Literary Reference Center Database

A full-text database providing information on thousands of authors and their works across literary disciplines and time frames. It gives students, professors and researchers a foundation of literary reference works to meet their research needs.

Creative Writing: A Guide and Glossary to Fiction Writing

All writers are familiar with terms like plot, suspense, conflict and character. They may be less familiar with intertextuality, anachrony, and fabula, and they may be even less confident in achieving the effects these terms refer to. This book defines fictional techniques and guides the potential writer in their use.

SC4 Writing Center

Busy students find the assistance they need at the SC4 Writing Center, located in 313 Main Building. Staffed with writing tutors and volunteer English faculty, the writing center serves as a place where students discuss not only their essays and documents for their English classes, but any writing assignment for any SC4 class.

The center’s friendly, supportive and experienced tutors consult with students one-on-one.  While appointments are encouraged, students are free to drop-in, Monday-Thursday, 10:00 to 4:00. The Center also features several computers and printers for consultation and composition.

Steering the Craft: A 21st Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story

A revised and updated guide to the essentials of a writer's craft, presented by a brilliant practitioner of the art Completely revised and rewritten to address the challenges and opportunities of the modern era, this handbook is a short, deceptively simple guide to the craft of writing. Le Guin lays out ten chapters that address the most fundamental components of narrative, from the sound of language to sentence construction to point of view. Each chapter combines illustrative examples from the global canon with Le Guin's own witty commentary and an exercise that the writer can do solo or in a group. She also offers a comprehensive guide to working in writing groups, both actual and online.   Masterly and concise,Steering the Craft deserves a place on every writer's shelf.

Writing Lessons Series: Streaming Video

To learn about the writing life, ask a writer. Commentary by dozens of authors and allied professionals makes this scrapbook-style six-part series a fascinating and informative learning experience for students of creative writing and literature. A mix of interviews, panel discussions, mini-documentaries, profiles, and fun facts, these programs offer valuable insights into issues as varied as dealing with rejection letters and bad reviews, the importance of research when writing a novel, the impact of blogging on writing, rising niche genres such as graphic novels, and censorship, a threat aimed at the very jugular of self-expression. 6-part series, 26-30 minutes each.

Off-campus? Enter your SC4 Portal username and password to view these streaming videos.