Creative Writing Minor

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

Director: Thomas J. Bligh (English)

Offered jointly by the Communication and English departments, the creative writing minor contributes to our liberal-arts mission by exploring connections between the study of literature and the practice of writing. Creative writing minors at Mount St. Mary’s take a sequence of courses to develop their talents in a variety of narrative forms, including poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. All creative writing classes emphasize the value of revision and peer feedback. The minor is open to all students.

Program Requirements

In the creative writing minor, students will:

Create literary works in a variety of forms.

Broaden their knowledge and understanding of literature.

Synthesize lived and learned experience by expressing it imaginatively.

Develop skills in the use of imagery, metaphor, dialogue, and description.

Become better able to evaluate their written work and that of others.

Students may attend readings and lectures by visiting authors, participate in regional and national writing conferences, and share their work in poetry and prose readings on- and off-campus. The program includes opportunities to work on the staff of the Mount’s award-winning literary magazine, Lighted Corners, and to submit features to the Emmitsburg News-Journal.

The creative writing minor consists of six courses (18 credits).

Students of any major may minor in creative writing by taking a series of designated courses from the English and Communication departments.

Then take the next course in the sequence:

ENGL 286 - Introduction to Creative Writing
or
ENCM 286 - Introduction to Creative Writing

Select one or two upper-level courses that count toward the minor:

ENGL 301 - Reading Like a Writer
COMM 305 - Descriptive and Narrative Writing
COMM 374 - Creative Nonfiction
Take a 300-level literature course.

Choose one or two advanced writing workshops:

ENGL 385 - Fiction Workshop
ENGL 386 - Poetry Workshop
(Students must take ENGL 286 /ENCM 286 prior to a workshop.)