The Power to Choose: The Case for the

Concept-based Multigenre Creative

Writing Course
Stephanie Vanderslice
Department of Writing and Speech, University of Central Arkansas,
USA
A significant outcome of the rise of Creative Writing as a subject in higher education
has been the subsequent rise of the multi-genre Creative Writing course or module.
A foundational course which usually attempts to introduce students to three and
sometimes four of the primary genres of Creative Writing (poetry, fiction, creative
nonfiction and drama), the multigenre course is widespread across the higher education spectrum, as an individual unit in the liberal arts or two year college that
may offer few Creative Writing courses, as the premajor tryout (Burroway, 2003:
xv) for writing tracks within the English major or for writing majors themselves.
As in many fields, the foundational course differs significantly from later, more
advanced courses. This essay will examine the challenges of teaching the multigenre
course, exploring the methods that have been and continue to be used in its teachingthe workshop method, the Grand Tour method, and a newer mode gaining
acceptance, the concept-based method, which teaches writing concepts that can be
applied across genres. Specifically, I will argue that the concept-based method can
best address the challenges of the multigenre Creative Writing course and the needs
of introductory Creative Writing students.
Keywords: multigenre, introductory, foundation course

With the rising popularity of college Creative Writing courses over the past
decade, the introductory, multigenre course, has become widespread in higher
education. Conversely, however, interest in Creative Writing pedagogy has at
best moved in fits and starts in academe, with the publication of just over a
handful of books on the subject and no journal to cohere the field until now.
Not surprisingly, the multigenre course has suffered from this heretofore
neglect.
A broad-spectrum, foundational class, the multigenre course introduces students to three and sometimes four of the primary Creative Writing genres
(usually fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and drama) in a matter of months.
In the absence of any guidelines or overarching theories, instructors of these
courses are left on their own to invent them, or in many cases, to apply a onesize-fits-all pedagogy that is often merely a variation on the way they have
been taught. As a result, for years two methods have dominated the teaching
of the multigenre course: the workshop model and what I have dubbed the
Grand Tour model. Recently, however, a new model has emerged that is
well positioned to better meet the diverse needs and abilities of introductory
Creative Writing students: the concept-based multigenre course.

1479-0726/04/00 0015-07 $20.00/0

INT. J. FOR THE PRACTICE AND THEORY OF CREATIVE WRITING

15

2004 S. Vanderslice
Vol. 1, No. 0, 2004

16

International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing

The Workshop Method and the Grand Tour

The workshop method, through which students learn from critically discussing one anothers texts and those of model writers, as well as through
one-on-one tutorials and response from their instructor, essentially reproduces
the advanced or graduate Creative Writing workshop in the introductory
course. This method can be highly hit or miss for developing students as it
is inherently dependent on the ability of novice writers to quickly learn the
elements of critique and on the instructor to model them. David Fenza, director of the Associated Writing Programs, highlights the prevalence of this problem when he writes alas . . . a few too many teaching assistants . . . try to
conduct undergraduate intro to Creative Writing classes like graduate workshops (2003: personal communication). Student learning often takes place in
a vacuum, moreover, since the multigenre course is often the first course a
beginning writer experiences in Creative Writing. Such courses are rarely
offered except at larger American secondary schools and in Great Britain, as
Michelene Wandor points out, There are no GCSEs or A levels in Creative
Writing (2003: 13).
The other prominent method instructors have invoked over the years has
been the Grand Tour. In an effort to effectively cover fiction, poetry, drama
and creative nonfiction over a limited time span, instructors often break the
course into discrete units on each genre. In the American semester system,
this translates to roughly one genre per month during which students are led
on whirlwind excursions exploring the forms of poetry, for example, and are
then asked to produce their own work in the genre for critique. Because the
Grand Tour method does manage to give students a taste of each genre,
and because it tends to reach the most common denominator across student
populations, it appears to be a popular mode of teaching the multigenre
course, as evidenced, at least in the US, by the sheer number of texts that
support it Jason and Lefcowitzs The Creative Writing Handbook, Minots Three
Genres, Estes and McCanns In a Field of Writing, and Diamond and Shaefers
The Creative Writing Guide to name a representative few. This method has its
shortcomings as well, however, shortcomings which I have experienced
directly, as I led my students on the Grand Tour for the first half decade
that I taught Creative Writing. Chief among these limitations is the very
breadth and scope of the course certainly we covered all four genres, but
just as catching a glimpse of the Arc DTriomphe from a tour bus might leave
some travellers feeling a bit hollow, our excursions lacked any real depth and
ultimately, failed to give students a true sense of what it means to be a writer
rather than a dilettante.
In addition, the Grand Tour method can also be rather prescriptive, forcing
students to write in a particular genre when their muse may be beckoning
them to another, and limiting their creativity, the disadvantages of which I
will further explain later in this essay. Finally, although the structure might
suggest otherwise, the Grand Tour does not tend to encourage student exploration or risk-taking in their early forays into Creative Writing. Rather than
give poetry a try, for example, students who are confirmed fiction writers or
feel truly intimidated by poetry, often turn off during that month of the

