Against Prescriptive Nonfiction

GR - Graduate

Against Prescriptive Nonfiction/Write Your Own Prescription: Books about writing and creativity are nonfiction documents in and of themselves. Whether "guide" or "handbook," these texts are imperfect and for some, may lead us into prescriptive ideas about "how to write." In Against Prescriptive Nonfiction/Write Your Own Prescription, we will explore texts both recent and not that tell us how to write with an eye for what works for each of us individually as nonfiction artists and what does not. We will actively engage with the texts by experimenting with the assignments each text offers, keeping a journal on what works and what doesn't, as well as creating fresh, new assignments that we'll come up with inspired by the texts. Over the course of the semester students will present background on the material we read, as well as writing exercises, both from the texts and from the imagination with the aim of developing one's own aesthetic practice. Each class will involve writing, experimenting, and learning/unlearning from the texts we discuss. Students will produce either a final portfolio or an in-class presentation, each of will consist of a mini-guidebook that includes experiments/exercises, as well as examples of original creative nonfiction work that was made using said experiments/exercises.

RGCMWP - Creative Writing Program Only