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The World Of Marubia: A Writer’S Perspective Into Building Worlds Using Transmedia Aesthetics, Diego Lucca Espinosa

Whittier Scholars Program

This Senior Project is a Generative and Research Thesis based around the techniques and aesthetics of Transmedia storytelling that are used when dabbling in World Building. It includes three interconnected creative pieces: 2 flash fiction stories and a short screenplay, all revolving and connected to the story world of my creation, Marubia. These stories exist in a world going through a technopoaclypse; Robotic creatures wield magic against their Human brothers in arms, slaved to the command of a Dark God. The Transmedia Aesthetics coined by Professor Geoffrey Long, specifically Resonant Simple-Story Myths, Fractal Storytelling, and World-Centric Narrative Design were pivotal …

Emergent Narrative In Tabletop Role-Playing Games: An Application Of Concepts, Padraig Mumper

Honors Projects

This project examines tabletop role-playing games using concepts from narratology and ludology including emergent narrative and Roger Caillois’ categories of games by applying these concepts in the creation of an adventure zine for the game MÖRK BORG. The existing literature on emergent narrative primarily focuses on video games and Avant Garde texts but tabletop role-playing games provide a novel opportunity to explore emergent narrative in new ways. The dynamic of a collaborative game with multiple players and a gamemaster provides additional challenges for designers due to variance in interpretation of the game events and the lack of a digital program …

Twisted Threads: A Novel And Exploration Of Fraternity Culture And Race, Christian S. Golden

Senior Theses

Twisted Threads: A Novel and Exploration of Fraternity Culture and Race is a project that seeks to explore questions about race and brotherhood through the lens of the urban fantasy genre. It is the first ten chapters of a full-length fantasy novel and can be considered the first half of the planned novel. The Introduction details some of my influences, both literary and cultural, as well as the thought process behind much of the worldbuilding in my manuscript. It also details some of the research that was conducted to help build accurate allegories and allusions. The novel follows a black …

Irotas 2024, Xander Auman, Kat Beekman, Elizabeth Benfield, Jessica Grafe, Jed Nelson, Kate Nissen, Drake Onyx, Alex Peachey, Benjamin Rayburn, Mandie Schmidt, Kelly Stelzer, Kylie White, Jayde Yeates, Larissa Lopez, Alayna Majkrzak, Ashleigh Campbell, Alysen Endres, Lucy Severson, Kiera Norman, Samantha Bird, Keaton Riebel, Jaden Fleshner, Jaydon Wilson, Ian Mckinzie, Rachel Marzahn, Riker Weiler, Mushfiq Kabir, Taya Peterson, Mawatta Dukuly, Mal Bowman, Grace Guertin, Samantha Dischinger, Kieran Lombard, Ian Mckinzie, Grace Westphel

Irotas

Irotas is an annual student journal of the arts created and published by Winona State University students. Irotas is a sibling journal to the Satori Student Literary Magazine. This is the inaugural issue of Irotas (2024).

Student Editors: Xander Auman, Kat Beekman, Elizabeth Benfield, Jessica Grafe, Jed Nelson, Kate Nissen, Drake Onyx, Alex Peachey, Benjamin Rayburn, Mandie Schmidt, Kelly Stelzer, Kylie White, and Jayde Yeates.

Faculty advisor: Dr. Liberty Kohn

Satori 2024, Draconian Onyx, Xander Auman, Elizabeth Benfield, Samantha Bird, Elysia Beynon, Ashleigh Campbell, Lydia Domaille, Mawatta Dukuly, Alysen Endres, Jessica Grafe, Grace Guertin, Mushfiq Kabir, Nathan Kronbeck, Alayna Majkrzak, Rachel Marzahn, Noelle Mckinney, Ian Douglas Mckinzie, Dorothy Moore, Jack Mulvaney, Kaylee Nickisch, Kiera Norman, Alex Peachy, Sophia Porter, Sydney Porter, Keaton Riebel, Sophia Sailer, Lucy Severson, Kelly Steltzer, Celia Stern, Willow Swinbank, Jackie Velishek, Allen Wedekind, Riker Weiler, Jaydon Wilson

Satori Literary Magazine

The Satori is a student literary publication that expresses the artistic spirit of the students of Winona State University. Student poetry, prose, and graphic art are published in the Satori every spring since 1970.

