Announcements

 

We are offering FIVE new creative writing classes in Spring 2027. 

These classes count toward the creative writing certificate requirements, but enrollment is open to ALL students (whether in the certificate program or not).
 

CRW 325 • "Space And Substance" – Prof. Vallianatos

#34733 • Spring 2027
Meets TTH 11:00AM-12:30PM

Description:  Substance and Space will examine fragmented and short narratives. Students will read short forms, both fiction and nonfiction, with an eye toward identifying the source of the punch and power of the form (thematic, structural, syntactic); the larger story the short form tells; and the expansiveness of voice and vision that the short form’s compression, paradoxically, is able to yield. Students will lead discussion of texts in pairs, and write and workshop two longer assignments, one a found text assignment and the other a creative essay.

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CRW 325 • "Writing Villains" – Prof. Frazier

34735 • Spring 2027
Meets MW 12:30PM-2:00PM

“A hero will sacrifice you to save the world, but a villain will sacrifice the world to save you.”

Description: This is a fiction writing class focused on the topic of Villains. In this course, we will dissect an array of characters in literature, television, and film to understand what it means to be a “villain” and how we can develop compelling characters in our own writing. The framework for this exploration will be split into four sections: origin, arc, downfall, and legacy. The first section will explore the origin of the word “villain” and how the meaning has changed over time. This section covers villain origin stories and how their underlying beliefs are formed. The second section will examine villain archetypes and how each action they take towards achieving their master plan is inherently tied to the character’s traits, personality, and development. The third section will analyze the villain’s demise and if their demise was by design or by default. In other words, we will discuss whether or not a character’s fatal flaw and beliefs predetermine how they meet their end. The final section will uncover the kinds of influence or impact a villain makes on the world even after they’ve been defeated, and if our initial assessment of these characters should be reconsidered.

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CRW 325 • Poetry: "Attention And Recognition" – Prof. Matthes

34730 • Spring 2027
Meets TTH 2:00PM-3:30PM

Description:  Attention, misdirection, recognition. This course is meant to help students establish and challenge their unique poetic voices. We will hold poems up as lenses through which to view the world and use that vantage as the basis for our own original work. This is a course of experimentation: what happens when we write in order to be unidentifiable by our peers? What if a poem is made of captions we write for old photographs? How is a poem different when written in front of a painting, or on the grass outside the museum?

Students will be able to analyze poetry through describing what a poem says, what it does, and what its effect is, and through understanding the differences of these categories. They will write poems grounded in the senses. They will be able to describe their own poetic voice, as well as the voices of their peers, and use that description to implement new techniques into their writing. They will have new generative tools to help writing poetry, and using writers’ block as a vantage from which to stand, look out, and gain new vision.

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CRW 325 • "Writing Historical Fiction" – Prof. Pipkin

34734 • Spring 2027
Meets TTH 2:00PM-3:30PM  

Description:  This is a course in writing historical fiction with a focus on the short story form. Stories that fall into the category of historical fiction are usually doing much more than simply telling a story that takes place in the past. After all, at some point, almost all stories eventually take place in a time period that has become part of the past. So then, what do we mean by historical fiction? What are our expectations as readers? And what are our narrative goals as writers? We will begin by examining examples of historical fiction to identify recurring themes and issues, as well as stylistic and structural conventions characteristic of stories in this the genre. We will also discuss strategies for writing fiction that engages with historical events to lend a new perspective on already known facts—since fiction can help to reveal truths that aren’t readily apparent in facts alone—and we will discuss ways to avoid didacticism and foreground storytelling in order to make a relevant connection to contemporary readers. We will also identify clichés in the genre, and we will give special attention to techniques for representing actual historical figures as characters in a work of fiction.

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CRW 325 • "Writing Climate Fiction" - Prof. Unferth

34730 • Spring 2027
Meets TTH 3:30-5:00pm

This a fiction writing class focused on the topic of Climate Change.  We will look at the effects of a changing climate on the environment and on the quality of life for all creature living on the planet.  We will examine the history of literary responses to climate change by looking at the way that climate change has been represented in fiction.  And we will explore ways of writing original stories that represent climate change with a specific thematic goal in mind.  The main emphasis in the class is on the writing compelling and intriguing stories, so we will spend substantial time discussing the differences between apocalyptic fiction, science fiction, and literary fiction that focuses more specifically on the impact of climate change on human relationships.  Writing is a process, and we will put substantial emphasis on the process of drafting and revising with specific attention to developing revision strategies.  Class will consist of lecture, in-class writing, and discussion.  You should be prepared to read and discuss your work in class. 

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Ongoing

There are still a few seats left in the Spring 2027 semester for new applicants in Fiction, and for students who wish to apply for the Honors Thesis class.

CREATIVE WRITING CERTIFICATE APPLICATION

The Creative Writing Certificate Program is currently accepting applications for the Spring 2027 semester.   We will continue to accept applications until available space for the spring semester has filled. 

Please Note: We are only accepting applications for the fiction sequence at this time, since the Intro to Poetry class CRW 325P will not be offered in the Spring.  Students interested in pursuing the poetry sequence should apply during the next application period February 1 - March 1, 2027, for admission in Fall 2027.

The application has TWO parts:

1) Fill out the CREATIVE WRITING CERTIFICATE APPLICATION

2) Upload your Writing Sample to the WRITING SAMPLE FOLDER

WRITING SAMPLE

Fiction: up to 2,500 words total (one story, several stories, or a novel excerpt)

Please include your Name and EID on the writing sample and in the file name: Last_First_EID

 

CREATIVE HONORS PROJECT APPLICATION 

The Creative Writing Certificate Program is currently accepting applications to the Honors Project, CRW370H for Spring 2027.  This class is intended for advanced students in creative writing who have demonstrated a sustained commitment to writing and wish to work under supervision on a particular project to culminate in a final creative thesis.

The Honors Project class, CRW 370H, is an extra class taken in addition to the 18 credits required for the certificate, and it does not count as one of the "elective" classes required to complete the certificate. Students taking 370H must still fulfill all of the required 18 credits for the certificate in addition to the honors project class.

Eligibility:

A University GPA of at least 3.33 and a Creative Writing Certificate GPA of at least 3.66 are required for the Honors Creative Writing Certificate to be awarded, as stipulated in the Undergraduate Catalog. Applicants must have completed or be enrolled in CRW 355F or 355P at the time of application. 

The Honors Application has TWO parts:

1) Fill out the CREATIVE WRITING HONORS PROJECT APPLICATION

2) Upload your Thesis Proposal and Writing Sample in ONE document to the HONORS APPLICATION FOLDER

    Please include your Name and EID on the writing sample and in the file name: Last_First_EID