Emphasis in Creative Writing (12 units)

While the creative writing student will be competitive for graduate programs in English or even law school, this emphasis also prepares the student for professional writing and/or MFA programs in creative writing. The sequence is designed to graduate students with a portfolio of polished stories, a substantial portion of a novel, memoir, or book of poetry, or a screenplay.

The creative writing emphasis takes careful planning and a thoughtful choice of courses. Some students have found themselves taking four creative writing courses in their last semester, which generally turns out to be far too taxing on one's creative powers. Keep in mind that during one's last semester, the Capstone and the Project will both require writing, which might well be challenging enough. Therefore, students must have the chair's permission to take more than one writing course in any semester, and we encourage students to take only one. If you'd like planning help, come in and talk with Professor Joan K. Peters who coordinates the emphasis.

Guest speakers are an especially exciting feature of the creative writing emphasis. In our first four years, we've had major American authors come to read their work, lecture, and discuss the writing process with students. Students have learned a great deal from: Luis Rodriguez (Always Running), Joan Silber, National Book Award Finalist for her short story collection, Nicaraguan poet and novelist, Gioconda Belli ( The Country Under My Skin ), novelist and screenwriter, Fanny Flag ( Fried Green Tomatoes ), memoirist and novelist of working class life, Chicana novelist and screenwriter, Maria Amparo Escandon, ( Esperanza's Box of Saints ) Michelle Tea ( The Chelsea Whistle ), and memoirist and novelist of the Cultural Revolution in China, Anchee Min ( Red Azalea ).

Creative Writing Emphasis Requirements

Students must choose Sequence B as their required sequence.

The courses can be taken simultaneously or successively. If taken simultaneously, the writing portion can be on the same work, but will have to represent a greater effort:

In addition to Sequence B, choose nine units from the following:

• ENGL 461 Fiction Writing (3)
• ENGL 462 Poetry Writing (3)
• ENGL 463 Writing for the Stage and Screen (3)
• ENGL 464 Creative Non-Fiction (3)

As their final course in the emphasis, students take:

• ENGL 465 Creative Writing Project (3)

The Creative Writing Project , to be taken after the student completes: Engl. 460, six units of another 460 course, and two upper division creative writing courses, is a service learning experience. Students in the project will assume directorship, either singly or as a collective, of the CSUCI literary journal, The Island Fox. This includes both editing and publishing the journal. See Professor Joan K. Peters, coordinator of the emphasis, for more information.

Our Creative Writing Orientation : A statement of beliefs about fiction writing.

Expected Learning Outcomes: students completing the course will

• rework and expand material beyond the parameters possible in one semester
• identify and select fully realized literary works
• cultivate their leadership and managerial skills
• build their teamwork skills
• communicate their plans and justifications to others
• demonstrate the ability to complete a large project
• gain experience in working for a literary magazine

In their final semester, Creative Writing Emphasis students will take the English Capstone, where they may produce a work of publishable quality in either fiction, poetry, writing for the stage and screen, or creative non-fiction. If students are already taking another writing course, they may instead be advised to take capstone as a literature course, writing about literature to supplement the creative work they have been developing in former writing courses.

Expected Learning Outcomes: students completing the course will

• identify appropriate material
• master the arts of narrative, dramatization, dialogue, and characterization
• demonstrate the ability to sustain creative work
• refine editing skills to create a polished final draft
• articulate the significance of their work and write out their plan for its completion
• identify a market for their writing