"Capstone is about building a writing community for life. We are a lively, fun, small group of writers supporting each other, scaffolding our projects, giving excellent feedback, and sowing the seeds for a fruitful professional writing career."
Overview
The capstone course for Creative Writing and Literature, CREA E-599, directly follows the precapstone course, CREA E-597, in which students built the world of their books and produced the first story or chapter of them.
The Creative Writing and Literature program offers two capstone sequences: fiction (section 1) and fiction or nonfiction (section 2).
CREA E-599 (Sections 1 and 3): Capstone: Developing the Manuscript: Fiction provides you with an opportunity to complete an additional two stories or chapters of your manuscript for a total of 50-60 pages of original fiction—the equivalent of a thesis.
CREA E-599 (Section 2): Capstone: Developing the Manuscript: Fiction and Non-Fiction offers you the opportunity to complete an additional two stories, essays, or chapters of your manuscript for a total of 50-60 pages of original fiction or non-fiction—the equivalent of a thesis.
The capstone sequence provides you with a supportive writing community over the academic year. Your instructor will guide and facilitate workshops as you write your capstone project, and you and your peers will offer feedback for each other in lively group discussion. This environment allows you the opportunity to develop your work while learning from each other in an active and engaging way.
Prerequisites
Registration is limited to officially admitted candidates in the Master of Liberal Arts, creative writing and literature, who have successfully completed the precapstone course, CREA E-597, with the same instructor in the previous fall term. Candidates must be in good academic standing with all degree course requirements successfully completed by the end of the fall term. The only exception to this is the on-campus summer residency which may be completed after the capstone. No other course registration is allowed simultaneously with the capstone. Candidates who do not meet these requirements are dropped from the course.
Faculty
CREA E-599 (Sections 1 and 3): Capstone: Developing the Manuscript: Fiction
Leah De Forest, MFA, Writer
Katie Beth Kohn, MA
CREA E-599 (Section 2): Capstone: Developing the Manuscript: Fiction or Nonfiction
Elisabeth Sharp McKetta, PhD, Writer (elisabethsharpmcketta.com)