The Case for the Concept-based Multigenre Course

17

course, half-heartedly completing exercises and readings; treading water while

waiting to get to their favourite genre and fulfilling their own self-proclaimed
prophecies, that they are simply not poets. Often, they then go on to choose
advanced courses only in their comfort zone and are likely to leave other
genres behind completely.
Dismayed by these results, by the nagging sense that I could be serving
my students better, giving them a more solid understanding of the field of
literary/imaginative writing, I thought hard about what I really wanted my
students to learn and whether the course was organised to help them meet
these objectives. In doing so, I remembered again and again the times I had
told my students if you take one thing about writing away from this class,
it should be . . . and realised that there were several one things about writing
I wanted them to take away, several concepts that could be applied across
the genres and could help them build a solid, sustainable foundation for future
successful writing experiences. I made a list of these concepts and shared it
with fellow creative writers and Creative Writing teachers, adding and subtracting to it until I felt I had a working draft of concepts elemental to the
craft of Creative Writing, a draft that would provide the blueprints for a new
concept-based multigenre Creative Writing course.

The Concept-based Course

Students in my multigenre introductory Creative Writing course study nine
basic concepts of the craft over a 14-week semester (see Appendix A for a
sample syllabus): The Writers Life; Lyricism and Language; Description and
Detail; Awakening the Senses; Dialogue; Characterisation; Stepping Outside
the Self: Writing About What you Dont Know; Beginnings, Endings, and
Titles; Silence and Subtlety and Revision. Students learn these concepts
through a combination of lecture, discussion, experimentation and in-class
writing exercises, as well as through examples from published work , but most
importantly, they study the basics of the craft in their preferred genre, a
central element of the ideal introductory writing course as posited by Bishop
(1998: 4), Robert DeMaria (2002) and others. This does not mean that students
write in their preferred genre and only in their preferred genre for the duration
of the course. On the contrary, students are expected to turn in two extended
writing assignments for feedback as well as one assignment for full class workshop and commentary, in addition to several other reflective assignments and
a final portfolio. Each of these extended assignments must be in a different
genre of the students choice. This allows students freedom in both their daily
in-class writing and more extended work, acknowledging that writers at every
level, from beginning to advanced, do best when they are able to choose the
form appropriate for the material (DeMaria, 2002: 8).
In fact, research shows that freedom in imaginative endeavours can exponentially increase creativity and enhance imaginative writing. In Creativity
Research and Classroom Practice, for example, Linda Sarbo and Joseph Moxley (1994) cite studies that show teacher-assigned topics, forms and genres
are less likely to offer opportunities for student engagement than studentsponsored-writing and on that basis, question whether instructor-imposed
genres serve our convenience rather than our students creative process (1994:

