CQUniversity Unit Profile.

Length: 500 words

You are required to submit a proposal describing the basic themes, plot or concept of your writing project for the term. The proposal represents your account of what you aim to achieve over the course of the term, and provides you with direction in completing your creative piece by the due date.

The proposal is non-graded but it is a condition of the course that the item must be submitted and approved. 

• The narrative for the proposed creative piece must adopt the third-person point of view (POV).
• The third person POV can be either third-person omniscient, third-person limited, or third-person intimate.
• The narrative of the proposed creative piece must include:
  • at least one instance of the narrator diving into private thoughts; or 
  • at least one instance of the narrator sharing a secret or a hidden event; or 
  • at least one instance of the narrator jumping between spaces, places and times in the telling of the tale.

These stipulations are not intended to restrict creativity, but rather to provide you as beginning writers with a structural basis for your creative writing artefact. While new writers typically feel most comfortable with first person ('I,' 'we,' 'me,' 'my,' 'our,' etc.) mode, writing using the third-person point-of-view ('he,' 'she,' 'they,' and 'it') offers the creative writer more freedom in shaping how a story is told.

There are a number of foci which the proposal should address:

• A clear conceptualisation of the project including a rationale for the form and genre of your writing project and how you will meet the above stipulations, supported by credible scholarly references (not Wikipedia, blogs, etc);
• A description of the 'standard' to which the work aspires based on research of the indicators/tropes of the genre (e.g., if you intend on writing a 'magic realism children's story' then state the indicators for this genre and the literary qualities that will make your creative piece a magic realist children's story and not some other genre);
• A brief overview of the key plot points and/or relevant subject matter that indicates how your writing project fits into your chosen genre (do not waste your word count on explaining the entire plot);
• Some idea of the method to be used in producing the creative piece (i.e. beyond just sitting and writing - what research is needed, how will this influence what is written, etc.) and a week-by-week timeline showing completion milestones;
• Where appropriate, a brief review of relevant research sources you intend to use (for example, if you intend to write a historical romance, then some research on the time period in which the story is set and the context in which your character lives would be appropriate as well as an indication if primary source material is actually available, etc.)

• The proposal evidences that it will carry-out a clearly articulated set of outcomes in reference to the form (e.g., writing the first chapter of a novel, series of poems, dramatic script, short story, children's book, etc.) and genre (eg. fantasy, horror, Gothic, paranormal, realism, historical, sci-fi, romance, crime, epic, ode, etc) of the writing project;
• The proposal provides a rationale for the specific point-of-view (third person intimate, limited or omniscient) and the genre in which the content of the creative piece will be written;
• The proposal represents an original piece of writing according to the chosen genre, and is of an achievable standard shown via a week-by-week timeline indicating what is to be undertaken and when in the writing process (including milestones to be achieved leading up to your Final Creative Piece);
• The proposal is presented with flawless literary presentation, formatting and referencing (Harvard Author-Date system);
• The proposal includes at least 5 credible and scholarly references to define key concepts (e.g., point-of-view, genre, form etc.) identified as important in ensuring that your creative piece is informed by the literary and stylistic conventions of your chosen genre and the specified form in which the content will be written.

Length: 1800-2500 words

Students are required to reflect weekly on their writing progress with specific reference to their experiences throughout the creative writing process. The reflective journal must discuss in a critical way how the final written piece (the creative artefact) is being/has been shaped by the various factors affecting the process of literary creation.

Further details are available on Moodle.

This assessment will be evaluated on the extent to which it demonstrates critical reflection in:

• The ways in which the creative work evidences a carrying-out of the clearly articulated set of outcomes in the Proposal in reference to the point of view (third person intimate, limited or omniscient), form (e.g., writing the first chapter of a novel, series of poems, dramatic script, short story, children's book, etc.) and genre (eg. fantasy, horror, Gothic, paranormal, realism, historical, sci-fi, romance, crime, epic, ode, etc) of the writing project;
• Taking into account the thematic/literary standards of the nominated form and genre and how the creative writing techniques used reflect these;
• Engagement with the references listed in the proposal and/or additional scholarly references in ensuring that the creative piece is informed by the literary and stylistic conventions of the chosen genre and the specified writing techniques nominated in the proposal (at least 2 references per journal entry);
• Progress of the creative piece according to the standards shown in the proposal's week-by-week timeline indicating what was to be undertaken and when in the writing process on a weekly basis (that is, achievement of milestones leading up to Assessment 3 - Final Creative Piece)
• Each critical reflection reflects flawless presentation, clarity of expression - including spelling and grammatical correctness, using the Harvard (author-date) referencing style.

Length: 2500-3000 words

The final creative piece must be completed according to the topic proposed in Assessment 1: Proposal. You must include a copy of the proposal at the beginning of the submission (this is not included in the word count). Your final creative piece must show a polished realisation of the creative writing project as outlined in the proposal.

• The narrative for the proposed creative piece must adopt the third-person point of view (POV);
• The third person POV can be either third-person omniscient, third-person limited, or third-person intimate; and
• The narrative of the proposed creative piece must include:
  • at least one instance of the narrator diving into private thoughts; or
  • at least one instance of the narrator sharing a secret or a hidden event; or
  • at least one instance of the narrator jumping between spaces, places and times in the telling of the tale.

Refer to the foci included in the proposal. The final creative piece should reflect these key points:

• The piece realises the conceptualisation of the project as outlined in the proposal including its rationale;
• The piece clearly puts into practice the 'standard' to which the work aspired based on research;
• The final creative piece shows that you have clearly moved beyond simply sitting and writing and that you have utilised a clear method in producing the creative piece (i.e. the research you have undertaken into genre and form and how this influences what you have written, etc.);
• The final creative piece makes obvious use of the review of relevant subject matter and is an original piece of creative writing.

Note: It is acceptable in this unit to allow a 10% variation (either above or below) the word count. Students are strongly advised to accord with the word count of 2500–3000 words (taking into account variation limits of +/-10%).

The Final Creative Writing Piece will be evaluated according to the extent to which:

• The draft realises the articulated set of outcomes in the Proposal with respect to the POV, genre and form of the creative piece;
• The draft incorporates all of the stipulations outlined for the creative piece (e.g. third-person limited, intimate, or omniscient, etc., at least one instance of the narrator diving into private thoughts, etc.)
• The draft realises the elements of the chosen genre (e.g., horror, sci-fi, fantasy, historical romance, popular romance, etc.), and accords with the standards shown via the Proposal's week-by-week timeline indicating what was to be undertaken and when in the writing process (that is, the achieved milestones leading up to Assessment 3 - Final Creative Piece)
• The draft is presented in a flawless literary presentation, including formatting and referencing (Harvard (author-date) referencing style)
• The draft shows the realisation of an original piece of writing indicating the literary and stylistic conventions of the chosen genre and the specified form and style in which content of this type should be written.