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Creative Writing

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Overview

The mission of the creative writing major is to teach student writers to see the writing life as a high calling and writing as one tool for unraveling the mysteries of creation and human experience. The major seeks to impart a biblical understanding of creativity in general and creative writing in particular. 

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Our Commitment to You

The English Department faculty approach each course in each major with a dedication that is intellectually rigorous and demanding and which grows out of an abiding love for the creative process, in particular, Creative Writing.  In other words, we believe that text matters.  For that reason, we expect students enrolled in our major to develop that same rigor.

To that end, we are both broad and deep in treatment of the subject matter for each course. We want students to learn to express their ideas through clear, creative writing and to be instruments of change in their chosen field.  We believe that a critical element in "making a difference in our world" is developing the ability to say what we mean and to mean what we say, and we place a strong emphasis on developing critical thinking.  
Creative Writing majors will develop their creative and critical thinking skills; a broad understanding of creative writing in relation to historical and cultural contexts, especially the biblical worldview and the development of Western civilization and literature; and a mastery of various literary forms and styles in genres as diverse as poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and scriptwriting.  In addition, students will develop a mastery of the tools of all good writing–grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and spelling–and a deep appreciation of the ways in which creative activities such as writing allow us to uncover the wonders and woes of a world charged with meaning and marked by sin and suffering.  

Potential Jobs

  • Writer
  • Novelist
  • Editor
  • Public Relations
  • Advertising
  • More »

Graduate Schools

  • Oxford University
  • University of Chicago
  • St. Andrews University, Scotland
  • University of Tennessee
  • Aberdeen University
  • Clemson University

Sampling of Classes

  • Creative Writing Colloquy
  • Advanced Composition: Creative Nonfiction
  • Editing Essentials
  • The Writer’s Portfolio

Faculty

Adjunct Instructors