creative writing course mcgill

YCMS 402 - Writing: A Creative Challenge I

Description.

An introductory journey into the art of creative writing, exploring ideas about the nature of creativity; the general disciplines that every writer needs; elements of fiction including voice, narrative, character, plot and the evoking of emotion; ideas involved in different forms of writing such as stories, poetry, novels plays and even memoir, with exercises on how to achieve work that will engage as reader from the start and compel them forward to the end.

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YCMS 402 - 410

Session time-out, ycms 402 - 410 - writing: a creative challenge i, restrictions, privacy policy.

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“We Need It All”: The Case For Fine Arts at McGill

You are trudging across Parc Rutherford to reach your World Religions elective. It’s all the way in McMed, and your legs are tired. Bleary-eyed, you amble forward through the icy path. Your Blundstones are soaking wet, and your stomach swishes from one too many cups of coffee this morning. As the side-face of Mont-Royal looms over you, you feel small, but you see your mission as enormous: you will make it through this park, and you will arrive to class on time.

While the hilly terrain of McGill campus may seem kilometres away, imagery and narrative structure can transport us back to that frigid, mid-year moment. Creative writing allows one to empathize with anyone in any given situation, no matter who or where one is. Given the power of the arts to comfort and connect us, McGill ought to offer more courses in fine art subjects in addition to traditional academic subjects.

I spoke to Professor Sarah Wolfson, a course lecturer at the McGill Writing Centre: a campus resource that offers a range of writing courses to all degree program students. The McGill Writing Centre offers courses in creative, academic, and digital writing. Professor Wolfson also teaches CCOM 200: Introduction to Creative Writing. This class affords McGill students the rare opportunity to engage with fine arts subjects. 

It’s a hands-on way of looking at a subject.

While CCOM 200 has only been in operation for two semesters, it has already become one of the hottest courses on campus. (This student journalist attempted to get in during add/drop this Winter, but he could not even squeeze onto the waitlist!) Communicating remotely, Wolfson shared with me why she believes fine arts courses like CCOM 200 have resonated so profoundly with McGill students. 

“I think of fine arts courses as something like lab courses in the sciences. In a creative writing course, for example, students learn from the inside out how contemporary literature is made. It’s a hands-on way of looking at a subject.”

McGill offers numerous programs in the arts and humanities; three streams of English allow one to dissect literature, films, and stage plays in depth. Yet, our school offers comparatively few fine arts courses. Aside from the Faculty of Music, which offers a handful of electives, most students who yearn to produce films or paint the next “Starry Night” must rely on extracurriculars as their creative outlet. Alternatively, a theatrically inclined Biology student may consider taking drama credits at another school, like Concordia.

Fine arts courses provide students in the humanities with the ability to understand the creative processes behind art they later analyze, allowing a literature enthusiast to better appreciate T.S. Eliot, or an Art History student to truly get René Magritte. Still, Wolfson shared how students from all faculties have gravitated towards CCOM 200 in recent years, not just literature majors.

“This course attracts students from across the disciplines: I teach math majors, economists, English majors, future teachers, musicians, psychology students, history majors, etc. It’s a delight to see the different ways these minds approach creative work.”

Creative writing often involves characters, setting, and a (usually) linear narrative. These conventions may seem foreign to those accustomed to compiling twelve-page reports on sickle-cell anemia. Yet, Professor Wolfson emphasized how the skills taught in CCOM 200 are transferable to other forms of  writing, including academic research and lab reports.

Plus, there’s just the fact that in reading contemporary fiction and poetry, you’re exposed to a lot of lovely sentences.

“Creative writing classes help build an awareness of narrative structure, which can help academic writers shape more compelling stories around their research,” Wolfson told The Bull & Bear. “As well, creative writing classes help students learn to craft precise images and metaphors, which are also powerful communicative tools in a broader sense. Plus, there’s just the fact that in reading contemporary fiction and poetry, you’re exposed to a lot of lovely sentences. That never hurt anyone’s writing style, either.”

Wolfson also noted how teaching at McGill is a unique experience, and not just because we soldier through frigid weather to reach school every day. McGill’s international student body lends itself to diverse writing topics and engaging classroom discussion. 

“…we have a world-class student body. I feel privileged to work with students who are so motivated to learn and so willing to take risks in their learning. Also, because it’s a fairly international student body, we have a wide range of experiences and perspectives, which makes for a great creative writing classroom.” 

Art now assumes a more crucial role than ever.

