ABAC OFFERS CREATIVE WRITING CLASS THIS SPRING

            Anyone who enjoys making up or telling stories may want to enroll in the Introduction to Creative Writing: Fiction and Creative Nonfiction (HUMN 1100) class that will be offered this spring semester at Abraham Baldwin College. The one-credit-hour class will meet on Wednesdays from 1 – 1:50 p.m. in Room 7 in King Hall on the ABAC campus. No prior creative writing experience is necessary.

            Sandra Giles, an assistant professor of English in ABAC’s Division of Humanities, said the class is targeted toward anyone who writes fiction or nonfiction or anyone who thinks he or she might like to give it a try.

“I really hope some people from the community will audit the class or even take it for credit,” Giles said. “I know there are a lot of people who write, and I’d like them to share their work and their experiences with the regular ABAC students, and maybe get a community of writers started--a group of like-minded people who like to write and talk about stories.”

            In the class, students will read, write, discuss, and learn techniques for writing fiction and nonfiction. Students can concentrate on one area, or they can work in both. Traditional and experimental types of fiction will be discussed. Students can write in all lengths: chapters from novels, short stories, and short-shorts. The main text for the class will be Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

            “People are often confused by the term ‘creative nonfiction,’” Giles said. “That is the term commonly used, but it is sometimes called ‘literary nonfiction’--nonfiction that is written to be read and enjoyed as literature, rather than informative journalism, argumentation, or analytical scholarship. Creative nonfiction can include memoir, explorations of a person or place, philosophical explorations, nature writing, family histories, and much more. The word ‘creative’ is in the name because creative nonfiction borrows techniques from other types of creative writing. But it’s still nonfiction, and it’s one of the most popular types of creative writing today.”

            For more information, contact Giles at (229) 386-7179, or e-mail her at sgiles@abac.edu. Prospective students can also visit her web page at www.abac.edu/sgiles.

# # #