Once Upon a Creative Writing Course

Students will learn several key elements: how to read and analyze creative writing, how to think like a writer, the invention of ideas tools of the writer, the process of creative writing, how to peer-review in constructive and meaningful ways, and most importantly how to express themselves creatively in the medium of creative writing. Some of the types of writing we will cover are, but not limited to:

Autobiographical Essay
Fables
Fairy Tales
Poetry
Short Stories 
Children's Stories 
Descriptive Writing 
Song Lyrics
Theater 

There will be a weekly assignment (with two parts) to be completed outside of the classroom. The assignment will be exhibited and reviewed in the following meeting. The first part of the assignment involves reading an assigned story/poem/article followed by an exploration of those concepts/themes that were discussed. The second part of the assignment will be to create your own piece of creative writing using the same concept/theme. There will also be a final assignment which will be longer and be weighted more in the final average.  There will be a few short quizzes to ensure important vocabulary, grammar rules, and other tips are committed to memory. 

The learner will assess their progress in three ways: peer-review; self-review; and instructor review. Assignments will often repeat every few weeks to allow for additional opportunities to deepen their understanding and to practice the writing techniques discussed in class. 

1 hour 50 minutes per week in class, and an estimated 4+ hours per week outside of class.