The Satori 2024 editors are:

Design and Technical Editor: Draconian Onyx;
Fiction Editors: Elizabeth Benfield, Jed, Nelson, Kate Nissen, Mandie Schmidt, Kylie White, Jayde Yeates;
Poetry Editors: Xander Auman, Kat Beekman, Alex Peachey, Kelly Stelzer;
Art Editors: Jessica Grafe, Draconian Onyx Benjamin Rayburn.
The Satori 2024 faculty advisor is Dr. Liberty Kohn, Professor of English.

Norse Inspired Tales: Four Changes Of Fate, Pete Wille

University Honors Theses

Norse Inspired Tales: Four Changes of Fate is a collection of four original short stories meant to act as an introduction to a broader literary world where Norse myth meets late eighteen hundred's, San Francisco. The introduction gives background on my literary journey and explains some of the choices made within these stories. Each following story reveals the characters and the world they currently inhabit.

The Exile's War, Stephen Edwards Arnold

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

In Gaelwyn, the village of a thousand stories, Katchan receives a powerful ruby and an ancient technique called writing hidden by his grandmother, Maggaline. Jealous of the power Katchan has, the village Elder seeks to destroy him. After escaping the Elder, Katchan must leave his home and traverse a dangerous and mysterious wasteland that will lead him directly into an ancient conflict that lost a powerful empire to the sands of time.

Hattie: A Twin Territories Matriarch, Madison P. Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

“Hattie: A Twin Territories Matriarch” is a creative novel of vignettes in the vein of historical fiction set at the turn of the 20th century in Oklahoma/Indian Territory exploring the complexities of love and betrayal through generations of one Muscogee family as they battle the legal and personal implications of white-settler encroachment. With societal criticisms and Indigenous methodologies, this thesis aims to explore land ownership, resource allocation, and the complex governance of Oklahoma tribal reservations. The research of this novel focuses on primary documents from National Archive probate records, Dawes Commission enrollments, newspapers, and a familial collection of photographs, letters, …

Visual Development For Wellspring, Jane Frances Anderson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The primary focus of this thesis is the study of visual development for worldbuilding, starting with creative writing and documentation and translating the written content into visual concepts in both 2D and 3D. This project includes an original narrative, setting, and characters and explores aspects of the visual development pipeline. The content below contains work in visual research, 2D character design, 3D character sculpting, 3D printing and assembly, hard-surface modeling, matte-painting, illustration, compositing, and heavy creative writing.

Satori 2023, Madeline Schonitzer, Izabella Setla, Briana Strohbehn, Emily Venné, Madison Grove, Keaton Riebel, Catherine Fruzyna, Esther Stoy, Willow Swinbank, Arin Hendrickson, Brianna Strohbehn, Page Sutton, Augusta Drenckhahn, Patricia Corbera, Madi Bonebright, Savannah Egger, Danica Kilibarda, Tyler Janssen, Lily Gruenhagen, Beth L. Halleck, Daniel Schulz, Emma Rabehl

Satori Literary Magazine

The Satori is a student literary publication that expresses the artistic spirit of the students of Winona State University. Student poetry, prose, and graphic art are published in the Satori every spring since 1970.

The Satori 2023 editors are Gabriel Hathaway, Van Herman, Madeline Schonitzer, Brianna Strohbehn, Page Sutton, Willow Swinbank, and Emily Venné. The Satori 2023 faculty advisor is Dr. Jim Armstrong, Professor of English.

The Cross And The Crime Scene: The Convergence Of Writing As A Christian And The Mystery Genre, Ellie Talalight

Senior Honors Theses

This creative thesis begins with a discussion of the different approaches to writing as a Christian. It describes the evangelistic approach, the integrative approach, and the thematic approach, which vary in the degree to which the author’s faith is explicitly or implicitly included. The thesis then focuses on the way Dorothy Sayers and G. K. Chesterton incorporated their faith into their mystery stories. It then includes excerpts from an original mystery novel. Finally, it considers the value and purpose of this project.

New Members, James F. Mcgrath

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

No abstract provided.

