Creative Writing Courses

The English department offers a variety of creative writing classes each term. Check class schedule for the current offerings. Creative Writing courses are conducted in a workshop setting, and include an introduction to creative writing (English 105) that covers fiction, poetry and drama. Additionally, the English department offers a number of specialized creative writing classes designed to workshop each genre individually. These courses include Creative Writing: Fiction, Creative Writing: Poetry, and Creative Writing: Non-Fiction. There is also an Introduction to Playwriting class co-offered with the COC Theatre Department. The capstone course for Creative Writing is English 122: Literary Magazine Production. The Literary Magazine Production class is offered every fall, and the class produces the COC English Department Literary Magazine, cul-de-sac. Students who complete the Creative Writing series of courses will be able to

• Distinguish between descriptive writing--writing that attempts to describe and interpret our real environment, and literary writing--writing that creates its own universe.
• Develop a story based on a premise that sets forth the story's setting, major character(s), motivation, and conflict
• Create poems which demonstrate thematic ("organic") unity among elements
• Compose engaging, cohesive, memorable creative non-fiction essays, supported with descriptive and vivid details and articulated with an original voice, which convey specific, thoughtful insights.
• Execute a literary magazine through all stages of the production process.

For more information about the COC English Department literary magazine, please visit the cul-de-sac home page.

To submit materials or contact the literary magazine advisor, please email culdesacmag@canyons.edu