Creative Writing Courses Fall 2024
ENGL 220: Introduction to Creative Writing
Instructor: Kevin Mulligan
23860 | TuTh 9:30-10:45 AM | Fraser 223 - LAWRENCE
17315 | TuTh 11:00-12:15 PM | Fraser 223 - 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: Alex Crayon
26647 | MW 11:00-12:15 PM | Fraser 207 - LAWRENCE
26648 | MW 12:30-1:45 PM | Fraser 207 - LAWRENCE
In this course, students will study the craft of creative writing across four genres: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and playwriting/screenwriting. Throughout the semester, students will first survey these genres, reading and discussing exemplary models of each, and will investigate the conventions that writers follow—and break—when composing their creative work. In addition, students will produce four original creative pieces, one for each genre, to apply their study. This class will then include a workshop component during which students will provide both written and oral feedback to their fellow writers by immersing themselves in a constructive critical atmosphere. At the end of the semester, students will submit a portfolio of their revised creative work and a short reflective essay.
ENGL 351: Fiction Writing I
Instructor: Adam Desnoyers
17959 | TuTh 11:00-12:15 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: Logan Jorgenson
27361 | TuTh 1:00-2:15 PM | Wescoe 4021 - LAWRENCE
This course is an introduction to the art of writing fiction. Through the semester, students will engage with many craft elements, including character, dialogue, point of view, details, etc. Students will be expected to produce two pieces of fiction through the semester, including one short story and one other work of their choice. In addition, they will participate in writing exercises, read and respond to exemplar work, present on a literary journal of their choice, and provide feedback to their peers through workshop. The culmination of this class will be a final portfolio that includes a reflection on the student’s work, a revision plan for one work, and a cover letter for a prospective journal submission.
Instructor: Tiffany Fritz
26645 | MW 11:00-12:15 PM | Wescoe 4068 - LAWRENCE
26646 | MW 12:30-1:45 PM | Wescoe 1007 - LAWRENCE
This course guides new writers of fiction towards developing their own personal writing practice. To support students’ work in drafting at least two original short stories of their own, we will define short fiction, study the short fiction of experts, complete writing exercises, and read short essays on the craft of writing. Students will share their writing in workshops, where they will learn to offer each other useful, analytical feedback and build their skills in self-evaluation and revision.
Instructor: Colleen Morrissey
22985 | MW 3:00-4:15 PM | Wescoe 4020 - 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.
ENGL 352: Poetry Writing I
Instructor: Joseph Harrington
22520 | TuTh 1:00-2:15 PM | Wescoe 4020 - LAWRENCE
This class will provide you with a “starter kit” of things every poetry-writer should know, along with lots of practice writing and commenting on poetry by both class members and published poets. A writing workshop is designed to help people imagine ways they can change their writing to best reach and affect an audience, so emphasis will be on revision and “re-version.” My philosophy: poetry, regardless of subject-matter, is about words. Words are sounds + marks + space. We get to make imaginative compositions out of those things, which can be at least as fun as making pottery, dancing, playing guitar, or finger-painting.
Instructor: Meagen Youngdahl
27362 | TuTh 2:30-3:45 PM | Fraser 224 - LAWRENCE
Instructor: Brian Daldorph
15681 | M 4:10-7:00 PM | Best 310 - EDWARDS
English 352/552 gives you the opportunity of writing your own collection of poems over the course of the semester, and working closely with other writers. We will study some of the classic forms of poetry, including sonnets, villanelles, sestinas, drawing on examples by famous and lesser-known poets. Much of class time will be spent “workshopping” student poetry, with the focus on learning together in a writing community. You will write 8 critiques of the work of your peers over the course of the semester. You must submit a short portfolio of poems at midterm, then a longer portfolio of poems (approx.. 15) at the semester’s end.
ENGL 354: Playwriting I
Instructor: Darren Canady
22365 | MW 11:00-12:15 PM | Location TBA - LAWRENCE
ENGL 355: Nonfiction Writing I
Instructor: Doug Crawford-Parker
16363 | 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 the Science Essay - Making Art out of Science
Instructor: Doug Crawford-Parker
26521 | MW 11:00-12:15 PM | Wescoe 4023 - LAWRENCE
Science can sometimes be viewed as dry or impenetrable to the nonscientist, yet there is much writing about science that is lyrical and engaging. This course will introduce students to the essay form and its suitability for writing about science in creative, lively, and insightful ways that engage both the writer and reader. We will read and write to get a sense of the possible and discover new ways to craft essays that are artful and perceptive.
ENGL 360: Queer Ecologies
Instructor: Megan Kaminski
23295 | MW 2:00-3:15 PM | Learned 1136 - LAWRENCE
Queer Ecologies is a writing and arts course that uses literature, the arts, and an eco-cultural lens to think about our eco-futures. We’ll consider “queering” as a means to refuse binary thinking and consider expansive interdisciplinary eco-arts practices that have evolved from LGBTQ+ movements, feminist science studies, environmental justice, decolonial thinking, disability studies, and science fiction. In so doing, we will explore how gender, sexuality, race, and species shape understandings of the environment. Through readings, discussion, field work, and creative projects, our work together will orient towards new thinking about the challenges of planetary and climate change. This project-based course welcomes students to explore the themes of the class within and across their own fields of interest, experience, practice, and study. This course is cross-listed with EVRN 420.
ENGL 551: Fiction Writing II
Instructor: Adam Desnoyers
27061 | TuTh 1:00-2:15 PM | Wescoe 4023 - LAWRENCE
21403 | TuTh 2:30-3:45 PM | Wescoe 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.
ENGL 552: Poetry Writing II
Instructor: Megan Kaminski
26524 | MW 12:30-1:45 PM | Wescoe 4021 - LAWRENCE
Instructor: Brian Daldorph
21157 | M 4:10-7:00 PM | Best 310 - LAWRENCE
English 352/552 gives you the opportunity of writing your own collection of poems over the course of the semester, and working closely with other writers. We will study some of the classic forms of poetry, including sonnets, villanelles, sestinas, drawing on examples by famous and lesser-known poets. Much of class time will be spent “workshopping” student poetry, with the focus on learning together in a writing community. You will write 8 critiques of the work of your peers over the course of the semester. You must submit a short portfolio of poems at midterm, then a longer portfolio of poems (approx.. 15) at the semester’s end.
