Introductory Creative Writing Courses are open to all; no application required. Advanced classes require departmental permission to enroll. Please see the Creative Writing Course Enrollment Information page for specific guidelines for each course.
Practice in the original composition of poetry supplemented by the reading and analysis of standard works. Criticism by practicing writers and talented peers encourages the student’s growth as both creator and reader of literature.
The curriculum allows the student to develop writing skills, provides an introduction to the possibilities of contemporary literature and offers a perspective on the place of literature among the liberal arts. Criticism by practicing writers and talented peers encourages the student's growth as both creator and reader of literature.
This is a workshop in the fundamentals of writing plays. Through writing prompts, exercises, study and reflection, students will be guided in the creation of original dramatic material. Attention will be given to character, structure, dramatic action, monologue, dialogue, language and behavior.
Students will choose, early in the semester, one author to focus on in fiction, poetry, or drama, with the goal of arriving at a 20-25 page sample of the author's work. All work will be translated into English and discussed in a workshop format.
Speculative fiction is where the impossible happens. Though this expansive genre is often tagged as escapism, it connects to a deep part of our nature. Our foundation myths and fables are speculative fiction, and their current of fear and wonder runs straight through to contemporary science fiction, fantasy, and horror. In this class, we'll learn about some fascinating genre traditions, embrace experimentation, and try to build universes that won't (per Philip K. Dick) fall apart two days later.
This is an intensive reading course, which focuses on the skills to read and reread like a writer. A wide selection of readings—novels, stories, plays, poetry—will be covered in the course, a guided tour of books and their authors. Students will be expected to read at least an hour a day, and the average weekly reading load will be between ten and fifteen hours. Students are expected to keep a detailed daily reading journal and participate in group discussions and class presentations.
In 1919, Marcel Proust collected a series of pastiches. The great writer had had fun imitating the style of some of his most august predecessors: Balzac, Flaubert, Saint-Simon... A formidable but entertaining exercise that I, in turn, propose to students. But rather than making them write "à la manière de", as Proust did, we'll be writing in "le genre de": each week, we'll use a work from a major French-language author (Michel Houellebecq, Emmanuel Carrère, Marguerite Duras, Colette, Simenon...) to introduce a genre of literature. Week after week, students will write a short text in French in the style of the book they are studying.
Advanced practice in the original composition of poetry for discussion in regularly scheduled workshop meetings. The curriculum allows the student to develop writing skills, provides an introduction to the possibilities of contemporary literature and offers perspective on the places of literature among the liberal arts.
Advanced practice in the original composition of fiction for discussion in regularly scheduled workshop meetings. The curriculum allows the student to develop writing skills, provides an introduction to the possibilities of contemporary literature and offers perspective on the place of literature among the liberal arts.
A continuation of work begun in Introductory Playwriting, in this class, students will complete either one full-length play or two long one-acts (40-60 pages) to the end of gaining a firmer understanding of characterization, dialogue, structure, and the playwriting process. In addition to questions of craft, an emphasis will be placed on the formation of healthy creative habits and the sharpening of critical and analytical skills through reading and responding to work of both fellow students and contemporary playwrights of note.
Students will choose, early in the semester, one author to focus on in fiction, poetry, or drama, with the goal of arriving at a 20-25 page sample of the author's work. All work will be translated into English and discussed in a workshop format.
The new play development process has become a critical aspect of the professional theater landscape, but is often confounding to artists. This is a practical course that will introduce the basic processes of developing new plays for the stage, offering theater makers an understanding of their unique role in the critical moments of a new play's early life. The class is for actors eager to hone the skills of originating a role; for directors eager to explore working with a living writer; and for playwrights eager to gain experience navigating the development process, from table readings to workshops to staged readings.
What motivates us to write about our own lives? What is the relationship between the "I' who experiences and the "I" who writes? How scrupulous must we be about telling the truth? What are our moral obligations to the people we write about? In this workshop, we will consider different approaches to the people, places and things that have formed us.
This course will introduce students to the foundational principles and techniques of screenwriting, taking into account the practical considerations of film production. Questions of thematic cohesiveness, plot construction, logical cause and effect, character behavior, dialogue, genre consistency and pace will be explored as students gain confidence in the form by completing a number of short screenplays. The course will illustrate and analyze the power of visual storytelling to communicate a story to an audience, and will guide students to create texts that serve as "blueprints" for emotionally powerful and immersive visual experiences.
This course will introduce students to core screenwriting principles and techniques. Questions of thematic cohesiveness, plot construction, logical cause and effect, character behavior, dialogue, genre consistency and pace will be explored as students gain confidence in the form by completing a number of short screenplays.