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AREA I - WRITING AND CULTURE
ENG 675: Special Topics Writing Workshop – Personal Essay
In this course, we will read a wide selection of personal essays, focusing primarily on the short essay. We will explore various topics: food, travel, spirituality, and memory. Students will get to try their hands at different forms and techniques, including the lyric essay, the braided essay, oral narrative, and immersion journalism. In both student and published work, we will consider the complicated matters of memory, imagination, and questions of emotional and factual truth. We will also explore possible venues for publication, both in print and online, and how to approach the publication process. The course will consist of discussions of reading, writing prompts and exercises, and workshop. Counts as Area I or Area III.
AREA III - PROFESSIONAL WRITING
ENG 683: Editing Practicum - Hands-On Editing Workshop for Writers
“What you leave out is infinitely more than what you leave in.”—Ursula LeGuin, Steering the Craft
Ever wish you had an editor for your manuscript? What if you could be your own editor? In this workshop, you’ll learn how to apply two essential writing tools—concision and continuity—to enliven your prose.
Are you playing it safe, relying on simple declarative sentences? Do you avoid using dashes or colons because you aren’t sure how they work? Are you so worried about being “correct” that your prose feels less than authentic or true?
In this workshop, our aim will be to deepen your connection to your voice by examining the ways in which grammar and syntax serve story (or nonfiction prose). You’ll be editing your own work “live” and doing “hands-on” exercises. Above all, you will learn how to take risks and how to trust your own voice. You’ll learn how working at the sentence level can do wonders to help you reinvent stock characters, underdeveloped scenes, or lackluster prose. A deeper understanding of syntax can increase the power and clarity of your prose, and will ultimately empower you as a writer and build confidence in your writing.
Participants will receive handouts and instruction at each class meeting; we’ll use these as our guides as we proceed—with tender loving care, of course—to do a little dismantling. (Don’t worry—no red pencils required!) A magnificent edifice begins with a strong foundation.
Students are asked to bring work in progress to the first class.
PAST COURSE OFFERINGS
Spring 2013
Fall 2012
Spring 2012
Fall 2011
Spring 2011
Fall 2010
Summer 2010
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