English 135 - Introduction to Writing Creative Nonfiction: Writing about the Senses

Students learn to use literary techniques to write factual, engaging narratives that read like fiction. Based on research, interviews and personal experience, creative nonfiction encompasses a wide range of genres, including memoir, travel writing, nature writing, science writing, food writing and biography. Prerequisites: one WI course. Enrollment in each section limited to 16. Course may be repeated once on a different topic. : Sight, sound, touch, smell, taste: Everything we know reaches us through our senses. We share a world filtered through a million sensibilities - finding the words to convey what we hear, see, smell, taste, and feel is one of the most fundamental skills a writer can develop. In this class, we will hone our descriptive powers to go beyond the obvious and uncover language that delights and surprises us even as we write. We will learn to use one sense to write about another, combine them in powerful metaphors, and explore how our senses shape the narratives that drive us.