Creative Writing Courses

Creative Writing Courses

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.

Introductory Fiction

CWR 204 · Spring 2024

Multiple sections offered

Instructors: Ed Park · Idra Novey · Jack Livings · Jenny McPhee · Lynn Steger Strong · Morgan Jerkins · Megha Majumdar

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.

Literary Translation

CWR 206 / COM 315 / TRA 206 · Spring 2024

C01 · Mondays, 1:30-4:20 PM

Instructors: Ilya Kaminsky

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.

Creative Nonfiction: The Act of Immersion: Reporting Deeply on the Lives of Others

JRN 240 / CWR 240 · Spring 2024

S01 — Andrea Elliott · Thursdays, 1:30-4:20 PM

Instructors: Staff

The most powerful journalism transports readers into foreign terrain with depth, nuance and intimate knowledge, allowing them to steep in the worlds of other people. This is the product of immersive reporting, a high-wire act of journalism that is as challenging as it is rewarding. In this course, we will explore both the virtues and limits of immersion, tackling questions about the purpose, ethics and practice of deep reportage. Students will learn first-hand how to immerse, building skills in observation, interviewing tactics, and story structure, while producing a final work of narrative nonfiction.

Advanced Poetry

CWR 302 · Spring 2024

Multiple sections offered

Instructors: Katie Farris · Kathleen Ossip

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 Fiction

CWR 304 · Spring 2024

Multiple sections offered

Instructors: A.M. Homes · Jack Livings

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.

Playwriting II: Intermediate Playwriting

THR 305 / CWR 309 · Spring 2024

S01 · Thursdays, 1:30 - 4:20 PM

Instructors: Lloyd Suh

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.

Advanced Literary Translation

CWR 306 / TRA 314 / COM 356 · Spring 2024

C01 · Mondays, 1:30-4:20 PM

Instructors: Ilya Kaminsky

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.

Writing from Life

CWR 310 · Spring 2024

C01 · Mondays, 1:30-3:20 PM

Instructors: Zoe K. Heller

What motivates us to write about our own lives? What is the relationship between the ‘I’ who experiences and the ‘I’ who writes? What are our moral obligations to the people we write about? In this workshop, we will consider different approaches to writing about the people, places and events that have formed us.

Short Screenwriting: A Visual-Temporal Approach

CWR 347 / VIS 340 · Spring 2024

C01 · Wednesdays, 1:30-4:20 PM

Instructors: Moon Molson

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.

Advanced Screenwriting: Writing for Television

CWR 405 / VIS 405 · Spring 2024

C01 · Thursdays, 1:30-4:20 PM

Instructors: Susanna Styron

This advanced screenwriting workshop will introduce students to the fundamental elements of developing and writing a TV series. Students will develop critical thinking skills by watching television pilots, reading pilot episodes, and engaging in in-depth discussion about story, character, structure, tone, dialogue, and other aspects of visual storytelling.