This seminar introduces Creative Writing with a special focus on discovering original stories and exploring diverse creative paths across fields and professions. The course emphasizes storytelling and the craft of creative writing, especially for multilingual writers, fostering creativity in English while encouraging engagement with other languages and cultural contexts. Through this course, you will learn to frame and shape your creative work in ways that reflect diverse storytelling traditions and personal experiences. We will explore multiple genres, encouraging experimentation with form and content to help your writing evolve and thrive in a supportive and inclusive environment. The class offers a unique opportunity for writers to create narratives that may fall outside conventional expectations, allowing for the discovery of new voices and perspectives. Participants will also develop the ability to revise their work effectively and connect with audiences, shaping powerful, original writing for contemporary contexts, including digital and multimedia platforms. The course highlights the importance of how multilingual and multicultural perspectives enrich creative writing. Writers will explore topics such as character, profluence, epiphany, scale and perspective. Based on their reading and writing, each writer in the class will develop an individual portfolio of creative work. No prior experience in creative writing is required.

 

This course aims to:

• Develop skills in creative writing, emphasizing diversity, multilingualism, and cultural awareness.
• Explore the historical, cultural, and institutional aspects of storytelling across different literary traditions, with a focus on Asia, North America, and the UK.
• Foster expertise in observation, revision, and storytelling that enhances critical and creative thinking across disciplines.
• Encourage writers to experiment with diverse genres and forms while reflecting on the role of language and culture in shaping narratives.

Writers will investigate:

• Histories of “genre,” form, and storytelling in English and comparative contexts.
• Fresh perspectives on the development of creative and critical writing in diverse cultural and historical settings.
• Elements of craft in narrative writing, including:
  • Rising Action
  • Multiple Points of View
  • Literal and Essential Actions
  • Time, Plot, and Action
  • Sequence, Repetition, and Structure
  • Beginnings and Endings
     

Writers will also examine how multilingualism and cultural diversity influence structure, voice, and perspective in storytelling.

Classes will combine lectures, workshops, and group discussions that encourage collaboration and the exchange of ideas. Writers will develop their skills in observation, drafting, and revision, with exercises designed to sharpen their ability to craft compelling narratives.

The course will include:

• Midterm and final assessments toward a portfolio of creative work.
• In-class group practices and outside reading assignments.
• Opportunities to engage with diverse texts and reflect on the role of language and culture in storytelling.

Assessment for this course is 100% coursework, broken down as follows:

• Preparations & In-Class Practices: 35%
• Midterm Project: 30%
• Final Project: 35%

Readings will include selected works by writers such as Garcia, Murakami, Ishiguro, Adichie, Nabokov and Diaz, among others. Additional readings may include short works of both fiction and nonfiction, curated to include a broad range of styles and voices. The course will also spotlight contemporary publications from diverse cultural contexts, including Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and others, to reflect the importance of multilingual and multicultural perspectives in creative writing.