Creative Writing Courses Fall 2025
ENGL 351: Fiction Writing I
Instructor: Adam Desnoyers
17418 | TuTh 9:30-10:45 AM | Wescoe 4040
25112 | TuTh 11:00-12:15 PM | Wescoe 4021
24550 | TuTh 2:00-3:15 PM | Wescoe 4021
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: Colleen Morrissey
24551 | MW 3:30-4:45 PM | Wescoe 4020
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: Silvia Park
26525 | M 7:00-9:30 PM | Wescoe 4020
ENGL 352: Poetry Writing I
Instructor: JJ Harrington
21161 | TuTh 11:00-12:15 PM | Wescoe 1009
To my mind, the point of a creative-writing class is to (a.) practice writing, (b.) read others’ writing (in part to get ideas for your own), (c.) practice talking about writing and providing feedback to authors, and (d.) see what new possibilities we can open for your and other people’s work. In this class, we will read a lot of the work of class members and of published poets. You’ll be required to compose 12 poems and to read and comment on the poems written by other class members. My philosophy: poetry, regardless of subject-matter, is about words. Words are sounds + marks + space. We get to make imaginative sound and visual compositions out of those things, which can be pretty fun. A “workshop,” in my view, should help people imagine ways they can change their writing to best reach and affect an audience. So, our goal is to think of possible re-versions, both for your poems and for others’. A “re-version” is much more dramatic than a mere revision. A “revision” can mean just dropping a comma here, changing a word there – in other words, tweaks. A re-version, by contrast, is a completely new version of the poem – based on the original version, but radically different. You or I might or might not prefer the re-version, but it will open new possibilities for, and insights into, the poem. And implied within the term “re-version” is the word “revert”: you can always revert to the previous version.
Brian Daldorph
15314 | M 5:30-8:20 PM | Regnier 256 (Edwards)
ENGL 353: Screenwriting I
Instructor: Darren Canady
26526 | TuTh 12:30-1:45 PM | Wescoe 4037
ENGL 355: Nonfiction Writing I
Instructor: Doug Crawford-Parker
15956 | MW 2:00-3:15 PM | Wescoe 4037
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 551: Fiction Writing II: Realistic Fiction
Instructor: Laura Moriarty
24850 | TuTh 11:00-12:15 PM | Wescoe 4037
20355 | TuTh 2:00-3:15 PM | Wescoe 4020
(Prerequisite: Eng 351) At least half of class meetings will be devoted to workshopping student fiction. We’ll also read published realistic fiction and analyze the strategies each writer uses to engage the reader. In addition to creative assignments, students can expect regular reading quizzes. Satisfies: Goal 1 Outcome 1 (GE1.1); Goal 2 Outcome 1 (GE2.1); Goal 3 Arts and Humanities (GE3H); H Humanities (H).
ENGL 552: Poetry Writing II
Instructor: JJ Harrington
24455 | TuTh 2:00-3:15 PM | Wescoe 1009
This workshop is based on the idea that to be a good writer, you have to write a lot and read a lot. So, we’ll all be doing both. We will read a lot of the work of student poets in the class (i.e., you), as well as poems by contemporary published poets who aren’t in the class. You’ll be required to compose a poem most weeks and to submit it to other members of the class. We’ll take different approaches over the course of the semester, to see what a poem is doing and to suggest ways the author might take it in new and exciting directions. We’ll also visit with some experienced published poets. My philosophy: all poetry, regardless of subject-matter, is about words, and words are sounds + silences or marks on a page + blank space. We get to make imaginative compositions out of those sounds, marks, and space, and doing so can be a lot of fun. We will think about your poetry, not simply as a group of individual poems, but as a growing (and changing) body of work. We’ll also get into the habit of thinking about poetry as auditory and visual, not “purely” textual, art.
Instructor: Brian Daldorph
20163 | M 5:30-8:20 PM | Regnier 256 (Edwards)