Picture Me Like This: A Short Story Collection, Anna Jones

Scripps Senior Theses

Picture Me Like This is a short story collection that explores our racialized imaginations surrounding Blackness and whiteness, and the implications those have for our intimacies with each other.

Invisible Ailments: A Collection, Jane L. Godiner

Honors Projects

"Invisible Ailments" is a collection of short stories that trace the depth, breath, and sweeping range of lived experiences of people struggling with mental illness. While it is a work of fiction, the people in these stories might feel eerily familiar — to your friends, your family members, your loved ones, or, if you're brave enough to admit it, yourself.

The Wellington Affair: A Detective Story, Anakin Weston

Masters Theses

The week the heiress to the Wellington Family fortune returns to England, a series of strange events sweeps through the streets. The Wellington Diamond, unsurpassed by all of its kind, becomes the envy of more criminally-minded eyes and a plan is put into motion to steal it. Caught in the cross-fire, prospective writer Mark Verner is framed for the theft of the diamond but is saved from arrest by none other than the heiress herself. When the conspiracy to steal the jewel turns murderous, the only hope of the duo lies in the hands of the reluctant yet limitless detective …

A Short On Time Short Story Contest: Inspiring Creativity In The Library, Alexandra Boris

UT Libraries Faculty: Other Publications and Presentations

This chapter is a case study on the impact of a NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) a short story writing event and contest in an academic library setting. National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is an international event which takes place in the month of November. During NaNoWriMo Participants from around the world attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days with the end product being a first rough draft of a novel. Many famous authors even participate in this challenge such as Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus, and Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants.

This chapter …

Novella, Sydney German

Student Research Submissions

This paper was written for ENGL 470B:1 – Seminar: Creative Writing Fiction under the instruction of Dr. Ray Levy, and the project is titled Novella while the story is called Unforeseeable. It is an 11,000-word sensational, suspenseful psychological fiction about Ava Reed, a 22-year-old woman, who is on a search for independence and freedom from her small town. The story begins by immediately diving into the scene of a murder with Ava holding the weapon. From there, the story works backward to slowly reveal the motive and the true account of what took place that night. It focuses primarily …

Fallen Kingdom, Sarah E. Black

Honors College Theses

Fallen Kingdom is a novella situated in the genre of urban fantasy. Fast-paced with beautifully woven descriptions, this project aims to depict the experience of PTSD as readers follow Scarlett in her attempts to navigate lost memories, magic, and a new world. With danger lurking around every corner, her only hope is to realize her own strengths and motivations to save the person she loves most.

Workers Of Iniquity: Stories, Isaac Huckaby

Theses and Dissertations

In her essay, “The Grotesque in Southern Fiction,” Flannery O’Connor notes, “Whenever I’m asked why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one” (44). In the introduction to this collection, I investigate the importance of the grotesque, gothic, and surreal elements that tend to make up the depictions of the South in the works of authors such as Flannery O’Connor and Brad Watson and several horror writers, such as Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft, exploring how horror can be used to emphasize the …

Department Of Longing, Anthony Gabriel Coffman

Theses and Dissertations

Many have chosen to divide the world of fiction into literary and genre. I do not believe these have to be mutually exclusive. Writers such as Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, and Benjamin Percy note the importance of literary devices while simultaneously creating plots that elicit emotional responses from readers. It is my goal to accomplish the same, and bridge the gap between literary and genre fiction in my collection of short stories by using symbolism and imagery to create a sense of the foreboding.

College Slasher Novel, Jeff Hill

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This project was completed in hopes of creating a new novel that combines the research and craft worlds of composition and creative writing while merging the social worlds of teaching and campus Greek life, as well as making relevant contemporary commentary on the genres of satire and horror. In preparation, beyond necessary course work completion and time to outline, write, workshop, and revise, I read numerous novels and articles and watched dozens of films and television episodes as well as conducted research regarding current campus demographic to compose the best novel I could write in my time within the program. …

Black-Eyed, Abigail Sipe

Honors Theses

Black-Eyed tells the story of Rowan Mae Baker, a ten-year-old girl dealing with too-big-for-a-ten-year-old problems. In the past year, Rowan moved from Jackson to Winona after the unexpected arrest and sudden death of her father. Then, almost a year later, Rowan is sexually assaulted by an older boy from her school. Rowan understands neither of these things. Throughout Black-Eyed, Rowan spends twelve hours running away from home while trying to figure out how to talk to her mom about the assault. Alone for the first time, she begins to observe and question the world around her, to process her …