This palpable magnetism of the arts extends beyond McGill campus, though. Professor Wolfson discussed how the arts and the sciences are working cooperatively to keep both our mental and physical health intact during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As government-mandated physical distancing measures prevent people from leaving their homes often, many across the world are finding uplift through films and online performances. Art now assumes a more crucial role than ever.

“Yo-Yo Ma is sharing videos of himself playing cello in isolation; Shakespeare’s Globe theatre is making performances available online for free; out-of-work dancers are teaching open classes from their living rooms; and poetry is reaching more people than ever via the internet. In this difficult and uncertain time, I’m drawing comfort from the arts even as I place my hope in science. We need it all.”

(CCOM 200 is running in both the Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 semesters.)

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ENGL 364 Creative Writing (3 unités)

Offered by: Anglais ( Arts et service social )

Vue d'ensemble

Anglais (Arts) : Advanced seminar on creative writing.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Restriction: Permission of instructor required.

For the most detailed and up-to-date topics of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english .

Admission subject to application, with writing sample.

Topics vary from year to year.

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Where is creative writing at McGill?

Professors share their views on the other side of writing culture

• November 30, 2009

Over the past several years, students in the English department have seen a decline in the number of creative writing courses that are regularly offered, largely due to a series of budget cuts enforced by the provincial government. Particularly in the last four to five years, such courses have started to trickle away, with only one course per year alternating between poetry writing and playwriting. But why is it that every time a budget crisis comes along, creative writing is one of the first subjects to be cut? Professor Brian Trehearne, who has previously taught creative writing, cites the lack of personnel hired specifically to teach creative writing as the main reason. Professors like Trehearne and Thomas Heise, who have taught creative writing courses in the past, were hired as specialists in Canadian literature and American literature, respectively. As such, creative writing classes have been introduced as “add-on courses” and are thus seen as less significant compared to the required courses that fulfill the department’s main programs.

Among English students, opinions are divided. On the one hand, there is a small group that believes that McGill should implement a creative writing program for the many students who are interested in pursuing writing for a living after graduation. Trehearne points out, however, that a creative writing program “will never happen in the foreseeable future because it will cost a lot of money that the University simply doesn’t have.” On the other hand, the larger, majority group believes that the department does not necessarily need an entire creative writing program, but rather a stronger presence with a more consistant number of courses offered every year.

“I think that there are a lot of creative writing programs out there and if we wanted to go into a specifically creative writing-oriented program we could have gone to any number of other universities,” says Matthias Lalisse, a U3 English Literature major. He explained that it was beneficial for him not to learn writing as a craft but rather as an analytical tool to use for literature, something that he believes not a lot of creative writing programs would teach.

Trehearne agrees with the majority, adding that “the ideal likely solution would be something like three to four creative writing courses per year, spread out across the three streams in the department…. For me, I think it’s possible for McGill to mount more creative writing courses than it does. I’ll say that quite bluntly. I don’t think the political will has been there to make that happen and I believe it should happen.”

The Department of French Language and Literature, by contrast, has a much stronger creative writing scene within its curriculum. While it has always held a strong presence within the department spearheaded by Professor Yvon Rivard (now retired), last year a new program called Les études pratiques et littéraires (“Practical and Literary Studies”) was introduced, in which one to two creative writing courses must be held every year. Interestingly, this new stream treats writing as a “writing culture.” It does not simply focus on the form of creative writing itself. Courses also deal with history, philosophy, defining the nature of writing and literature, and even information about the editing and publishing fields. Professor Alain Farah, who has since taken Rivard’s place, has emphasized that the stream, in essence, tries to define what it means to be a writer through awareness of writing as a part of a collective whole.

In comparison, the English department’s programs are determined by its streams of literature, drama and theatre, and cultural studies, making it difficult for creative writing to be given precedence. It is clear then, that what McGill’s English department needs is a stronger and more definite presence of creative writing.

Spotlight: Peter the Anteater’s Communication Assignment

The Communication Spotlight features innovative instructors who teach written, oral, digital/technological, kinetic, and visual communication modes.

Peter the Anteater is an instructor in the Department of Anthill Analysis and has been known to eat upwards of 100 termites a minute with his candle.  

What is the assignment?

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

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What do students say, student artifact: .

Why does this work?

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An Overview of the IELTS

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IELTS tests are available on 48 fixed dates each year, usually Saturdays and sometimes Thursdays, and may be offered up to four times a month at any test centre, including Elektrostal' depending on local needs. Go to IELTS test locations to find a test centre in or nearby Elektrostal' and to check for upcoming test dates at your test centre.

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