18

International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing

135). Specifically, they cite Teresa Amabiles work on creativity and problem
solving tasks which demonstrated that choice in whether or how to engage
in a particular problem increases creativity (Sarbo & Moxley, 1994: 140). Sarbo
and Moxley acknowledge that students require experience with a variety of
forms and genres but also call for Creative Writing courses that maximise
student control over the shape of their written work, ultimately declaring
that We cannot . . . expect students to take seriously our admonition to discover the form inherent in their poems when our syllabus reflects the attitude
that If today is Tuesday, it must be sonnets (1994: 135).
Although I dont use a text for my course, preferring instead a reader to
supply examples of the concepts being taught, a small but growing number
of Creative Writing textbooks demonstrate that the concept-based Creative
Writing course is gaining ground in higher education. Janet Burroway, author
of the well-known Writing Fiction for example, recently published Imaginative
Writing, a multigenre Creative Writing text anchored in her belief that all
writing is imaginative and . . . different genres share similar sources and build
on similar skills (2003: xv). The first five weeks/chapters of Imaginative Writing focus on five areas Burroway views as foundational to the craft: Image,
Voice, Character, Setting, and Story.
Moreover, Hans Ostrom, Katherine Haake and Wendy Bishops Metro: Journeys In Writing Creatively is organised, according to its authors, along broad
areas of the writing process within which questions of form and technique often
arise (2001: xv). An exercise-driven text designed to encourage students to
experiment and to produce a high volume of writing, each exercise is
accompanied by a boxed summary that identifies genres being targeted, ideas
and concepts [emphasis mine] explored, and a list of authors and works mentioned (2001: xxi). Finally, Robert DeMarias College Handbook of Creative Writing, first published in 1991 and now in its third edition, offers an exhaustive
guide that is prescient in its organisation not by genre but according to craft
issues and in its stated aim not to tell students what to write, but to describe
how universal writing problems have been dealt with by experienced writers
(2001: ix).

The Power to Choose

As these texts and Appendix A illustrate, the concept-based course is open
to interpretations that not only offer student choice but also instructor choice
in course design. For example, in addition to more universal concepts, such
as lyricism, description, and characterisation, my decision to teach Writing
About What You Dont Know and Silence and Subtlety arises from, respectively, a desire to gently guide students away from a tendency toward obsessively self-referential writing, and, in addition, to lead them away from the
sentimentality and heavy-handedness that can plague the work of beginning
writers. Spreading these concepts over the typical 1416 week American semester also leaves ample room for other course elements, such as workshops
and reflective writing, that will help students achieve additional key objectives, which include an enhanced set of critical reading and responding skills
that will improve their ability to read their own work and that of others.
Organising the course in this manner affords students the opportunity to learn

The Case for the Concept-based Multigenre Course

19

about craft concepts in depth while at the same time approaching issues of
genre in the context of their own work. Due to their control over its shape,
furthermore, students feel significant ownership of their work, a factor which
can also enhance the staying power of the lessons they learn about genre.
Finally, the organisation of the concept-based course not only homogenises
the foundation that students receive in the craft of writing, it also allows them
to apply what they learn about each concept to their own varied, individual
development as writers.
Although we will undoubtedly share a common subset, another instructors
list of the basic elements of Creative Writing may vary from mine in ways
that reveal her own inclinations and perceptions of her students needs. Consequently, at the core of the concept-based course, lies freedom, student freedom
in form, expression, and genre within broader, less prescriptive boundaries,
and instructor freedom in topic and emphasis. Such freedom can only improve
creativity and provide the kind of depth and knowledge of elemental Creative
Writing craft issues that will equip students with a broad range of transferable
skills (Holland, 2003: 4) as they move on to advanced writing courses, and
to writing situations in the world beyond the university.
Correspondence
Any correspondence should be directed to Stephanie Vanderslice, Department of Writing and Speech, University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey
Avenue, Conway, Arkansas 72035-0001, USA (stephv@uca.edu).
References
Bishop, W. (1998) Released Into Language: Options for Teaching Creative Writing. Portland,
ME: Calendar Islands.
Burroway, J. (2003) Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft. New York: Addison, Wesley, Longman.
DeMaria, R. (2002) The College Handbook of Creative Writing. Boston: Thomson/Heinle.
Holland, S. (2003) Creative Writing: A Good Practice Guide. London: English Subject
Centre.
Ostrom, H., Haake, K. and Bishop, W. (2001) Metro: Journeys in Writing Creatively. New
York: Addison, Wesley, Longman.
Sarbo, L. and Moxley, J. (1994) Creativity research and classroom practice. In W. Bishop
and H. Ostrom (eds) Colors of a Different Horse: Rethinking Creative Writing Theory
and Pedagogy (pp. 133145). Urbana, IL: NCTE.
Wandor, M. (2003) A Creative Writing manifesto. In Holland, S. (2003) Creative Writing:
A Good Practice Guide (pp. 1314). London: English Subject Centre.

