The Power to Choose: The Case for the Concept-based Multigenre Creative Writing Course

Abstract

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 teaching—the 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.