To Live With, Serina Lund

Honors Thesis

To Live With is a story about an individual, Charlie, living with schizophrenia. The story follows Charlie as he grows up, from a time of no definitive signs of schizophrenia to his first major episode and the consequences that follow. I utilized knowledge and research stemming from my nursing education to create a character meant to connect with readers in a way that broadens their view on mental illness. This story only shows one view of what living with schizophrenia may be like and is in no way intended to encompass all of schizophrenia. I searched for ways to show …

Satori 2022, Abigail Perlinger, Brianna Strohbehn, Elise Modjeski, Gabriel Hathaway, Gabriela Wallberg, Grace Menke, Jennifer Wendt, Kaysey Price, Keaton Riebel, Louisa Shirmacher, Madi Bonebright, Madison Grove, Mckenna Scherer, Page Sutton, Rae Peter, Savannah Egger, Sophia Sailer, Trianna Douglas, Van Herman

Satori Literary Magazine

The Satori is a student literary publication that expresses the artistic spirit of the students of Winona State University. Student poetry, prose, and graphic art are published in the Satori every spring since 1970.

The Satori 2022 editors are Matthew Pearson, Jasmyne Taylor, and Emily Venne. the Satori 2022 faculty advisor is Dr. Jim Armstrong, Professor of English.

Y Seguimos Volando, Gabriela Sabogal

Senior Projects Spring 2022

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Languages and Literature of Bard College.

Legends Of Zamour, Miranda F. Hall

Senior Projects Spring 2022

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Languages and Literature of Bard College.

This project is a selection of chapters and excerpts from Part I of a fantastical novel that has existed in my imagination for a few years and is finally being brought to fruition. The novel follows an eighteen year old boy named Ansel Burnett and his contemporaries Michelle Payson and Felix Santos as they enter a prestigious Institute for warriors and attempt to apprehend a powerful emerging criminal before she enacts war.

Blurb: For as long as he could remember, Ansel Burnett dreamt of becoming a Guardian, …

Paper Butterflies, Cali Dorszynski

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

A fictional novelette (long short story, about 50 pages) in frame tale form. The outer story follows the main character in third person as he adventures and interacts with his family. The inner story details one of his adventures as he narrates it to an audience.

The excerpt included here is the first chapter.

Word Into Idea: A Creative Writing Exercise, Stephen Fried

Open Educational Resources

This activity begins from an aleatory technique that creates a list of 104 associatively generated words to provide each participant with a field from which they improvise, first a free-form poem using twenty of the words and then an experimental prose piece that uses all 104 words. The poem is written as a workshop activity and optionally shared in a “poetry slam” segment, following which the prose piece is done as a home assignment. The activity takes 90-120 minutes. A version for synchronous online application is in development.

Sundered: A Novel-In-Progress, Erik Renner

Honors Scholar Theses

Sundered: A Novel-in-Progress is a creative thesis that discusses the creative process involved in preparing for and writing a fiction novel. It is a thesis of four parts: a critical preface documenting the history of the project and breaking down the creative process involved; the prologue to the eponymous novel-in-progress; an annotated example of an in-progress first chapter; and an annotated transcript of a character sketch made of the book's protagonist. The novel itself is a post-apocalyptic western, with some additional steam-punk and historical influences. The core theme of the project revolves around finding a peaceful way to fix a …

Satori 2021, Caitlyn Salinas, Jacelyn Schley, Megan Haldorson, Carly Weber, Megan Martin, Amanda Gade, Shannon Laurance, Miranda Templeton, Ryanne Mikunda, Jay Lee, Emily Venné, Cheyenne Halberg, David Som, Xandra Okori

Satori Literary Magazine

The Satori is a student literary publication that expresses the artistic spirit of the students of Winona State University. Student poetry, prose, and graphic art are published in the Satori every spring since 1970.

The Satori 2021 editors are Andrew Sitter, Cheyenne Halberg, Kaela Appicelli, Meghan Haldorson, and Xandra Okori. The Satori 2021 faculty advisor is Dr. Delta Eddy, Professor of English.