in the book In Fact: The Best of Creative Narratological Framework; Nonfiction using Jahn’s (2003) narratological framework in an attempt Narratological Relationships; to identify the narratological relationships between fiction and creative Creative Nonfiction. nonfiction and to analyze creative nonfiction through a narratological framework created for fiction. All of the surveyed stories contained many indicators that contribute to a deepened engagement for the readers, however at the individual writer level; the lowest common denominator is each writer’s ability to forge ahead and continue to create a narrative that develops meaning for the readers beyond the mere reporting of events. Areas identified for further research includes experimental research in the areas of cross-cultural cognitive models that could provide insights concerning the existence of an unreliable narrator within narrative discourse. In addition research could be pursued in the areas of structural discourse of the narrative, much like Jahn’s model, yet somewhat more cognitive juxtaposing the more psychological aspects of narrative discourse to the structural components. 1.0 INTRODUCTION The beginning is the most important part of the work. Plato As with any major undertaking whether it is an anthology, essay, or research project, the beginning is the most difficult part. Therefore, after many hours of research and reading, I had always wondered, what makes creative nonfiction successful? Could it be the story itself, regardless of who the author was? No, that really cannot be the answer because there are many good writers who are not as well recognized as they might have been, even with famous or infamous stories. -
Grade Literary Terms
Broken Arrow Public Schools 4th Grade Literary Terms Alliteration- The repetition of the same sounds or the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables. Autobiography- the story of a person’s life written by that person, telling the story of your own life is an autobiography. Beat- a sound or similar sounds, recurring at regular intervals, and produced to help musicians keep rhythm or give a pattern of rhythm to a poem as it is read Biography- the story of a person’s life. Cadence- balanced; rhythmic flow, as of poetry or speeches. A falling inflection of the voice, as at the end of a sentence. People who do not have any cadence to their voice speak in a dry, boring monotone. Cause and Effect- the reason (cause) something happened and what happened (effect) to it. (example: The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank, with the loss of over 1,000 lives. Cause—hitting an iceberg; Effect—Titanic sank and people died) Character- any of the people, animals, or creatures who are involved with the story. Climax- the point of the story that has the greatest suspense—the moment before the crime is solved or killer revealed in a mystery story. The story parts are exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution. Compare and Contrast- to look at two events, time periods, people or almost any two things and tell how they are alike and different. Conflict- A struggle or problems between opposing forces which is the main force of a story and its plot. -
Creative Writing, A.A. - Screenwriting Concentration Fall 2020 Student's Name: Advisor's Name
Creative Writing, A.A. - Screenwriting Concentration Fall 2020 Student's Name: Advisor's Name: ENGL049 - Accelerated Reading and RDNG 116 - College Reading and Study Skills Student may need to Writing Skills for ENGL100 OR take the following ENGL098 - Accelerated Writing Skills for MATH 090 - Pre-Algebra courses: ENGL100 MATH 095 - Beginning Algebra Grade Earned Semester Course Requirement Course Title Credits Min. Grade T - Transfer Completed FIRST YEAR FALL ENGL 100 Academic Writing I 1 3 C ENGL 135 OR Short Narrative Film Writing OR ENGL 261 Visiting Writer Series 1 Liberal Arts Elective 3 SUNY GEN ED Mathematics Elective 3 SUNY GEN ED Social Sciences Elective 3 Unrestricted Elective 2 3 Total Credits 16 SPRING ENGL 101 Academic Writing II 3 3 ENGL 102 Approaches to Literature 3 3 ENGL 200 Screenwriting 3 ENGL 233 Film Analysis 3 SUNY GEN ED Science Elective 4 3 Total Credits 15 SECOND YEAR FALL ENGL 201 OR Public Speaking OR 3 ENGL 204 Interpersonal Communication ENGL 216 Advanced Screenwriting 3 ENGL 256 Playwriting or ENGL Elective 3 ENGL 274 Marketing the Screenplay 1 SUNY GEN ED Foreign Language Sequence Elective 5 3 Unrestricted Elective 6 3 Total Credits 16 SPRING ENGL 237 OR Journalism OR ENGL 258 Creative Nonfiction 3 ENGL 255 Writing Television Drama & Comedy 3 5 SUNY GEN ED Foreign Language Sequence Elective 3 SUNY GEN ED Restricted Elective 7 3 Unrestricted Elective 6 3 Total Credits 15 Minimum Credits Required for Graduation: 62 1 A C or better grade is required in ENGL 100. A student exempted from ENGL 100 must substitute a three credit liberal arts elective. -
Sweet Is Crème Brûlée
4.3 Letter from the Editor As I write this, we're still in April—National Poetry Month. In the Tampa area, there will have been at least 17 readings this month, including a number sponsored by community groups and held at local coffee shops and bars—a surfeit of poetry. Social media is exploding with links to great poems. A friend hosted a party for which we were encouraged to show up in pajamas and read a favorite poem or two. (For the record, my sleepwear was an old t-shirt of Ira's and a pair of comfy shorts, but the apartment was so deeply air-conditioned that I envied those who had worn their fuzzy slippers.) What a time to be a poet, or a reader of poetry! And yet...there are moments when even I am a little overloaded with poetry. When it comes to feel like an obligation. It's mid-month, and I've only made it to three poetry events so far. Yes, sometimes during the events I'm doing my own necessary work. But sometimes I'm watching Dr. Who on Netflix and eating Cadbury chocolate eggs, letting my brain flatten out like the surface of a swimming pool when everybody's finally gotten out and grabbed their towels. I'm distressed by my own behavior. After all, I belong to the church of poetry. Poetry is the closest I get to religion. It's what connects me to the mystery, to people, to the world. I'm finally coming to understand it, though.