How do you approach a fictional world?  How do you start with a character, idea, or setting, and then build on that until you have a complete and exciting story?  Ever since Henry James made the novel a serious object of study in the late 1800s, aspiring novelists and short story writers have had to apply careful study to their vocation.  In this class, we will focus on the craft of fiction—narrative arcs, characterization, suspense, climax, etc.  Our objective will be to learn how write a well constructed story by writing one as a group and working on individual projects.

Journalism 
Writing styles for broadcast and print, visit to the Gainesville Times; culminating in special insert in the Gainesville Times.

Poetry Writing:  Finding and Achieving a Poetic Vision

What’s possible in a poem?  How is a poem made?  Poems are too often dismissed as being “just feelings” or “a flow of emotion onto the page”—which is why people think that poets are just “born that way” (they’re not).  Beginning with the belief that the tools of the poet (and the craft of poetry) can be taught, we’ll look at diverse forms, styles and subjects in order to write our way towards poems that are meaningful both personally and to our audience.  Students will work on both achieving a vision for their poetry while learning how to achieve that vision.  This class will also address the question of publishing.

Broadcast News Seminar
If you are interested in a career in the broadcast news field, here is your chance to get hands-on experience in collecting news, writing news stories and using the equipment.  You'll serve as a news writer, reporter and news anchor on our own cable channel as we present the evening news broadcast. If you select this class, it will count as two of your class selections.

Television and Studio Production
Hands-on studio experience using camera and console, culminating in a production video. (Students enrolling in TV Production must also take TV Studio at 3:30 p.m.)

Students routinely have the opportunity to produce a page for the Gainesville Times, a literary magazine, a video production, a radio show broadcast on WBCX, and web pages.  They also have opportunities to present their work on Communication Night.