ENGL 206 - Intermediate Creative Writing

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

Continued study and practice of various forms of prose and poetry. Reading and writing assignments may include prose fiction, journals, poetry, drama, and essays.

Topic for 2023/24b: Dialogue Forms: Building the Scene. This class examines character, action, and dialogue through the building block of the scene. We do close readings of selected scenes from contemporary fiction, plays, and screenplays by such writers as Annie Proulx, Raymond Carver, Toni Morrison, Lily King, Sam Shepard, Annie Baker, Diana Son, Marco Ramirez, Lynn Nottage, Chiori Miyagawa, Amy Herzog, Callie Khouri, Diana Osana, Barry Jenkins, and Waldo Salt. You write scenes in each of these literary and performance forms, moving from short exercises to more sustained pieces and a longer final project that you expand and revise in intensive workshop sessions, honing your editorial and revision skills. Acting experience is not required, but students should be willing to read their own and others’ work aloud in a supportive workshop environment. The class culminates with an informal reading of students’ short fiction, one-act plays, and short screenplays. Nina Shengold.

Prerequisite(s): Open to any student who has taken ENGL 205.

One 2-hour period and individual conferences with the instructor.

Course Format: CLS