The Creative Writing Program at UBC: Online Registration
First and Second Year Students

200 Level Undergraduate Courses

While these are second year courses, all undergraduate students are able to register online providing there is space available. If you have any questions please contact the Undergraduate Advisor. For more details on the 2009/2010 course schedule, visit the course schedule page.

CrWr 202 (3 Credits)
INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE WRITING
 Term 1: CRWR 202 - 001: M, W, F 12:00pm - 12:50pm
CRWR 202 - 003: T, R 3:30pm - 4:50pm
Term 2: CRWR 202 - 002: M, W, F 12:00pm - 12:50pm
This lecture course is designed for the beginning writer and focuses upon three genres including fiction, poetry, and non-fiction (and may introduce others). Students will be required to create original work and grades will be based upon writing, attendance, and participation.

CrWr 206 (3 Credits)
INTRODUCTION TO THE SCREENPLAY
 Term 1: Thursday 2:00-4:50 pm - Royal Bank Cinema in the Chan Centre
In Creative Writing 206 we use film screenings, film clips and film analysis to explore the craft and aesthetics of screenwriting. This includes script formatting, three act structure, story, content, characters, plot, and genre. Students will receive a complete overview of what makes a great screenplay, what constitutes an effective scene or sequence and how to create original characters and stories. There will be three assignments in this course: 1) a screenplay adaptation from an assigned text; 2) an original screenplay from an assigned text; 3) an original screenplay or an essay.

We have popular sessions with guest speakers (screenwriters, former students working in the industry, and filmmakers) who screen their work and talk about their career paths. We also discuss writing for television as well as documentary filmmaking.

CrWr 211 (3 Credits)
LYRIC FORMS IN CREATIVE WRITING
 Term 2: Tuesday & Thursday 5:00pm - 6:20pm
An overview of lyric forms in writing, including song lyrics, lyrical narratives, and libretti from Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen to Nick Cave and John K Samson; from Kurt Weill and Benjamin Britten to Lisa Lambert and Stephen Sondheim.

This course is designed for beginning writers, musicians, and all other aspiring artists interested in the way in which stories are told in conjunction with music. Note: You will be writing in this class. This is not an "appreciation" lecture.

By examining and listening to music of the 19th, 20th and 21st Centuries, students will learn about song forms and styles, about rhyme schemes and rhythm, about imagery and metaphor, and most of all about writing and editing - great works are arrived at by a combination of a) inspiration and b) a dedication to reworking, subtracting, and restructuring a piece until it has clarity, brevity and the ability to move its listeners, tell a story, raise political awareness, introduce new ideas, make people dance, or all of the above.

Topics explored include the bard tradition, operetta, Tin Pan Alley, protest songs, American musical theatre past and present, youth culture as reflected the music of the day, cross-cultural influences in song, and the evolution of the music industry and music publishing.

Students will learn how to discern various writing techniques, methods and devices in the works of others, and will then apply those to their own writing. Students will present their writing aloud in class (sung or spoken), and must be open to dialogue and critical discussion of their writing, based on material learned in the course. This course will be comprised of a two-hour lecture and a one-hour in-class writing session/discussion each week. Although there are no prerequisites for the course, there are requirements: an enthusiasm for the material, and a dedication to creating new writing of your own. (Musical knowledge or experience NOT required.)

Grades will be based on creative writing, an exam, one paper, and class participation. Participation marks are based on active involvement in each class. Attendance is mandatory.

CrWr 213 (3 Credits)
INTRODUCTION TO WRITING FOR NEW MEDIA
 Term 2: Monday 1:00pm - 3:50pm
An overview of forms of writing for new media, including podcasting, blogging, and writing for websites, games and online environments.

CrWr 217 (3 Credits)
INTRODUCTION TO WRITING FOR STAGE AND RADIO
 Term 1: Tuesday & Thursday 12:30pm - 2:00pm
Techniques of creating, developing and writing the one-act play and short-form radio drama.

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