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Creative Writing
Parallel universes and the supernatural have the power to reveal truths often hidden behind the veil of modern life. Situating oneself in realities other than one’s own imparts lessons in empathy, possibility, and advancement in our real world. From Dune to IT to The Hunger Games, both beloved and feared characters in such fiction have united legions of readers-turned-writers over many continents and generations through the art of world-building.
The course’s aim is to explore and create immersive, exciting fiction that incorporates the unreal—from surreal, ghostly short stories to detailed epic fantasy novels. In this three-week dual seminar-workshop, students will think and write about the futuristic, uncanny, magical, and speculative, and how these elements mesh with our individual writing goals.
Students will analyze published works of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror from a writer’s standpoint, considering: what effect did this have on the reader, and how did the writer create this effect? What draws us to these genres? How can we create work that is compelling, original, artful, and fun? Through discussion and writing exercises, we’ll focus on topics including world-building, hero/villain relationships, plot, magic, and suspense.
In this course, students will uncover the power of imaginative fiction by reading selections of cornerstone texts in the genre, both past and present, and use the techniques discussed in the pieces to write their own original works.
Summer B: In Person
July 16 to August 02, 2024
Monday–Friday, 11:10 a.m.–1:00 p.m. and 3:10–5:00 p.m. ET
In Person
Instructor(s):
CREA0112 | Section 001 | Call Number 12068
View course availabilityTo study creative writing at Columbia University is to join a distinguished group of writers who arrived in the nation's literary capital to explore the deep artistic power of language. J.D. Salinger enrolled in a short story course here in 1939. Federico Garcia Lorca wrote Poet in New York while he was a student at Columbia. Carson McCullers worked odd jobs in the city to pay for her Columbia writing courses.
Eudora Welty, Jack Kerouac, Langston Hughes, Allen Ginsberg, Ursula K. Le Guin, Louise Glück, Tracy K. Smith: These renowned writers and many others have left a legacy of originality and brilliance that charges the atmosphere at Columbia and lends genuine excitement to the prospect of literary creation on campus.
In this dual seminar-workshop course, students will both study the prize-winning writing produced by authors who, much like themselves, once studied on campus and write into a new legacy with us—spanning time, space, and genre.
Working with their peers, students will learn to contribute thoughtful, evidence-based feedback conducive to a supportive community of writers, culminating in a carefully revised portfolio of original writing.
What has made Columbia an artistic haven for countless generations? Here in Morningside Heights, we are thrilled at the opportunity to show you.
Summer B: In Person
July 16 to August 02, 2024
Monday–Friday, 11:10 a.m.–1:00 p.m. and 3:10–5:00 p.m. ET
In Person
Instructor(s):
WRIT0102 | Section 001 | Call Number 12130
View course availabilityThis course is designed for advanced students who seek an intensive experience with the writing of creative nonfiction. Students explore diverse styles of and approaches to nonfiction, and learn essential skills for writing their own short nonfiction, including personal essays, historical accounts, profiles, and pieces that may be developed, following the session, into longer works. The art of telling true stories requires the skills of fact-checking and research, which students can anticipate honing throughout the session. Students participate in rigorous daily discussions on craft and workshops, as well as one-on-one conferences with accomplished teachers.
The course culminates in a final portfolio composed of carefully revised pieces that implement both instructor and peer feedback.
Summer A: In Person
June 24 to July 12, 2024
Monday–Friday, 11:10 a.m.–1:00 p.m. and 3:10–5:00 p.m. ET
In Person
CREA0111 | Section 001 | Call Number 12067
View course availabilityThis course is designed for advanced students who seek an intensive experience in the writing of fiction. Students explore diverse styles of and approaches to fiction, and learn essential skills for writing their own short prose works, including stories, flash fiction, novellas, and pieces that may be developed, following the session, into novels. Students participate in rigorous daily discussions on craft and workshops, as well as one-on-one conferences with their instructor.
