Sara Levine

This is a process-oriented seminar on how to build creative habits. Emphasis is on a de-romanticized approach to the creative process. Discussion topics include the romantic approach (why it beckons, how it fails), rituals, self-knowledge, building a support system, organizing your materials, reading to write, navigating criticism, understanding the larger literary landscape, and failure. This is a good course to take at the beginning of your time at SAIC to ensure you know how to make use of your time, but students further along may benefit from its emphasis on the cultivation of a disciplined writing practice. Requirements include a writer's diary, an in-class partner meeting in which you set artistic goals for the following week, an interview with a working writer, and a final reflective essay.