Creative Writing

As an integrated part of the traditional English major or as a stand-alone concentration with any other field of study, UM’s minor in Creative Writing offers students a sustained basis for cultivating their writing as an art form. Through a mix of workshops and seminars, students in the minor will explore the theory and practice of creative writing in order to foster imagination in all their written efforts. Some courses focus on multiple genres, while others focus on a single genre (poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction).

Creative writing students have the opportunity to participate as contributors, readers, and editors of UM’s creative arts journal, The Tower, and to attend readings and discussions with local and nationally known authors through the BACHE Visiting Writers’ Series and the Poetry@UM Reading Series. UM students have also read and presented at national creative writing conferences like the Boldface Conference for Emerging Writers in Houston, Texas.

Core Concepts

• Writing as an artful engagement with the world
• Writing as a way of understanding the self
• Understanding creativity as a process
• Defining and embracing one’s unique voice
• Encouraging others through constructive feedback
• Reading and discussing vital and nuanced writing by fellow students
• Identifying strengths and weaknesses in works-in-progress
• Building a supportive creative community