This is a minor for students who have an interest in English language creative writing skills.
Admission
A minimum of B2-level English writing ability. This level is self-assessed and requires no proof. The higher the English level, the more accessible the courses are for the student.
The Examination Board determines which minors do not have a higher professional education level and/or have an unacceptable overlap with the compulsory curriculum of your own study programme. Check at the page Not allowed minor courses under your institute which minors are not allowed. This page will be updated from 25 February 2023 for the 2023-2024 minor offer.
This minor is also suited for part-time students.
Content
The writing minor offers students a variety of writing modules in the English language. The minor presents an attractive option to anyone aiming to develop their English writing skills, their creative process and their critical thinking abilities. While the course Short Stories challenges students to engage in, among others, characterisation and world building, Life writing focuses on tapping into personal experiences to engage the reader. The Poetry and Script Writing modules offer insightful and practical techniques from experienced educators, which culminate in public readings and performances.
Key to every course is the exploration and analysis of writing theory, published authors and the students’ own work. Through a series of lectures, workshops and feedback sessions, students will learn to understand contemporary literature, apply that understanding to their own practice and critically edit their work in order to clearly express their ideas and possibly even to prepare for publication.
Learning objectives
- To express one’s ideas in English for professional purposes;
- To learn about oneself and the world while writing;
- To develop different skills sets and talents related to writing.
Courses
Short Stories
The Short Stories module covers literary elements, conventions, and narrative techniques in contemporary short fiction, the understanding of which is then used to write original work. Students will have the opportunity to make literary choices, such as setting, plot, characterization and more, in their own short stories based on insights gained in discussions during the Reading sessions.
Life Writing
In the Life Writing module, students study the techniques and trends in contemporary nonfiction in order to produce three pieces of Life writing. This includes but is not limited to a memoir, a personal essay, or a profile. Through a series of lectures, practical sessions and feedback meetings, students focus on the correct use of basic language elements, imagery, a variety of writing structures and the basics of the writing market and publishing options.
Poetry Writing
The Poetry Writing module invites students to study and imitate both verse and free verse poetry. With the guidance of experienced poetry writers, they will begin to appreciate meter, lining, rhyme, melody, and the meaning of familiar forms of poetry. Once students have learned appropriate uses of figures of speech, they will apply their knowledge in their own original elegies, odes, ballads, and comedic lyrics.
Script Writing
Students will study the conventions for writing scripts for drama, radio, television and film, before learning to apply them. Once they have analysed text and subtext in plays and television dramas, characterisation, plot and dialogue take centre stage. Through workshops and team script writing exercises, students will use storyboards and plan-aloud writing techniques. Their work will culminate in scripts performances in small groups, helping them to understand how to evoke responses from a live audience.
Elective: Fiction or Nonfiction Writing
In Creative Project students create a final writing project (the script, the novel, or the professional product) of at least 10,000 words or produce a new series of poems (15 pages) in response to a book of poetry. Through a series of workshops and salons, students will apply all the knowledge and practice acquired throughout the minor in order to ultimately produce a 10,000 word original piece.
Assessment
All courses will be assessed based on the students’ written work.
Literature
Literature is recommended but not compulsory. Teachers on individual courses will advise in the first week what books, if any, should be purchased for the module.
- Williford, Lex and Michael Martone, editors. Scribner anthology of contemporary short fiction: 50 North American short stories since 1970. 2007. ISBN: 9781416532279.
- Williford, Lex and Michael Martone, editors. Touchstone anthology of contemporary creative nonfiction: Work from 1970 to present. 2007. ISBN: 9781416531746.
- American Poetry and Literacy Project. 101 Great American Poems And Anthology. 1998. Dover edition. ISBN: 9780486401584.
- Ricks, Christopher. The Oxford Book of English Verse. 1999. ISBN: 9780192141828.
Schedule
Schedule will be determined and announced at a later date. The goal is to schedule sessions on Mondays and Thursdays, though Tuesdays may also offer some sessions. There is a guaranteed option for some students (including parttime students) to attend all sessions on the Thursdays, which is arranged during the Introduction session before classes start.
With the exception of the first teaching period of the academic year (starting September), the lesson and test schedules are always posted on Mijn Rooster four weeks before the start of each teaching period. The schedule for the first teaching period of the academic year can be found on the site three weeks before the start. The most up-to-date schedule is always visible on Mijn Rooster.
At HU, full-time education may be scheduled between 08:30 and 19:00.
Additional costs
Possible additional costs come from the required reading.