Creative Writing Courses Spring 2025
ENGL 209: Introduction to Fiction
Instructor: Brian Daldorph
44969 | MWF 10:00 - 10:50 AM | WES 4035 - LAWRENCE
46491 | MWF 11:00 - 11:50 AM | WES 4035 - LAWRENCE
In this Introduction to Fiction class, we will be reading and analyzing short stories from different times and places, exploring the techniques and conventions of fiction. We will cover established writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tolstoy and Chekhov, and also read the works of some more contemporary writers. The class will also offer opportunity for your own fiction writing. We use an anthology of short stories.
ENGL 210: Introduction to Poetry
Instructor: Lydia Noland
55684 | MWF 10:00 - 10:50 AM | FR 111 - LAWRENCE
55685 | MWF 11:00 - 11:50 AM | FR 111 - LAWRENCE
Springing from William Carlos William’s definition of poetry– “new form dealt with as a reality in itself”– we will explore a wide expanse of realities in this class, uncovering all the wonderful layers poets use to capture their ideas. While our focus will be located in the 20th century, we will reference past poetic movements to better understand how we got to the poetic scene of today. We will cover poems that discuss history, relationships, the everyday and the exciting. We will practice being both critics and creators to develop your mastery of poetic technique. Assignments will include a short analysis paper, informal writings, and options for creative projects along the way.
ENGL 220: Introduction to Creative Writing
Instructor: Kevin Mulligan
53641 | TuTh 01:00 - 02:15 PM | FR 111 - LAWRENCE
55674 | TuTh 02:30 - 03:45 PM | FR 111 - LAWRENCE
In this course, students will study the practices of creative writing in three genres: short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Through rigorous inquiry, discussion, and creative experimentation, students will gain a strong understanding of each genre’s conventions, strategies, and contexts--and then will put that knowledge into practice to produce original writing. Writing assignments in the course will be split between critical work, which analyzes the technique and function of various creative pieces and allows students to read creative works as potential models or sites of learning opportunities, and creative work, which allows students to develop their own creative philosophy as it applies to each genre they work within. In lieu of a final exam, students will submit a portfolio of their revised work, along with a short reflection paper.
Instructor: Landon McGee
55686 | MW 11:00 - 12:15 PM | ST 334A - LAWRENCE
55687 | MW 12:30 - 01:45 PM | ST 334A - LAWRENCE
In this course, students will read and write poetry and short fiction. In the poetry section of the course, we’ll ask serious questions about the craft of poetry and the practice of seeing and engaging with the world as poets. In the short fiction section, we’ll use contemporary speculative fiction as a primary lens for exploring storycraft. To end each section of the course, students will participate in workshops, with the goal of creating a genuinely transformative critical atmosphere in which we help shepherd good writing into existence through care and attention. At the end of the semester, students will do a deep revision of their most successful writing. The primary goal we’ll set ourselves all semester is this: to approach both reading and writing with radical generosity.
ENGL 351: Fiction Writing I
Instructor: Adam Desnoyers
51922 | TuTh 1:00-2:15 PM | Wescoe 4023 - Lawrence
53642 | TuTh 2:30-3:45 PM | Wescoe 4023 – Lawrence
If you have had a life-long interest in writing fiction then this is the course for you. By studying short stories from established writers, students will learn to read “like a writer” and recognize how narrative is constructed. We will study how characters are created and are made sympathetic (or less than sympathetic) by their actions, their words, and their histories. Students will learn how to write scenes, craft dialogue, build conflict, and otherwise learn how to tell a story, which is a skill that has benefit in every field. Students will produce two short stories over the course of the semester. A class period will be allotted to each story you produce, in which you will receive feedback from all of your peers. You will have an opportunity to rewrite these stories based on that feedback before finally presenting them in your final portfolio for the semester.
Instructor: Divya Bhalla
55688 | TuTh 2:30-3:45 PM | Wescoe 4076 - Lawrence
In this course, we will examine the craft of fiction writing through an analysis of a range of narrative techniques that may include setting, voice, character, imagery, writing the Other, etc. We will also examine how stories counter, resist, and subvert the dominant narrative. We will learn to write stories that empower; we will learn to articulate that which has been silenced. We will also visit Spencer Research Library to examine manuscripts and get inspiration for our own writing and revision. We will further focus on the revision process through workshops, where each student receives feedback on their fiction pieces while providing critiques to their peers. We will thus forge our ideas through a range of assignments, including fiction writing, critical responses, class discussions, and Canvas Discussion posts.
