Creative Writing - Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Poetry - Humber College

Our Program

Our studio program offers aspiring writers the exceptional opportunity to work at home. Individual courses are not offered in the traditional way. Instead, one of Humber’s distinguished faculty members critiques your work of creative non-fiction, fiction, book of short stories, or volume of poetry. The program is customized to address the particular needs of your manuscript, and may include assessments of your handling of plot, story, character, dialogue, pace, and style or may focus on the particular needs of the manuscript as determined by the writing mentor. Graduates have the satisfaction of completing a large body of work, which may include all or parts of a novel, volume of short stories, or a book of poetry. Students are also referred to writing competitions.

Humber is noted for its exceptional faculty, including authors of world stature. This faculty list has included Edward Albee, Martin Amis, Peter Carey, Alistair Macleod, Carol Shields, Miriam Toews and the late Timothy Findley and Paul Quarrington. Forthcoming international authors include Rachel Kushner and Tim O’Brien.

Humber also has a literary agency to champion the publication of promising works. Selected student manuscripts are passed on to publishers through the Humber School for Writers (HSW) Literary Agency. A virtual café exists through Blackboard to encourage writing students to interact and build a sense of community.

Your Career

Canadians still love a good read. They spend 14 per cent of their leisure time reading, half of which is spent reading books. The main goal of the program is to improve the writing of participants. Publication is a possibility for some, but no program can guarantee publication. Graduates of this program may use their writing and editing skills in a wide variety of careers and professions in addition to writing books. Some of our graduates write for newspapers, magazines, television, and other media. More than 300 Humber School for Writers alumni have published books of fiction or poetry and Dr. Vincent Lam, who won the 2006 Scotiabank Giller for his literary debut Bloodletting &amp;amp; Miraculous Cures, is just one of our distinguished former students. At this writing, three other alumni are on the bestseller lists in Canada: Suzanne Desrochers for Brides of New France and Roberta Rich for The Midwife of Venice, as well as Eva Stachniak for The Winter Palace.

Our Industry Partnerships

PEN Canada and Humber have worked together to employ refugee writers. The Writers’ Trust of Canada and HarperCollins Canada provide generous scholarships. Other publishers and industry professionals advise Humber, including representatives from Random House Canada, Doubleday, Exile Editions, Thomas Allen, and the International Festival of Authors.

Your Future Study Options

Qualified graduates of this program may be eligible to apply their academic credits toward further study at many postsecondary institutions. For detailed information, visit humber.ca/transferguide.

Admission Requirements

A bachelor's degree
Submission of a work-in-progress (no more than 15 pages)
If English is not your first language, refer to the English Language Proficiency Policy

Note: For more information, refer to Selection Procedures.
Meeting the minimum requirements doesnot guarantee admission to the program.

Fees / Scholarships

The 2013/2014 fee for two semesters is

domestic $2,992.77
international $2,992.77.

Amounts listed are the total of tuition, lab and material fees, student service and auxiliary fees for the first two semesters of the 2013/2014 academic year. Fees are subject to change. For more information, refer to Fees and Financial Assistance.

Curriculum (View the 2012/13 Curriculum)

