Creative Writing Commons^™

Falling Down The Rabbit Hole: World Building In Ya Literature, Claire Webb

Undergraduate Honors Theses

World building is a key component to many young adult novels, but what is world building and what are some different styles and techniques that authors use when constructing fictional universes? In this thesis, Falling Down the Rabbit Hole: World Building Techniques in YA Literature, I will examine Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865), The Princess Bride by William Goldman (1973), and my own unpublished novel, The Sun Kingdom, to compare different techniques and styles of world building. These works will be explored through the aspect of world building, focusing specifically on the importance of the geography, language, …

Social Media And Dance Movement Therapy In The Latinx Community, Ambrie Sward

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This capstone thesis is a literature review that combines scholarly articles, personal experiences, and social media content to explore, support, and define dance movement therapy (DMT) and Latinx identity. Social media posts from YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, and Zoom are analyzed to heal and evoke social change. The social media posts analyzed are from celebrities such as America Ferrera, Becky G, Heidi Rojas, and Selena Gomez. Additionally, personal artistic responses are included.Throughout this capstone thesis, there is discussion about dance movement therapy, social media, Latinx community and cultural identity. Themes include a lack of belonging, advocacy for mental …

Daughterly Narratives In Search Of Voice: Fadwa Tuqan, Latifa Al-Zayyat, And Samar Attar, Rania Bedeir

Theses and Dissertations

A myriad of pressures and struggles affect Arab women as they are coming of age due to the familial and societal constructs they face. As daughters, they yearn for a voice amidst a plethora of generational boundaries, transmissions, and ideals. The intricacy of the psychological and interconnected structural factors is augmented by their gender in societies that are motivated, and often governed by, the implications of gender roles. While multiple layers of influence such as familial and sociocultural institutions affect how consciousness is formed, generational transmission, through the maternal figure, is paramount. Daughters, therefore, cannot narrate their personal stories without …

New Commandments, Jacob Sussman

Masters Theses

I reach into the earth, pull out mud-encrusted objects, and recombine them to define new meanings. With every object transposed, the past breaks down; new potentials form. “New Commandments” recombines historical symbolism through an intuitive building, destroying, and merging to reimagine or re-establish meaning.

The work critiques rites of passage, masculinity, and stereotypes by deconstructing how histories, ideologies, and preconceptions form.

As a queer person raised in-between Judaism and Christianity, social preconceptions and religious expectations festered my formation. Our choice is taken away at this moment of conception. To take back autonomy, I reimagine historical, and religious symbolism and transmute …

A Presence Of P____ And W__Th, Riley Wilson

Masters Theses

This body of work examines the involvement of association as it relates to our cultural interpretations of natural phenomena. Flowers and animals, both real and imagined, have been used as symbols for human morality since the beginning of human history. Two sources with which I drew inspiration from are medieval bestiaries and the Victorian practice of flower language. By combining elements from these references, I aim to pair this idea about the human need for classification with my own considerations about my identity. In combination, I also aim to highlight the responsibility that is intrinsic to curiosity. When faced with …

Making Then Meaning, Ben Denzer

Masters Theses

This is an artist talk contained within a book. It is 816 pages and 49 minutes long. Closed captions run across the spreads. A video of this talk can be watched on bendenzer.com/making-then-meaning

At RISD, I’ve been prompted to expand the scope and tools of my practice and to reflect on questions of meaning in my work.

I spend my days making things, but I’ve never really had good answers to questions of why I make the things I make, or what their meaning is. I don’t think there are simple answers to these questions.

I think meaning comes from …

La Raza Y La Ancestría Desde Su Ethos: Análisis De Categorías De Personajes Jugables En Juegos De Rol Fantásticos Para Determinar Su Función Y Percepción Desde El Diseño De Juegos., Daniel Serrano Robles

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

Este artículo presenta un análisis de categorías de personajes jugables en juegos de rol fantásticos. Pretende ofrecer una perspectiva analítica desde el diseño de juegos sobre la pertinencia y eficacia de conceptos como raza y ancestría, conceptos problemáticos que se insertan en debates sobre representación racial dentro de los juegos de rol fantásticos. Para ello, se propone un esquema analítico elaborado a partir de los principales modelos teóricos sobre juegos del rol, complementado con modelos provenientes de los juegos de mesa y videojuegos. Con el apoyo teórico-metodológico de la historia conceptual y la genealogía filosófica, se hace una revisión semántica …

Becoming George Lucas: From Avant-Garde, Auteur, Independent Artist To Studio Executive, Ryan Thompson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Because of the unprecedented popularity of Star Wars, George Lucas, the creator of the multi-media franchise, is one of the most well-known filmmakers in history. What makes Lucas’s relationship with Star Wars unique is that because the franchise has continually been exploited rather than left as a single unchanging, static text, its artistic value, along with Lucas’s legacy, is in constant flux and is often misunderstood. In other words, depending on Star Wars’s position in the public zeitgeist at a given time, Lucas is either revered, detested, or considered incompetent as a filmmaker. While there is no denying …

The Mirror: How Writing Is The Reflection Of An Author’S Emotions, Tamia Charón Ranae Branch

Masters Theses

This thesis examines research that shows writing can be more than just putting words on a page. Writing, especially in prose and poetry, can be therapeutic as it allows for the individual to separate the problem from themselves, analyze, reflect, and simultaneously lead the individual to a path of healing.

