Course Descriptions
The students will devote mornings to the study of their primary genre. They will learn the basic tenets of the genre and share their work with other students. Afternoons will be spent working on specific genres of writing, which have their own tenets; these sessions will build upon the lessons learned in the primary genre classes. During lab time the students can use the computer labs to draft and revise their work. They can also use this time to meet with their professors, mentors, or classmates for additional help.
Primary Genres
Poetry Workshop
Faculty Member: Katherine Bode-Lang
This class is designed to be a process of discovery—of new writers, of different ways of writing, and of yourself as a writer. We’ll be doing plenty of the good stuff: reading,
writing, and workshopping. We’ll also do a little exploring; expect mini–field trips around campus as well as poem “assignments” that range from the traditional to the
unusual. We want to cover as much poetic ground as possible during our time together; we’ll be using a variety of sources to help us with that, including the projects of recent
poet laureates and interviews with contemporary poets. Most important, you’ll get to write and share your poems frequently. If a sharp pencil is your favorite instrument,
this is the place to use it.
Fiction Workshop
Faculty Member: Paul M. Kellermann
Some people believe that creative writing cannot be taught. Perhaps not, but it certainly can be learned. In this class we will help you learn to write fiction by examining the
fundamentals of literary writing technique. At its core, fiction writing is little more than glorified storytelling—a craft almost as old as humankind itself. Thus, we will
begin with narrative. And we’ll end with narrative. In between, we will address all the usual literary suspects: point of view, structure, setting, scene, characterization,
dialogue, details, details, details. But mostly we will read and write. A lot. You cannot hope to become a writer without a love, awe, and appreciation of the written
word. We will also critique each other’s work. And if whimsy strikes, we might even have a little fun.
Elective Genres
Screenwriting
Faculty Member: Mary Rohrer-Dann
Before Sonny and Cher woke up TV weatherman Phil Connors to yet another Groundhog Day, there was a great script. Before Napoleon Dynamite and Deb hooked up over tetherball, there was a great script. Before Rick gave Ilsa and Victor the letters of transit to escape Casablanca—yup—there was a great script.
In the screenwriting class you will write your own original screenplay (and maybe come up with the next Oscar winner!). To introduce you to the basics, we’ll discuss various movie genres and watch several clips. We’ll learn about the classic three-act structure that provides the framework for all great stories. And we’ll practice the elements of great screenwriting: a strong concept and story arc; appealing characters; smart dialogue; snazzy scene descriptions.
Songwriting Workshop
Faculty Member: Stacy Glen Tibbetts
Do you listen to classic rock, like the DMB or the Stones? Are you more of a hip-hop fan? Do you dig singer-songwriters like Alicia Keys, Sting, and John Mayer? Or maybe you’re a music theatre fan, singing along in the shower to West Side Story. Funk and soul music, anyone? All song styles will be accepted in this fast-paced workshop, a chance to learn not just WHAT we like, but WHY we like it, and, most important, HOW the songs themselves work.
What are some typical structures and forms for songs? How do these structures relate to the genre or type of song? What’s a chord anyway, and how should chords change? Do all songs have them? What are the building blocks of a tune or melody? Of a lyric? Hey, I thought a bridge was a thing over a river! What’s point of view? Meter? Hey, what about rhythm—words have it, and so do melodies, actually. We’ll explore these connections and more.
Some of our time will be spent considering and discussing examples, some time practicing writing in class, and some time “workshopping” (trying out on a real audience of your classmates) your own songs. We’ll spend more time on lyrics, but we’ll also learn some basic music theory. No knowledge of music notation is needed, and you may bring any instrument you’d like, if you want. We’ll be in a town with a lot of musicians and live music, so we might also have the chance to listen to some live music and maybe even perform our songs!
Science Fiction Writing
In this workshop we’ll write a science fiction story; we’ll walk through the writing process from the planning stages to the creation of a rough draft, and then we’ll use the workshop to edit that rough draft into a final draft. This class will emphasize the innate ability of science fiction authors to critique the society in which they live; it will show how writers use science fiction as a means of social commentary. We’ll explore the conventions of science fiction and discuss the range of works that are out there. We’ll read some short science fiction pieces, including selections from novels such as M. T. Anderson’s Feed, and short stories and excerpts from such authors as Kurt Vonnegut, George Orwell, and Ray Bradbury.
Comic Writing
The comic book writing course will be a rocking good time in which students will learn the basics of storytelling and the virtues of defining the world in terms of good versus evil. The final project will be a short piece of original sequential art created by the student. The story will be the focus of the course, but a limited amount of original artwork will be required as well. (Stick figures shall report to duty as required.)
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