All returning students can view your curriculum by logging into SRS

Semester 1

Course Code	Course Name
WRIT 5001	Narrative Styles 1 Narrative Styles 1 Course Code: WRIT 5001 This course studies the various styles of narrative approaches in fiction writing and examines the possibilities and limitations of omniscient, first person, and third person methods. It also looks at interior monologues and streams of consciousness to depict characters? feelings and thoughts. Plot and plot development, common phases of structural story development, a story?s narrative line, scenes and episodes, scene creation and development are all covered in this course.
WRIT 5003	Character, Plot and Stylistic Development Character, Plot and Stylistic Development Course Code: WRIT 5003 This course introduces students to the idea of major and minor characters, the protagonist and antagonist, as well as characters? psychological development and growth in creative writing. Students dissect various creative writing genres in order to assess the overall story line and plot. They also examine the strategies used for beginning stories such as starting with generalizations, descriptions of characters, narrative summaries, dialogue, descriptions of settings and reminiscent narrators. They learn to define style and contrast the meaning of showing and telling in fiction and creative non-fiction. This course covers various style devices and how they can limit or strengthen a work.
WRIT 5005	Editing for Publication 1 Editing for Publication 1 Course Code: WRIT 5005 Students learn how to edit their own and other writers? narratives. They learn the traditions and rules of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and effective methods of style. They practise and develop skills in writing and rewriting to enhance plot development, narration, description, style, character development and other elements of story lines.
WRIT 5007	Issues in Contemporary Writing Issues in Contemporary Writing Course Code: WRIT 5007 Students are exposed to all of the elements involved in the contemporary writing marketplace. They learn to research the needs and demands of the creative writing market, how to find an appropriate agent, how to work with publishers and editors, and other relevant issues as they relate to the business of creative writing.
WRIT 5009	Freelance Writing Freelance Writing Course Code: WRIT 5009 This course helps students to explore ways to market themselves and sell forms of fiction and creative non-fiction to magazines, newspapers, radio, television, film, textbooks, documentary programming, and the Internet. Effective business practices are also covered in this course to help students succeed as entrepreneurial freelance artists.

Semester 2

Course Code	Course Name
WRIT 5500	Narrative Styles 2 Narrative Styles 2 Course Code: WRIT 5500 This course builds on the foundations covered in Narrative Styles 1 by examining in detail the various styles of narrative approaches in fiction writing. Narrative points of view are examined, and students hone their skills in recognizing and writing the narrative styles that best enhance their work. Students learn to understand the ideas of well-known literary critics and publishers in order to assess the appeal of the story line and plot. They study how to review the clarity of the overall structure of the story.
WRIT 5501	Advance Character, Plot and Stylistic Development Advance Character, Plot and Stylistic Development Course Code: WRIT 5501 In this advanced course, students refine skills in assessing the completeness of the characters? backgrounds, place, setting, and milieu. They develop their abilities to assess characters for the clarity of their relationship among other characters. Students also critique personal manuscripts for problems relating to characterization and character development, and prepare rewrites as necessary. They hone skills in plot development and advancement, as well as in style usage. Style devices are examined closely to understand how elements such as the use of active verbs, contrast, repetition for emphasis, parallelism, and the avoidance of empty words and clich?s can greatly enhance writing.
WRIT 5502	Editing for Publication 2 Editing for Publication 2 Course Code: WRIT 5502 Students work and rework their own and others? manuscripts to bring them to a professional, publishable level. They outline the characteristics of simple and plain writing styles and contrast those with the features and elements of mid-style, as well as more complex and higher forms of writing. They practice the avoidance of awkward syntax, grammatical errors, inconsistent verb tenses, incorrect punctuation, and the use of archaic words and phrases. They work on critiquing manuscripts for problems relating to style, plot, characterization, description, syntax and other elements, and prepare rewrites as needed.
WRIT 5503	The Business of Writing The Business of Writing Course Code: WRIT 5503 This advanced course prepares students for the practical business of being a professional author/writer. They research the needs and demands of the creative writing marketplace, prepare query letters, and book proposals. They develop skills in finding and identifying agents who best suit their needs, and then in contacting and developing business relationships with them. They develop abilities for marketing their creative writing, and learn to submit their work in required formats and styles. They also research and learn to comprehend the standard elements of a writing/book contract, and how to submit their work for writing awards and competitions.
WRIT 5504	The Writer and the Media The Writer and the Media Course Code: WRIT 5504 This course prepares students to understand the relationship between a published author and the world at large. Having a manuscript published is only the beginning of the process for authors. Authors have to learn to work with publishers and editors in terms of providing revisions/rewrites. They also have to conduct public readings of their works, be interviewed by the electronic and print media, and judge others? works of writing/art. Published writers are frequently asked to review other manuscripts for literary journals, arts sections of newspapers and magazines, and for radio, television and the Internet. They are also often asked to appear as guest speakers, attend public functions, and meet various dignitaries. This course prepares students for all of these practical working duties of being a published writer.

September 2013 Program Availability

Career Finder