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MFA Creative Nonfiction Workshop (498-0-20)

Instructors

Daisy Hernandez

Meeting Info

University Hall 018 English: Tues 2:00PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

Research constitutes the corazón, or heart, of almost every book of creative nonfiction. This is true even with memoirs for which writers often trek into the archives of family photographs, forgotten emails, and Google Maps. How then do we create a research plan for a creative project? How do we begin research when we don't know yet precisely what we are writing? How do we manage the linear process often required for research and the much more circular journey of writing? Once we have started on our research, how and when do we know it's time to bring it to a close?

We will consider these questions as we discuss your creative work during workshop and also as we read contemporary nonfiction texts. Very short writing assignments called "Sketches" will help you to generate the start of new works of nonfiction, and the final assignment for this course will give you flexibility with your creative work.