Classes and Workshops

RIVER HOUSE

CREATIVE WRITING CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

Creative Writing at UNF

The Writing Program of the English Department regularly fields a variety of creative writing workshops. For current offerings, the UNF Writing Program can be reached at (904)620-4035

Spring 2009

11279 CRW3930 3 Poetry Workshop 01-08 04-24 1 R 1800 2045 0012 2116 Tiffany Beechy: This is a course for writers of poetry that follows a workshop model. We will study the craft of poetry as an expression of the human condition, developing skill with language, knowledge of form, and willingness to revise. The primary methods of instruction will be workshop presentation and criticism of student texts, in-class writing exercises, and analyses (both formal and informal) of model poems. Our primary texts will be students’ drafts and revisions, students’ selections of model poems, and texts on technique. Each student in the class must invest time and energy in dynamic revision of his or her own work as well as in the efforts of all students in the class.

11504 CRW3930 3 Fiction Workshop 01-05 04-24 1 M 1800 2045 0012 2116 Mark Ari: DEPARTMENT PERMISSION REQUIRED Each of us, however long we’ve been writing, are wherever we are, hoping to get “better,” whatever this means to anyone at a particular time. We are always, every one of us, “beginners.” This workshop is designed to explore and refine the student’s individual writing interests. In it, we read and write fiction. We talk and write about the fiction written by others. We bite nails and open veins and tend to the work at hand. Traditional and nontraditional approaches will be discussed. Experimentation is relished. Laughter is encouraged

11505 CRW3930 3 Fiction Workshop 01-06 04-24 1 T 1800 2045 0012 2116 Marcus Pactor: A workshop is a great place for young writers to gather and teach one another about the art of storytelling. Twice a week, we'll meet to discuss our own stories, figuring out what makes them work and how to improve them. We'll use these talks as springboards for wider discussions about the overall craft of fiction: putting together strong plots, writing great dialogue, creating drama, etc. No books are required -- we'll be using our own short stories or novel chapters instead.

11506 CRW3930 3 Screenwriting Workshop 01-07 04-24 1 W 1800 2045 0012 2116 Allan Marcil: This course will explore the fundamentals of screenplay writing in a workshop format. Students will learn and exercise the rudiments of dramatic writing and cinematic structure while creating an original, feature length motion picture screenplay. Through assigned readings, writing assignments and film screenings, students will be immersed in writing for the dominant art form of the 20th and 21st centuries. Students will also receive “real world” instruction about professional opportunities within the film and television industry, advice about pursuing agency representation and individualized revision strategies for perfecting their work for submission.

The following is a partial list of courses previously given. It's meant to provide an idea of the department's variet of offerings.

Writer's Workshop - CRW 3015
This course is a workshop for those exploring creative writing in a variety of genres. Content is variable, depending on instructor.

Instructors who teach the Writer's Worshop include Ari, Espano, and Leavitt.

Life Writing - CRW 3930 (Baron)
Life Writing: Tell it slant. Truly, what is your life’s story? What have you to tell others by writing about and out of yourself? Students will explore personal non-fiction writing in many forms and will read memoir, diaries, graphic novels and creative non-fiction.

Fiction Workshop - CRW 3930 (Ari)
Each of us, however long we’ve been writing, are wherever we are, hoping to get “better,” whatever this means to anyone at a particular time. We are always, every one of us, “beginners.” This workshop is designed to explore and refine the student’s individual writing interests. In it, we read and write fiction. We talk and write about the fiction written by others. We bite nails and open veins and tend to the work at hand. Traditional and nontraditional approaches will be discussed. Experimentation is relished. Laughter is encouraged.

Marcus Pactor also regularly teaches a fiction workshop.

Poetry Workshop - CRW 3930
This course will focus on writing poetry with the goal of publishing in literary magazines. By the end of the semester, you will learn how to use similes, metaphors, personification, concrete language, line breaks, stanzas, rhyme, and free verse. To help you become a better writer, we will analyze published works by contemporary poets and critique student poems. As a community of fellow writers, we will support each other's efforts to explore the art of poetry.

Instructors who regularly teach the poetry workshop are Espano and Beechy.

Creative Nonfiction Workshop - CRW 3930 (Ari)
This course he National Foundation for the Arts defines creative nonfiction as “factual prose that is also literary – infused with the stylistic devices, tropes and rhetorical flourishes of the best fiction and the most lyrical of narrative poetry.”

"It's very literariness distinguishes this writing from deadline reportage, daily journalism, academic criticism, and critical biography. It is storytelling of a very high order through the revelation of character and the suspense of plot, the subtle braiding of themes, rhythms and resonance, memory and imaginative research, precise and original language·" —from Writing Creative Nonfiction by Carolyn Forche and Philip Gerard

The Creative Nonfictionworkshop will explore and refine student's individual writing interests from Gonzo to Tinker Creek and everything between and beyond. The student writer will develop the vocabulary and manner for fruitful discussion of his/her own work, and the work of others. This course is not for those who wish to explore day-to-day journalism or academic writing. Other than that, so long as it is founded in fact and absolutely faithful to accuracy, you can go where you will. The possibilities are enormous - and a little frightening.

Article and Essay Workshop - CRW 3930 (Gambino)
In this course, we will learn to apply the techniques of storytelling to nonfiction prose pieces, including memoirs, personal essays, features, and reviews. The course will also feature practical information about marketing your nonfiction work.

Screenwriting Workshop - CRW 3930 (Marcil)
This course is an intensive workshop where students will learn and practice the fundamental elements of effective screenwriting. Students, through exercises and guided analysis of illustrative films and screenplays, will explore character development, story arc, conflict, visual thinking and basic dramatic structure as they develop and write a feature length motion picture screenplay (approx. 120 pages). Students will learn the art of the ?pitch? as they perfect their ability to tell and sell their story orally. They will incorporate outlining skills as they evolve the essential shape of their film. They will be guided through the practical skills of finding theatrical representation (an agent) for their work. The course will also discuss the protean instability of the current motion picture/television business as it adapts to the digital age.

Creative Writing at FCCJ
Contact the FCCJ Communications Department at 904-381-3445

Creative Writing - CRW 2001
Prerequisite: ENC 1101. This course develops students capacity for imaginative writing in prose and writing poetry. The course includes critical discussion of students work and of selected literary techniques and individual conferences. Three contact hours. A.A.

Workshops offered in the Community

River House Creative Writing Laboratory: student-moderated workshops in a variety of genres.

Sisters in Crime - Open to anyone interested in mystery writing