Creative Writing: Goals and Course Outline 

 

 

DEPARTMENT: English                                               DATE: 2009-2010

COURSE TITLE: Creative Writing                               COURSE NUMBER:     3515                      QPA: 4.5

 SEMESTER                                                            CREDITS: 2.5

 

                This course offers an opportunity to develop ability in various forms of creative and imaginative composition. Emphasis is given to short stories, plays, poetry and narrative nonfiction. Students are made aware of free-lancing possibilities and selected pieces are submitted to the IHA literary magazine ORB.

            Prerequisite - Teacher approval and portfolio

  

TEXTBOOKS: (Title, Author, Publisher, Edition) 

In a Field of Words: A Creative Writing Text, by Sybil Estess & Janet McCann. NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003.

Goals:

1.      To develop facility with the vocabulary of the writer’s world.

2.      To understand the structures of a variety of modes and genres.

3.      To appreciate and experiment with a variety of modes and genres.

4.      To learn and practice self-editing and peer-editing techniques.

5.      To examine the composing process of professional writers.

6.      To craft compositions appropriate to audience and purpose.

7.      To develop style and voice.

8.      To write a short story, a play, poetry, and a work of narrative non-fiction.

9.      To prepare an original composition for submission to a publication.

10.  To use multi-media as a means of creating a visual story.

11.  To produce a portfolio of work that demonstrates practice in all the stages of the writing

 process from brainstorming to the finished product.

  

CONTENT OF COURSE:

QUARTER I

  1. Elements of Fiction
  2. Writing the Short Story
  3. Elements of Nonfiction
  4. Writing Narrative Nonfiction

QUARTER II

1.      Elements of Poetry

2.      Writing Poetry

3.      Elements of Play Writing

4.   Writing the One-Act Play

5.   The Visual Essay

Creative Writing Unit Proficiencies

Students will be able to…

Quarter I

Unit I: Elements of Fiction

  1. Identify the fiction fundamentals of plot, setting, dialogue, characterization and point of view.
  2. Examine selected short story excerpts by professional writers.
  3. Discuss the incorporation of fiction fundamentals within the short story genre.

Unit II: Writing the Short Story

  1. Select a short story topic; establish setting through description; define characters through description and dialogue (what the character says and what is said about him/her); consider plot (conflict, climax, resolution).
  2. Write a first draft.
  3. Use a rubric to peer critique.
  4. Revise according to peer and teacher feedback.
  5. Submit a short story according to formatting rules.
  6. Prepare a draft for publication submission

Unit III: Elements of Nonfiction

  1. Compare and contrast fiction and nonfiction writing.
  2. Review the use of plot (sequence), setting, dialogue and point of view in narrative nonfiction.
  3. Examine how dialogue moves the narrative and reveals personality.
  4. Discuss the elements of nonfiction narrative and examine professional examples of memoir (personal narrative) and character essays.
  5. Decide upon memoir or character essay and select a topic

Unit IV: Writing Narrative Nonfiction

  1. Examine and write a memoir (personal narrative).
  2. Examine and write a character essay.
  3. Use a rubric to peer critique.
  4. Revise according to peer and teacher feedback.
  5. Submit a narrative nonfiction piece according to formatting rules.
  6. Prepare a draft for publication submission.

Quarter II 

Unit I: Elements of Poetry

  1. Review the conventions of poetry, including alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, rhythm, rhyme, the figurative language of metaphor, simile, and personification.
  2. Evaluate the variety of poetry tanka, haiku, senryu, triolet, villanelle, concrete poetry, and free verse)
  3. View examples of poetry which illustrate the conventions and the variety possible within the genre.

Unit II: Writing Poetry

  1. Examine the personal poem written on Day 1 of class; Use this as a basis to write a narrative poem in free verse.
  2. Write tankas; peer review.
  3. Write haikus and senryus; peer review.
  4. Write triolets; peer review.
  5. Write villanelles; peer review.
  6. Write poems (any format) to picture prompts.
  7. Discuss peer efforts using rubrics.
  8. Prepare drafts of poems for publication submission.

Unit III: Elements of Play Writing

1.      Learn the conventions of play writing (stage directions; cast page)

2.      Examine segments of professional scripts to see how dialogue develops character, establishes setting and moves the plot.

3.      Consider purpose/use of exposition, climax, resolution.

4.      Evaluate conflict/dilemma possibilities

5.      Write a premise and treatment for a one-act play

6.      Discuss premise/treatment feasibilities. Trouble-shoot character/plot development.

7.      Revise and write character “thumbprints.”

Unit IV: Writing the One-Act Play

1.      Examine peer efforts according to the following categories: character, conflict, dialogue, plot, and format.

2.      Explore writing one-act plays which experiment with sequences that are not always lineal (flash forwards, flash backwards)

3.      In groups of 4, write a one-act play of three scenes.

Unit V: The Visual Essay

1.      Choose any piece written during the semester and use multimedia to produce a visual essay (can use, for example, Power Point or Movie Maker programs);

2.      Present the visual essay as the mid-term or final exam option.

 

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