Instructor: Colleen Morrissey
51921 | MW 11:00-12:15 PM | Wescoe 4037- Lawrence
In this course, we will explore the timeless and universal craft of storytelling. Through studying published fiction and creating our own, we will experiment with the techniques that make a story compelling, meaningful, and artful. We will discuss what makes for successful plot (or anti-plot), character, conflict, voice, setting, and more. Students will compose their own fiction and practice giving and receiving constructive feedback through small-group and whole-class workshopping. Students will also practice the essential skill of revision.
Instructor: Mark Jaskowski
55689 | MW 3:00-4:15 PM | Fraser 111 - Lawrence
Fiction writing establishes an agreement with an audience. At the beginning, a good story makes a promise to the reader; by the end, it has fulfilled it, broken it, or changed the deal. This course develops the skills to write fiction that connects with readers from the initial promise to the resolution, including plotting, developing characters, and establishing narrative voice. We will study how different types of stories work, particularly literary fiction, science fiction, and horror, by reading across fiction genres, with short stories and novellas by classic and contemporary writers. You will write flash fiction and short stories and submit them to a workshop in which they will be read and discussed by your classmates with an eye toward revising and developing them. The final project will consist of a portfolio of short fiction or a novella.
Instructor: Brian Daldorph
45496 | M 5:30-8:30 PM | REGN 152 – Edwards
We'll study the basic elements of short story writing, including characterization, narrative development and dialogue. Most of the classes we will be workshopping student-written fiction. Students must complete several introductory exercises and three short stories, or the equivalent, perhaps three chapters of a novel. No textbook. Readings on Canvas and handouts. Meets with ENGL 551.
ENGL 352: Poetry Writing I
Instructor: Megan Kaminski
51924 | MW 12:30-1:45 PM | Wescoe 4037 - Lawrence
This course introduces students to poetry writing as a genre of literature and as sustainable and socially meaningful creative practice. We will draw from our senses through embodied practices of observation, recollection, and reflection for source material and as a starting point for our imaginations. Students will be encouraged to develop their strengths and to cultivate a distinctive poetic vision and voice, as well as broaden their range and experiment with new forms and notions of the poem. We will consider assigned reading as a guide to possibilities and will have visits from the poets we read. A portfolio of poetry will be written and revised with the critical input of the instructor and the workshop. We will make chapbooks as a way of collecting our work and learning about the publication process.
Instructor: Meagen Youngdahl
56203 | TuTh 2:30-3:45 PM | Wescoe 1009 - Lawrence
ENGL 355: Nonfiction Writing I
Instructor: Doug Crawford-Parker
51925 | MW 12:30-1:45 PM | Wescoe 4023 – Lawrence
When you hear the word “essay,” what comes to mind? School assignments? Five paragraphs? Exams? In this class, we will study and write a very different kind of essay: the essay as a form of literature where writers artfully enact their engagement with the world and with themselves. Our emphasis will be on the art and craft of the personal essay. We will read numerous essays to get a better handle on this often-slippery form. We will spend some time sharpening our sentence style, the material essays are made out of. And we will write essays and read each other’s work. The class employs a workshop format where each student reads and comments on the work of everyone else in the class and receives feedback from everyone else in the class. The workshop format of the course demands a high level of student participation, both in degree and quality. Students will be required to write one short essay and two longer essays, keep a journal, do a presentation, and revise their work for an end of semester portfolio, in addition to reading numerous essays and other assignments. A willingness to read seriously, write, offer feedback, accept feedback, and enjoy oneself is essential for the course.
ENGL 360: Writing About Science
Instructor: Doug Crawford-Parker
53534 | MW 3-4:15 PM | Wescoe 4023 - Lawrence
ENGL 360 is a course for anyone who wants to write about science in creative, engaging, and original ways. It’s for creative writers who have an interest in science, for scientists who want to discover distinctive ways to share their understanding, and anyone else who wants to explore the intersection of writing creatively and science. The course will emphasize nonfiction and spend some time engaging with the creative genre of the essay along with reading an assortment of science essays for inspiration and examination. Students will write three essays and read the work of their classmates. Course work will also include a revision assignment and a short presentation on a topic of interest to the class.
