ENC 3310 Fall 2024 -Alexander

This course is for upper-level undergraduate students interested in writing creative nonfiction. Creative nonfiction exists on a spectrum that stretches between researched, journalistic articles on the one hand, and lyrical personal essays on the other. The genre is "nonfiction," and as such, it tries to be true, with the recognition that truth is sometimes various, not always objective, and exists within a contract established between the writer and the reader. At the same time, the genre is "creative," and uses many of the techniques of fiction, such as scenes, dialogue, characters, setting, sensory detail, narrative, point of view, conflict, etc. In this course, we will explore and practice a wide range of styles within the genre of creative nonfiction by reading and discussing published work situated within the wide history of the genre, and by writing, workshoping, and revising your own creative nonfiction. Writing is a form of expression, but also an ongoing process, and therefore requires time, revision, and artful attention to craft.