An elective writing course that provides students, at any level of experience, with a firm grasp of the fundamentals of imaginative self-expression. The assignments are diverse, ranging from traditional to contemporary forms of poetry, fiction, and drama, and imaginative non-fiction, in order to offer students a broad range of new opportunities for development of their own chosen subjects, and new ways to polish their own personal style.
Goals, Topics, and Objectives
- The Language of Imaginative Writing
- Discussion of the Writer’s Notebook and Journal
- The Collage Essay
- The Childhood or Memoir Poem
- Traditional Forms vs. Free Verse
- Writing the Dramatic Dialogue
- Found Poetry: Collage and Cut-Outs
- Beginnings and Endings of Fiction
- Character Development
- Plot Development
- Integrating Dialogue and Action in a Scene
- The Short-short
- The Short Story
- The Prose Poem
- The Myth, Legend, or Icon Poem or The Personification Poem
- Revision
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
1. Employ various techniques of invention and discovery to generate personally relevant subject matter for their creative works.
2. Compose imaginative works, such as poems, fiction, drama, or non-fiction works that reveal an awareness of the importance of representation (showing) as well as narration (telling), and expressiveness (style) as well as exposition (explanation).
3. Comprehend the writer-audience relationship and how it is effectively controlled using point of view, authorial voice, style and tone, humor, and expressive language.
4. Implement and articulate an awareness of how all forms of imaginative writing uses oppositions to create tension within characters, poetic lines, dramatic plot twists, etc.
5. Compare and contrast the different ways character development and discovery is created in poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and drama.
6. Revise and re-see writings to create completeness and coherence in selected works. Students will be able to interpret evaluations and critiques, select works appropriate for revision, and carry out changes in the direction of improvement.
Note that a grade of C- is not transferrable and is not accepted by some programs at HFC
Assessment and Requirements
Assessment is based on four to five writings in the writer’s portfolio, which may be revised throughout the semester.
General:
- Students will produce a minimum of 2000 words of imaginative writing in various genres and forms.
Specific:
- Students will write poems, fiction, drama, and imaginative non-fiction revealing awareness of traditional and non-traditional formal patterns, styles, and techniques characteristic of creative writing.
- Based on the instructor’s evaluations, critiques, and suggestions, as well as their own and/or other students’ judgment, students will select works from their creative writing portfolios for revision and re-submission, using critical thinking.
Required:
• Create material for their own compositions, using the writer’s notebook, individual exercises, and guided in-class collaborations.
• Examine published and unpublished models of traditional and non-traditional poems to identify techniques and approaches appropriate for their own imaginative writing.
• Practice expressiveness language, tone, and authorial voice.
• Write their own fiction, drama, and imaginative non-fiction considering the formats, techniques, and primary characteristics of these genres of prose writing.
• Revise selected works based on evaluations and critiques, carrying out changes in the direction of improvement.
• Engage in thoughtful discussions of assigned models, lecture topics, oral presentations of writing (both live and recorded), in-class exercises, and other course materials.
• Comprehend and use concepts essential the writing and the discussion of imaginative writing, such as line, stanza, imagery, color, stage directions, dialogue, chapter, plot, character development, etc.
Recommended:
• Students should learn the value of keeping a writer’s notebook and portfolio.
• Students should learn steps writers take in preparing manuscripts for publication. This might include a journal review and the presentation of possible journals for the submission of work at the midterm or end of class.
• Students should attend readings by poets or writers visiting campus or appearing at other venues.
• Students should learn techniques for effective oral presentation of their own works.
• Students should learn how to make helpful, constructive comments on the work of fellow students.
Outcomes
- Humanities and Fine Arts
- Humanities
- Category 5: Humanities and Fine Arts