ENGL 551: Fiction Writing II
Instructor: Kij Johnson
55730 | M 03:00 - 05:30 PM | WES 4020- LAWRENCE
This course advances an understanding and application of craft to the development and writing of short fiction. Building on a basic understanding of story, attention will be given to scenic writing and other techniques, characterization, theme, image, subtext, and revision. Students will read and engage in discussions about short fiction of note, which will be made available online; workshop student stories through discussion, written comments, and markup; develop detailed revision strategies and tools; and generate new work through exercises and as major assignments.
Instructor: Adam Desnoyers
53829 | TuTh 11:00 - 12:15 PM | WES 4023 - LAWRENCE
This course is an intensive exploration of the ideas and techniques of fiction writing within the form of the short story, with primary emphasis on the careful analysis and discussion of student works-in-progress. We will read a variety of published stories each week and discuss narrative structure and style, imagery and metaphor, use of scene and exposition, dialogue, and the various points of view. Requirements: Students will attend class regularly and participate actively in discussion. They will produce three short stories of their own during the semester, which they will submit to the class to be workshopped. They will also provide critiques for their peers’ stories as these are workshopped. Lastly, students will revise their own stories for inclusion in their final portfolio.
Instructor: Brian Daldorph
45497 | M 05:30 - 08:20 PM | REGN 152 - EDWARDS
We'll study the basic elements of short story writing, including characterization, narrative development and dialogue. Most of the classes we will be workshopping student-written fiction. Students will be expected to complete several introductory exercises and three short stories, or the equivalent, perhaps three chapters of a novel. 551 students will be required to complete several extra requirements. No textbook. Readings on Canvas and handouts. Meets with ENGL 351.
ENGL 554: Playwriting II
Instructor: Darren Canady
55925 | TuTh 01:00 - 02:15 PM | WES 4037 - LAWRENCE
Students will build on foundational dramatic writing skills and concepts to craft and explore longer pieces of dramatic writing, including one-act plays and the first act of a full-length piece. Using a variety of experimental methods of story and script development employed by a range of playwrights and theatre companies, students will gain practical experience in storytelling methods that incorporate and then move beyond traditional narrative structure. Particular emphasis will be placed on further developing participants' skills in responding to new work through the workshop model. Additionally, there will be reading assignments built in to expose students to the variety of dramatic texts currently being produced for the stage.
ENGL 555: Nonfiction Writing II
Instructor: Doug Crawford-Parker
45503 | MW 11:00 - 12:15 PM | WES 4023 - LAWRENCE
English 555 is a creative writing workshop focused on continuing students’ development as essayists to expand their ability in the genre’s myriad possibilities of both form and content. The course focuses on student work through the peer review workshop, but we also read outside to understand better some of the potential, possibilities, and pitfalls of the essay form. Students write three essays and contribute regular critiques of one another’s work. One essay is then revisited at semester’s end as part of a larger revision project. Students are required to take part in a group reading of their own work and do several shorter presentations. The workshop format of the course demands a high level of student participation, both in degree and quality. Students can expect to be challenged intellectually and creatively in producing new and original writing and engaging with their fellow students to think about the process of writing as essayists. Texts • Elissa Washuta and Theresa Warburton, eds. Shapes of Native Nonfiction: Collected Essays by Contemporary Writers. University of Washington Press, 2019. ISBN-10: 0295745754 • Zoë Bossier and Erica Trabold, eds. The Lyric Essay as Resistance: Truth from the Margins. Wayne State University Press, 2023. ISBN-10: 0814349609 • Carl H. Klaus. A Self Made of Words: Crafting a Distinctive Persona in Creative Nonfiction. Iowa City: U of Iowa P, 2013. ISBN-10: 1609381947 • Priscilla Long. The Writer’s Portable Mentor: A Guide to Art, Craft, and the Writing Life. Second ed. U of New Mexico P, 2018. ISBN-10: 082636005X • Hanif Abdurraqib. A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance. Random House, 2022. ISBN-10: 1984801201 • Anna Badkhen. Bright Unbearable Reality. New York Review Books, 2022. ISBN-10: 1681377063 • Sabrina Imbler. How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures. Back Bay Books, 2024. ISBN-10: 0316540501 • André Aciman. Homo Irrealis: The Would-Be Man Who Might Have Been: Essays • Picador, 2022. ISBN-10: 1250829283
