 Department of English Language and Literature |
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| English 223.002: Intro to Creative Non-Fiction What better way to capture the world around us than through personal story telling? When we explore our individual vision of the world, we link our experience to the narrative arc of human understanding. Creative Nonfiction offers a literary illustration of our time in history, our culture, and our landscape. As Vladimir Nabokov writes in his personal essay, "The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness." With this quantitative view of existence, we should recognize our writing as testimonies—a description of our moment in time. In this class we will discover ourselves as distinct characters. We will also develop the detachment necessary to narrate our personal stories for readers. We will utilize literary craft to stimulate the imagination of our readers. We will learn dialogue, setting, characterization, and plot. In order to write well, we must also read well. We will learn to read like writers in order to learn how to write better. Because this class is a creative nonfiction class, we will explore the boundary between truth and invention. This class should help you build an understanding of prose craft and technique by focusing on the writing "habit." We will practice. This class will emphasize process over product. Through writing, we will discover compassion for ourselves as well as important people in our lives. Texts: Imaginative Writing—The Elements of Craft: Janet Burroway |
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