Re: Creative Writing Courses
Dana's comment on "Living under the Open Sky" about how Author didn't know anything about the drugs he/she was writing about reminded me of this.
Here at Michigan, there are three creative writing classes that contain fiction writing: 223 (intro, also has poetry), 323, and 423. It's probably worth noting that both 323 and 423 require portfolio submissions, and usually around 25 people apply for 15 spots. English 325 (essay writing) is a class that requires students to write nonfiction essays, often about themselves. What I'm about to say applies to all of these courses.
It's been my experience that the bulk of works that come out of creative writing courses fall into these categories:
1) Stories about sex (it's EDGY!!!)
2) Stories about drugs or other dark things (EDGY!!!)
3) Stories that are just retellings of events that happened to the author in real life. Common subject: unrequited love.
4) A story about something that happened to the student while studying abroad. Often combines some or all of 1-3 above.
Additions?
Here at Michigan, there are three creative writing classes that contain fiction writing: 223 (intro, also has poetry), 323, and 423. It's probably worth noting that both 323 and 423 require portfolio submissions, and usually around 25 people apply for 15 spots. English 325 (essay writing) is a class that requires students to write nonfiction essays, often about themselves. What I'm about to say applies to all of these courses.
It's been my experience that the bulk of works that come out of creative writing courses fall into these categories:
1) Stories about sex (it's EDGY!!!)
2) Stories about drugs or other dark things (EDGY!!!)
3) Stories that are just retellings of events that happened to the author in real life. Common subject: unrequited love.
4) A story about something that happened to the student while studying abroad. Often combines some or all of 1-3 above.
Additions?
Labels: cliches, creative writing, short story
posted by AHFB at 2:40 AM
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