Registration for the Spring 2020 has begun, and we have several creative writing offerings for you. Find our current list below, complete with meeting times and course descriptions. Feel free to direct any questions you might have to the listed instructors. We are all happy to offer more information on our courses. Remember that you can always see the up-to-date availability of courses through Maricopa’s Find-a-Class.
CRW150 – Introduction to Creative Writing
- Instructor: Eric Luthi
- Class Number: 11931
- Where: GCC Main, Room HT2 157 and online
- When: Mon, Wed from 11:00AM – 11:50AM (1/13/2020 – 5/08/2020)
Description: Introduction to the basic aesthetics and techniques in contemporary creative writing within a variety of genres. Introduction to the analytical concepts and terminology necessary to understand, interpret, and enact contemporary creative writing. Facilitation of writing practices and evaluation. Introduction to literature’s role in society. Prerequisites: None.
CRW150 – Introduction to Creative Writing
- Instructor: Jayme Cook
- Class Number: 11930
- Where: Online
- When: Online (1/13/2020 – 5/08/2020)
Description: Introduces the student to elements and techniques of creative writing in a variety of genres; teaches terminology and concepts needed for successful participation in writing workshops; facilitates writing practice and evaluation; offers individual guidance on the student’s development as a writer. Prerequisites: None.
CRW160 – Introduction to Writing Poetry
- Instructor: Kimberly Williams
- Class Number: 11904
- Where: Online
- When: Online (1/13/2020 – 5/08/2020)
Description: Prewriting (invention and discovery); writing; analyzing and evaluating (in workshop); and revising to practice manipulating various elements of poetry, critique one’s own and the poetry of others, and produce a portfolio of finished, marketable poems. Prerequisites: None. CRW150 recommended but not required.
CRW170 – Introduction to Writing Fiction
- Instructor: Jeff Baker
- Class Number: 12023
- Where: GCC Main Campus, Room LA112
- When: Tu, Th from 1:00PM – 2:15PM (1/14/2020 – 5/08/2020)
Description: When asked about different fictional forms, author Lorrie Moore proclaimed: “A short story is a love affair. A novel is a marriage.” Unsurprisingly, this class involves the writing, reading, and analysis of a series of figurative love affairs. Using Jerome Stern’s Making Shapely Fiction and sampling short stories from authors like William Trevor, Grace Paley, George Saunders, and Jhumpa Lahiri, students will explore and analyze craft topics like point of view, psychic distance, dialogue, voice, and character development. Students are responsible for writing two lengthier workshop stories, a series of small exercises and flash fiction pieces, and revisions based on workshop feedback. CRW270 students write a third short story as well. Students will also complete a close analysis of a self-selected short story collection from a list of published works. This is a combined class with both an introduction (CRW170) and intermediate (CRW270) level. Students must complete CRW170 before registering for CRW270.
CRW170 – Introduction to Writing Fiction
- Instructor: Gary Lawrence
- Class Number: 12024
- Where: Online
- When: Online (1/13/2020 – 5/08/2020)
Description: CRW170/270 is a combined beginning and intermediate creative writing course on prose writing. The class uses modern American short stories by accomplished authors such as Sherwood Anderson, Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Carver, Joyce Carol Oates and Andre Dubus as a base to dig out writing craft “nuggets.” Students use these writing tips to develop four prose short stories of their own. Extensive feedback from other students and the instructor is provided. Discussions to engage with others about creative writing are numerous. Advanced students (CRW270) read longer, more developed stories; write longer, more developed stories; and perform a significant revision on one of their “finished” stories as their final project.
CRW180 – Introduction to Creative Nonfiction
- Instructor: David Martinez
- Class Number: 35772
- Where: GCC Main Campus, LSA 152
- When: Tu, Th from 11:30AM – 12:45PM (1/14/2020 – 05/08/2020)
Description: Introduction to writing creative nonfiction, including memoir and biography, creative essays, and other explorations within the genre through a process of invention and discovery, writing, analysis, evaluation, and revision. Combines lecture, discussion, and workshop, leading to the production of marketable quality creative nonfiction. Prerequisites: None. CRW150 recommended but not required.