Appendix A
Abridged sample syllabus
Concept-based multigenre Creative Writing course
The author Henry Miller once said, Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of
discovery. Although writing is, for the most part, a solitary act, in this course,
we will embark on part of the voyage Miller describes together. This means
that both as a class and as individuals, we will explore what it means to be

20

International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing

a writer. Not a writer in the commercial, publication sense of the word,

although that is certainly a factor in the writers life, but in the sense of one
who writes, who interprets the world through words. The first part of the
class will be spent examining the writers journey and how that journey relates
to each of us. Next we will look at some of the building blocks of good writing,
cultivating an eye for detail and enhancing our sensory awareness. From there
we will be working together on writing to be drafted and revised during
workshop sessions over the course of the semester. We will also examine
revision as a key element of the writing life, as well as look at some other
considerations writers must face, such as publication, manuscript preparation,
etc. Hopefully, by the end of this journey you will have a better sense of the
kinds of writing you might like to study more intensely in future courses, as
well as a better sense of the kind of writer you are and the kind of writer
youd like to be. Inevitably, as Miller describes, you will also have a better
sense of yourself as a person.

Required text
A Bound Notebook for Your Journal
Knorr, Jeff and Tim Schell, eds. A Writers Country: A Collection of Fiction and
Poetry. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001. (Referred to as AWC)
Minot, Stephen. Literary Nonfiction: The Fourth Genre. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall: 2003. (Referred to as LNF)
Classmates work.
In class writing and journal:
To get ideas and practice what we have learned, we will write in class
almost every day. Ill be writing right along with you (I wouldnt want to
miss a chance to catch an errant idea or inspiration), usually in response to a
daily writing warm-up. I hope that we can be open about this writing and
share it freely with each other. This means I will be open about reading my
work and I expect you to read from your work from time to time, when
you choose.

Workshops
Full class
At one point over the course of the semester, each person will have the
opportunity to have a full class critique of her or his work. The week before
this workshop is due, you will bring in enough copies of your piece for the
entire class and for me. You will be able to sign up for a particular workshop
and choose any piece you want to workshop before the class.
Writing 1 and 2
These are the creative pieces that you will hand in to me during the semester. They can be in any genre (poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, drama,
etc.) that you wish to write in. I would, however, like to see you experiment,
so the only requirement of these pieces is that each one be in a different genre.

The Case for the Concept-based Multigenre Course

21

General guidelines:
Poetry: Hand in a minimum of 5 poems. Typed.
Fiction, Nonfiction, Drama: Minimum of five pages. Typed. Double-spaced.
Note: Full class workshops may be single spaced to minimise copying costs.
Portfolio
Well go over this in class, but here are some elements your portfolio.
A Substantial Introduction Which May Discuss:
Your progress as a writer this semester.
A discussion of the revisions you made to your work.
Your responses to the feedback you got from the class and me.
A copy of the best response you wrote this semester, with a detailed explanation of why you chose it.
A copy of the most helpful response you received this semester, with a
detailed explanation of why it was most helpful.
Final, Revised Copies of Your Writing I, Writing II and Full Class Workshop piece.

Class Schedule
Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four

Week Five
Week Six

Week
Week
Week
Week

Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten

Week Eleven
Week Twelve

Week Thirteen
Week Fourteen

Being a Writer. Literacy Autobiography.

Responding to Others Writing, Keeping a Journal.
Lyricism and Language
Description Reading Response Due:
AWC: The Things They Carried, Documentary,
LNF: My Fathers Body
Awakening the Senses Reading Response Due
AWC: The Handsomest Drowned Man In the
World, Green Chile
LNF: Jack in the Pulpit
Full Class Workshops
Stepping Outside Yourself, Writing About What You
Dont Know Reading Response Due
AWC: A Good Man Is Hard to Find, Ce zanne,
Pablo Neruda
Beginnings, Endings, Titles
Full Class Workshops
Characterisation
Dialogue Reading Response Due
AWC: Hills Like White Elephants, Bitch
LNF: Snakebit
Full Class Workshops
Silence, and Subtlety Reading Response Due
(Readings on library reserve)
Frederick Busch: Ralph the Duck
Amy Hempel: In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson
is Buried
Full Class Workshops
Revision