Viz

ENGL 160: Introduction to Creative Writing

Instructor: Susan Jaret McKinstry
English
Fall 2011

Course Description
This course offers training in the writing and revision of poetry and prose fiction, supplemented by examples from published writers and some essays on the creative process. Discussion of each participant's writing is the central mode of instruction.

Introduction to the assignment:

At the start of the creative nonfiction part of my class, we began with a gallery brainstorming exercise. The goal was to get the students to think about how present, material objects and experiences can inspire individual memories and connections.

Brainstorming Exercise (35 minutes)
Perlman Teaching Museum

First, walk through the gallery and see what catches your attention. Do not talk to one another: the goal is to reflect deeply and personally on what you observe.

Select an object in the exhibit and STUDY it carefully for at least 5 minutes. What captures your attention? What specific feeling or memory does it evoke? Take notes on your thoughts in your "sketchbook" (journal).

Select another object: do the same activity.

Do this at least four times. Look at what you have written about these varied objects. Do you begin to see a pattern in your thoughts or memories—in the personal stories you construct based on these public objects? This might be the seed for your creative nonfiction piece.