Gail currently teaches at Austin Community College and St. Edward's University.
Fall 2009 Course Overviews
ACC - English 2307, Beginning Creative Writing (Creative Nonfiction)
In this beginning creative nonfiction course, students learn the elements of effective creative prose – plot, setting, characters, and imagery – to create vivid and engaging essays. To sharpen writing skills and strengthen understanding of craft, students engage in both writing practice and reading assignments. The specific class format consists of some lecture, more discussion, writing exercises, and several different kinds of workshops to help students revise their work. Genres include memoir, travel writing (print and blog), and literary journalism.
ACC - English 2307, Writing the Memoir (Online Course)
In this distance learning course, students focus on memoir, or a vivid look at a slice of life, whether childhood, travel, or a significant event. Using literary tools such as scene, dialog, and setting, students recreate their personal stories. Assignments include both reading and writing, along with online chat, discussion sessions, and online workshops.
Spring 2009 Course Overview
ACC - English 2308, Advanced Creative Writing (Fiction and Creative Nonfiction)
Building on skills acquired in the beginning creative writing course, students hone their fiction and nonfiction writing and discover their own literary voices through focused readings, writing exercises and drafts, and workshop feedback. Students also prepare for a public presentation of their work through both a reading and submission to targeted journals. The course involves the reading, writing, and critical analysis of prose along with peer critique (workshop) and interactive discussion.
Summer 2008 Course Overview
St. Edward's University - English 3306, Creative Nonfiction
In creative nonfiction, writers find the extraordinary in the everyday using literary techniques such as dialog, characterization, and scene to explore true events. This versatile writing style is expressive as well as informative, and has application in academic, literary, and business settings. Some genres of creative nonfiction include memoir, travel narrative, literary journalism, the lyric essay, and the short-short.