Writing As A Mode Of Therapy: The Path To Healing And Selfcare, Lolita Joyce Law

Masters Theses

When someone is plunging into a deep depression, they may not know what to do with the next moment in their lives. All they do know is that they would like the pain to stop. There are many modes of therapy used to assist people with healing. However, writing for many has the most rewards. It is an expression that allows the individual writing to dig much deeper than any spoken word could allow. Writing can help clear, evaluate, and purge the mind of negative thoughts before it leads to action. Poetry, journaling, and songwriting are just a few methods …

Christianity Worldview In Fiction Writing: History, Comparison, And Understanding, Stephen Douglas Flynn

Masters Theses

In researching this paper, the artist learned a great deal about how fiction and popular genres are tied directly to or at least behind the print. First, the research takes a perfunctory look at how the Christian behaviors and, more or less, common morals create what readers know today as a worldview genre, also known by other names. The worldview seeks to present a protagonist who changes something about their view of the world by the end of the story. The paper goes on to look at the Christian worldview from the perspective of religious leaders. While it may seem …

We Are Your Epistles: How Christian Writers Communicate The Work Of The Holy Spirit Through The Art Of Spiritual Memoir, Ananda E.G. Peters

Masters Theses

Within the nonfiction genre of memoir lies the spiritual memoir, which emphasizes a divine element at work in the lives of mortal beings. Christian tradition, beginning with the Bible, is rich with accounts of God intervening in people’s lives. By writing and preserving their stories, our spiritual forebearers left behind relics of encouragement and instruction for future generations. This thesis aims to inspire Christians to continue the tradition of preserving personal stories in written form. This thesis is presented in three parts. The Artist’s Statement explains the author’s connection to this sub-genre of creative writing. The Critical Research essay is …

Saving The Superheroes, Jeffrey Lawrence Nickles

Masters Theses

Normal Man is a screenplay about Freddy, a below-average underdog who changes the world with the power of his positive thinking. The thesis briefly explores the psychology of how a person’s perceived self-image could stop a highly qualified individual from achieving their dreams, while an underqualified person with a positive self-image can go on to greatness. Other underdogs are compared against Freddy in order to provide a relatable yet successful protagonist. The Beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount are also analyzed to show how the supposed “backward” attitudes of Christianity can save the day.

The Writing Of The War Within: A Study, Analysis, And Creation Of Narrative Reality, Katelynn Wood

Masters Theses

In an in depth analysis of my own work, I study the use of narrative reality and focus on the use of narrative style and strategy in the works of Renée Ahdieh, Khaled Hosseini, and Tim O’Brien to transport the reader from the reality in which they are reading a novel to the reality that exists within the novel itself. I apply the same lens to my own work and specifically hone in on the use of epistolary form to communicate the inner feelings and mindsets of the characters. Through the analysis of the use of this form by Jane …

Balance & Juggle, Ellen Zhang

Journal of Wellness

This poem is a work of fiction inspired by experiences, observations, and conversations I have had with female physicians, colleagues, and mentors. They shared their stories of balancing their personal and professional life as they navigated titles ranging from trainee to mother. This piece aims to shed light on recent research highlighting that female surgeons face higher rates of infertility and are more likely to miscarry during pregnancy than the overall US female population. This piece is a reminder to all that being a physician is a choice, but also a sacrifice.

Fever Dive: A Novel, Sofia Ohrynowicz

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This is the craft reflection, prologue, and first five chapters of Fever Dive, a novel in progress.

True Posts, Archana Kadam

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

The poem "True posts" is written from the perspective of an autistic child who is learning his way with social media.

Ugly Feet, Ocd, And Other Intimations Of Resistance, Aymon E. Langlois

English Honors Theses

Ugly Feet, OCD, and Other Intimations of Resistance is a connected collection of personal essays that lie at the intersection of disability and masculinity.

Eco-Interoception: What Plants, Fungi And Protista Have Taught My Body, Sara Riley Dotterer

Art Theses and Dissertations

To me, ecology is the relational, full-body awareness that I am made up of and deeply connected to everything around me; and for better or worse, this is reciprocal. I form ecotones, an ecological transitional zone between two ecosystems, with the world around me. I use this ecotonal lens to blur binaries and dissolve boundaries between me and the world “outside my body.” During my Masters of Fine Arts at Southern Methodist University, I have continuously explored and represented the lives of various more-than-human species outside of my body, including plants, fungi and protista through an ecotonal lens. Although these …

Minnesota Fishing Regulations, Karissa Wehri

Floodwall Magazine

Winner of the 2023 Gladys Boen Scholarship