CRWR 191 A-Z - Advanced Topics in Creative WritingSemester Hours: 3
Fall, Spring
Special topics related to the creative writing genres. Subjects to be selected yearly.
Current Special Topics
CRWR 191O, Fiction: Writing What You Know
This classic fiction workshop focuses on using autobiography to inspire fiction while helping students to develop their narrative voices and fiction writing technique. By focusing on where stories come from, the goal is to learn to mine the material we are full of. The acclaimed American fiction writer, John Updike, wrote, “You are full of your material—your family, your friends, your region of the country, your generation—when it is fresh and seems urgently worth communicating to readers. No amount of learned skills can substitute for the feeling of having a lot to say, of bringing news. Memories, impressions, and emotions from your first 20 years on earth are most writers’ main material; little that comes afterward is quite so rich and resonant. By the age of 40, you have probably mined the purest veins of this precious lode; after that, continued creativity is a matter of sifting the leavings.” Additionally, students will be encouraged to open themselves to critical analysis by their peers in order to learn what works and does not in their fiction, understanding the idea of editing and rewriting as integral parts of creating fiction. The primary text for the class will be the students’ work. Each student will be expected to bring in three submissions across the semester.
Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
WSC 001 and CRWR 133 . May be repeated for credit when topics vary. As individual subjects are selected, each is assigned a letter (A-Z) which is affixed to the course number. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule.
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