Writing Courses

NEW COURSES COMING FALL/WINTER 2018-19

2520A - Write Now! Writers on Writing

Write Now! Writers Speak offers you the unique opportunity to learn directly from writers about the craft and profession of writing while working on your own writing. Over the term, 10 writers visit the class to read from their work and discuss their writing and their careers.

2530B - TV or not TV: Writing for the Television Industry

This course teaches students how to write and subsequently pitch creative projects that reflect the four current television broadcast models: network, basic cable, premium cable, and Over the Top (OTT). By exploring a variety of both scripted and unscripted approaches traversing the genres, this course will also help prepare students for careers in paid writing and production in the TV industry in both Canada and the United States. Students will also learn how to navigate the different funding models and development processes between the two countries, including the use of agents, unions, and studios. Each week will consist of two lecture hours plus a one-hour tutorial/screening session.

3901F - You're a Strange Animal: Writing Nature, Writing the Self

Nature is a slippery fish. In this course, we will use poetry, fiction and non-fiction to capture (and release) some of the fundamentals of nature writing. We will write about nature, in nature. Campus will be our classroom. We will spend about half of our time exploring natural (and not so natural) features of Western Campus: hissing geese, tree species, birds of prey, groundhogs, creepy-crawlies, green spaces, parking lots, taxidermized animals in the basement of Natural Science, the river, the food court, the football field.

3901G - The Art of the Personal Essay

Everyone one of us has stories to tell. In this age of “selfies,” written personal narratives can add depth to our self-reflections. In “The Art of the Personal Essay,” you’ll learn how to discover and write strong personal narratives that draw people in, connecting with your readers at the emotional level. Personal essays are a type of creative non-fiction that use the craft tools of the fiction writer – especially but not only “show don’t tell” – to document moments of internal change in the narrator. A well-told personal narrative resonates with readers and gives them a sense of connection whether or not they’ve had the same experience as the narrator. In this course, you can expect to get familiar with this fascinating genre. We’ll learn about the craft of personal essay writing in a few different ways, from reading about it from a “how-to” perspective, to reading examples of excellent personal essays (like David Foster Wallace’s brilliant “Consider the Lobster”), to doing in-class assignments to discover your material (you may be surprised which of your stories are waiting to be told). And of course you’ll write your own personal narratives and give and receive feedback from your peers (and your instructor) in workshops.

3902G - Creating Youth: Writing for Young Adults

This course considers the art and craft of writing for young adults. We begin by reading examples of YA literature to determine principles of craft. We will then write literature for young adults. Assignments may include: novel pitch, short fiction piece, a novel chunk, and poetry collection.

3903G - Macabre Manuscripts: Horror Fiction

This course teaches students how to effectively author and successfully market creative projects that traverse the various subgenres of horror fiction as broadly defined. From the earliest Gothic works to the anodyne novels of R.L. Stine; from zombie apocalypse narratives and vampire erotica to the iconic multimedia works of Stephen King, David Lynch, and Anne Rice, this course will also critically examine the evolution of horror fiction as a domain of serious literary scholarship. Students will additionally learn how to navigate the different distribution models for horror today, from conventional book publishing and screenwriting to collected short stories and digital anthologies, graphic novels, video games, and even podcasting as the latest in a longstanding tradition of audio performances of horror stories. Each week will consist of two lecture hours plus a one-hour screening session.

4880G - Seminar in Creative Writing

Character wants a good job, plenty of excitement, quest, possible assistance from mentors and companions. Working through language creation, motifs, and structure, this course will help you create and plan a full-length project of fantastic literature.