ENGL 221: Creative Writing II: Fiction

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Class Program
English
Distribution
Humanities Lecture
Credits 5 Lecture Hours 55
This course is designed for students who have completed an introductory fiction writing class (such as ENGL 211) and who want to continue their creative writing in a lecture and workshop setting. Students will further develop the techniques that writers use to build effective fiction and use the writer’s workshop as a method for improving their own work. Students will also read and analyze stories and/or novels with an eye toward improving their own craft.

Prerequisites

ENGL 211 or instructor permission.
Course Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to demonstrate the following knowledge or skills:

  1. Demonstrate the techniques of effective fiction writing that were established in earlier creative writing courses.
  2. Consistently produce fiction that shows a strong understanding of creative writing conventions and techniques.
  3. Demonstrate higher order problem-solving and critical thinking skills through critiques of others’ work and by processing critiques of their own writing.
  4. Evaluate works of fiction in published and unpublished works.
  5. Read and analyze a variety of literary works, authors and ideas.
  6. Effectively critique and analyze other people’s fiction in a workshop setting and in written comments.
  7. Develop the writing skills necessary to pursue creative writing on their own, in writing groups, or in advanced academic settings.
Institutional Outcomes
IO1 Communication: Students will be able to communicate clearly and effectively.
Course Content Outline
  1. The majority of class sessions will focus on short-story workshops, where students have the chance to share their work and engage critically with the work of others.
  2. In addition to workshopping stories, throughout the quarter:
    1. Students will review elements of fiction writing that were covered in previous coursework, and will learn about these elements on a more developed and advanced level. Discussions and lectures also include additional, more advanced elements of fiction writing and publishing, as determined by the instructor and the interests of the class.
    2. Students will read a variety of published fiction with an eye toward analyzing the craft of established authors and incorporating their skills into the students’ own creative work.
    3. Students will complete formal and informal creative writing assignments as a way improve their craft.
Department Guidelines
  1. This class is set up as a workshop class, not a lecture class, so as much as possible students should be creating, sharing, and critiquing each other’s work.
  2. Ideally, workshops should be limited to two stories per 65 minute class period, which allows the entire class to discuss, analyze, and critique each student story for about 30 minutes. This allows for in-depth discussion and full articulation of the story’s merits.
  3. For each workshopped story, all students should be required to offer critiques in writing and in oral discussion.

PO4 should be assessed: Students will be able to recognize or articulate personal/interpersonal aspects of, or connections between, diverse cultural, social, or political contexts.