The course culminates in a final portfolio composed of carefully revised pieces that implement instructor and peer feedback.
Summer A: In Person
June 24 to July 12, 2024
Monday–Friday, 9:10–11:00 a.m. and 1:10–3:00 p.m. ET
In Person
Instructor(s):
CREA0115 | Section 001 | Call Number 12070
View course availabilitySummer B: In Person
July 16 to August 02, 2024
Monday–Friday, 9:10–11:00 a.m. and 1:10–3:00 p.m. ET
In Person
Instructor(s):
CREA0115 | Section 002 | Call Number 12071
View course availabilitySummer B: In Person
July 16 to August 02, 2024
Monday–Friday, 9:10–11:00 a.m. and 1:10–3:00 p.m. ET
In Person
Instructor(s):
CREA0115 | Section 003 | Call Number 12072
View course availabilityThis course is designed for advanced students who seek an intensive experience in the writing of poetry. Students explore diverse poetic forms and approaches to poetry and learn essential skills for writing their own verses. Students participate in rigorous daily discussions on craft and workshops, as well as one-on-one conferences with their instructor.
The Master Class in Poetry culminates in a final portfolio composed of carefully revised pieces that implement instructor and peer feedback.
Summer B: In Person
July 16 to August 02, 2024
Monday–Friday, 11:10 a.m.–1:00 p.m. and 3:10–5:00 p.m. ET
In Person
Instructor(s):
POET0101 | Section 001 | Call Number 12123
View course availabilityThis class will introduce students to the basic principles of writing for film and television. Students will read screenplays and watch film excerpts to gain an understanding of the possibilities of on-screen storytelling, with the goal of developing a screenplay.
Students are introduced to a range of technical and imaginative concerns through creative exercises and discussions, and exposed to all aspects of the screenwriting process, including generating ideas, developing character arcs and plot structure, and writing and revising drafts. Participants practice their craft with an attentive group of peers, under the guidance of an experienced instructor. They write extensively and participate in candid, helpful critiques of their own work and that of their peers. Students are expected to come to the class with an openness to various approaches toward creative storytelling.
Summer A: In Person
June 24 to July 12, 2024
Monday–Friday, 11:10 a.m.–1:00 p.m. and 3:10–5:00 p.m. ET
In Person
Instructor(s):
CREA0121 | Section 001 | Call Number 12076
View course availabilityThis foundational course, adapted from Columbia's MFA in Writing program, serves as a generative exploration of the creative writing process. Students receive instruction in key genres, idea generation, creation and development of drafts, and basic revision and editing skills.
Through frequent and diverse readings and writing exercises, students hone elements of craft through the development of voice, imagery, characterization, dialogue, rhythm, and narration. Students work in poetry, prose, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Works produced by acclaimed writers, as well as by students in the class, form the basis of discussion in the workshop process.
A range of technical and imaginative concerns will be introduced through exercises and discussions students will produce their own writing for the critical analysis of the class. Students will begin to develop the critical skills that will allow them to read like writers and understand, on a technical level, how accomplished creative writing is produced.
Summer A: In Person
June 24 to July 12, 2024
Monday–Friday, 9:10–11:00 a.m. and 1:10–3:00 p.m. ET
In Person
Instructor(s):
CREA0130 | Section 001 | Call Number 12077 - CLASS IS FULL!
View course availabilitySummer A: In Person
June 24 to July 12, 2024
Monday–Friday, 9:10–11:00 a.m. and 1:10–3:00 p.m. ET
In Person
Instructor(s):
CREA0130 | Section 002 | Call Number 12078
View course availabilitySummer B: In Person
July 16 to August 02, 2024
Monday–Friday, 9:10–11:00 a.m. and 1:10–3:00 p.m. ET
In Person
Instructor(s):
CREA0130 | Section 003 | Call Number 12079 - CLASS IS FULL!
View course availabilitySpecific course details such as topics, activities, hours, and instructors are subject to change at the discretion of the University.
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