Online Master's Degree MA in English & Creative Writing Fiction

This course is designed to provide writers with an insight into pedagogical approaches to teaching. Students design and plan instruction that promotes improved literacy practices. By investigating and practicing a variety of writing exercises, processes, and approaches to improve writing skills, students will create a portfolio of ideas and options for teaching others.

This course is designed to provide students with practical, hands-on experience as online classroom facilitators. Through institutional support, each student will be paired with an undergraduate instructor to assist with the daily and weekly responsibilities that come with teaching. Students will learn directly from experienced professionals best practices toward identifying struggling students, fostering motivation and student engagement, determining appropriate feedback for various assignments, and grading towards established rubrics. In addition to their assistance in the undergraduate course, students in ENG 675 will be enrolled in this graduate course where they complete assignments and activities that support a variety of writing exercises, processes, and approaches to improve writing skills.

In this course, writers will learn the essential elements of screenwriting, including plot structure, character, scene, dialogue, and the craft of visual storytelling. Beginning with the mechanics of scripts for television and film and the process of script outline and written synopses ("treatments"), attention is then given to storytelling through script structure with a focus on feature-length film. Existing movie scripts and films will be examined as writers create and build on scenes and dialogue in preparation for the course's final project a short one-act screenplay.

This course is designed to deepen writers' understanding and mastery of elements of poetry (including tone of voice; traditional, formal, and "informal" structure; imagery; meter and rhythm; and use of sound and diction) and to introduce major movements in English and American poetry. In addition to producing their own poems, writers will read poetry and also prose about poetry by major poets.

In this course, writers study several genres of creative nonfiction, including reportage and memoir, personal essay and biography, travel writing and science writing, literary journalism, and biography. Writers explore and master structure and technique through critical reading of modern and contemporary sources in these subgenres and through writing workshops in which they revise their own work and comment on classmates' writing. In addition to becoming better critical readers, writers begin to develop their own unique writing voices.

This course provides students with the opportunity to explore storytelling through two of its most popular mediums: film and literature. Students will examine basic principles of storytelling; point of view, voice, rhythm, character and plot development, theme, symbols and how those principles are represented differently or correspondingly in each form. Students will be expected to use analytical skills to dissect stories and recreate their essence through a number of creative writing exercises. They will also be expected to read their peers' writing and use constructive criticism to provide supportive feedback.

What is place? How does it impact storytelling? In this course, students explore the concept of place as both an internal and external factor that influences writing. Students will examine the importance of the writer's identity, or place, and how it can shape the physical space and characters within a story. Students will be expected to represent elements of voice, tone, atmosphere, point of view, and time through creative writing exercises that emphasize descriptive environments. They will also be expected to read their peers' writing, and use constructive criticism to provide supportive feedback.

What does it take to be a good sci-fi writer? How does a writer become the next Tolkien? Beyond the scope of general genres - fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screenwriting - there are specific sub-genres to consider at the start of a novel and, in some cases, a career. In popular fiction, these genres tend to cycle through the bestsellers lists. In this course, students select a particular genre to explore in more depth, and apply that genre to their writing throughout the term. While crafting and critiquing these pieces with their peers, they develop their professional identity as authors of their genre, and research and apply methods that will help them market themselves as genre writers.

This is a seminar in the historical and contemporary development of literary cultures. Students will examine the driving influences of the literary market, looking at the history and evolvement of the publishing industry, book review, literary organizations, literary awards, such as the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and others, and how these factors influence literary productions and careers. They will also examine the lives and the works of the most influential contemporary literary writers who have succeeded in the present culture. Additionally, students will prepare for current trends in publishing and learn how to submit their own work for publication.

Writing a story is only half the battle. What happens when the writer finishes the first draft and any subsequent revisions? When is the work finally ready for someone else's eyes? Should someone be reviewing every step in the process? With expanding opportunities in social media and self-publishing, the role of the editor may be shifting. Whether pursuing traditional publication or new media platforms, writers may be in need of editors now more than ever. In this class, we focus on the relationship between author and editor by placing students in the role of the editor. Students study the different responsibilities of each editor type - from developmental editors and proofreaders to acquisitions editors and copy editors - and where these play a part in the writing and publishing process. Students practically apply the multifaceted role of the editor and compile their feedback as the start of a professional portfolio.