Overview
Literary non-fiction is a broad term describing a range of writing genres, all of which have two simple things in common: they are written in prose (as opposed to poetry) and they deal with non-fictional subject matter (as opposed to novels or short stories). In a sense, literary non-fiction is the documentary film of the literary world, as with documentaries, literary non-fiction essays and books represent a vast range of styles and subject matter. WRIT 290 offers students an opportunity to study and write works of literary non-fiction. Through readings, exercises, forum discussions, and writing assignments, students will develop a greater sense of how literary non-fiction can work as a creative form of writing. The course will culminate in the publication of an e-book containing students' final literary non-fiction writing assignments, which will be distributed to students via Dr. May's class website.
Learning Outcomes
In WRIT 290, students will
- learn about creative non-fiction as a literary genre (stylistic and mechanical aspects);
- read works by recent writers working in a variety of fields (travel writing, biography, the personal essay, etc.);
- experiment with creative non-fiction as a mode of writing.
Through these experiences, students will
- enhance their critical reading skills through readings and discussion of course texts;
- develop their writing skills by creating strong, organized, and original works of creative non-fiction to a publishable standard, and by participating in dialogue with markers, instructors, and other students on course
- readings and their own work through feedback and online discussions;
- learn to critique and edit their own work as well as that of others; and
- see their final work published in an e-book anthology at the end of the course.
Topics
The course is divided into 12 units, each of which examines a different aspect of writing creative non-fiction:
- Unit 1: What Is Creative Non-Fiction?
- Unit 2: The Truthfulness of Creative Non-Fiction
- Unit 3: Ten Writing Recommendations
- Unit 4: Types of Creative Non-Fiction
- Unit 5: Research and Immersion
- Unit 6: Narrative and Narrators
- Unit 7: Reading and Readers
- Unit 8: Scenes
- Unit 9: Information
- Unit 10: Recreation and Reconstruction
- Unit 11: Hook, Frame, and Focus
- Unit 12: Revising Creative Non-Fiction