CRW251 – Special Topics: Worldbuilding
- Instructor: Jeff Baker
- Class Number: 11988
- Where: GCC Main Campus, Room B 105
- When: Tu, Th from 10:00AM to 11:15AM (1/14/2020 – 5/08/2020)
Description: Explore, deconstruct, and create fiction worlds within which to set creative content–stories, scripts, games, poems and more. Study worldbuilding techniques from literature, film, games, roleplaying, and history. Write across multiple genres and forms, and create both individual and collaborative projects.
CRW260 – Intermediate Poetry Writing
- Instructor: Kimberly Williams
- Class Number: 11932
- Where: Online
- When: Online (1/13/2020 – 5/08/2020)
Description: Emphasis on writing a series of original poems; analysis and evaluation of the functions and effects of established works of poetry; concentration on evaluation and revising students’ poetry through intensive workshopping. Prerequisites: CRW160 or permission of Instructor.
CRW270 – Intermediate Fiction Writing
- Instructor: Jeff Baker
- Class Number: 11951
- Where: GCC Main Campus, Room LA112
- When: Tu, Th from 1:00PM – 2:15PM (1/14/2020 – 5/08/2020)
Description: When asked about different fictional forms, author Lorrie Moore proclaimed: “A short story is a love affair. A novel is a marriage.” Unsurprisingly, this class involves the writing, reading, and analysis of a series of figurative love affairs. Using Jerome Stern’s Making Shapely Fiction and sample short stories from authors like William Trevor, Grace Paley, George Saunders, and Jhumpa Lahiri, students will explore and analyze craft topics like point of view, psychic distance, dialogue, voice, and character development. Students are responsible for writing two lengthier workshop stories, a series of small exercises and flash fiction pieces, and revisions based on workshop feedback. CRW270 students write a third short story as well. Students will also complete a close analysis of a self-selected short story collection from a list of published works. This is a combined class with both an introduction (CRW170) and intermediate (CRW270) level. Students must complete CRW170 before registering for CRW270.
CRW270 – Intermediate Fiction Writing
- Instructor: Gary Lawrence
- Class Number: 11982
- Where: Online
- When: Online (1/13/2020 – 5/08/2020)
Description: CRW170/270 is a combined beginning and intermediate creative writing course on prose writing. The class uses modern American short stories by accomplished authors such as Sherwood Anderson, Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Carver, Joyce Carol Oates and Andre Dubus as a base to dig out writing craft “nuggets.” Students use these writing tips to develop four prose short stories of their own. Extensive feedback from other students and the instructor is provided. Discussions to engage with others about creative writing are numerous. Advanced students (CRW270) read longer, more developed stories; write longer, more developed stories; and perform a significant revision on one of their “finished” stories as their final project.
CRW272 – Planning and Structuring the Novel / CRW273 – Writing the Novel / CRW274 – Revising the Novel
- Instructor: Jeff Sanger
- Class Numbers: 11925 (CRW272), 11926 (CRW273), 11927 (CRW274)
- Where: Online
- When: Online (1/13/2020 – 5/08/2020)
Description (CRW272): Focus on planning, structuring, and beginning a novel; prewriting, writing, analysis, evaluation, and revision of novel plans and excerpts. Prerequisites: A grade of C or better in CRW150 or permission of Instructor.
Description (CRW273): Provides the beginning novelist with structure, support, and guidance vital to sustained writing; focus on establishing goals and using critique sessions with instructor and peers to draft a novel; open- and topic-focused in-class forums, novel writing, peer and instructor critiques. Prerequisites: A grade of C or better in CRW272 or permission of Instructor.
Description (CRW274): Studio course workshop format. Requires a complete novel finished, in manuscript, ready for revision and polishing. Prerequisites: A grade of C or better in CRW273 or permission of Instructor.
ENG217 – Personal and Exploratory Writing
- Instructor: Jayme Cook
- Class Number: 11983
- Where: GCC Main Campus HT2 156 and Online (Hybrid Format)
- When: Mon, Wed from 1:00PM – 1:50PM and Online (1/13/2020 – 5/08/2020)
Description: This course invites you to explore yourself and the world around you through language in the form of creative nonfiction of varying themes and lengths. We will also read and study the techniques of contemporary creative nonfiction writers like Philip Lopate, Annie Dillard, David Sedaris, and Barry Lopez. As writers, we will pay special attention to narrative and descriptive techniques and look at forms like memoir and writing about place.
GCC Creative Writing 