Applicants to the Creative Writing Program must submit completed application and teacher recommendation forms and the following REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS:

1. Personal Statement: What do you hope to gain from participating in this program? Include the styles and forms that most appeal to you, the names of your favorite writers and why you admire them. (Limit: 200 words / double-spaced)
2. Creative Non-fiction: Using the present tense, write an early memory in the first person. This should be a memory centered around a parent(s) or guardian before you were 10. Use only those words and perceptions appropriate to a young child. The memory should be about a brief incident - no more than an hour- and should happen in one place. (Limit: 1 page / double-spaced).
3. Dialogue: Write a two-person scene in which one character tries to break through another character’s stubborn sense of reality. Consider unwarranted fears, baseless optimism, blind devotion etc. Make the issue both specific and dramatic. Do this mainly in dialogue, but be sure to indicate a particular time and place. (Limit: 1 - 2 page / double-spaced).
4. Descriptive Prose: Write three short paragraph blocks; the first, “fear,” the second, “anger,” and the third, “relief.” The trick is to not use these words within the text. Allow each paragraph block to render these emotions through the description of physical sensations or images. If you want, write mini-stories that dramatize each of these emotions. Avoid clichés such as “rolling tears”, “clenched fists”, etc. (Limit: 1 – 1.5 pages / double-spaced).
5. Poetry: Write a poem inspired by a visual image you have selected. The poem should not rhyme unless it is written to follow a strict poetic form, e.g., rondeau, villanelle, or sonnet. (Limit: 1 page / single-spaced).
6. OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENT: You may also submit any piece of writing that you have created of which you are particularly proud. Excerpts from longer works are acceptable. Please do not include school assignments or journalism. (Limit: 2 pages / double-spaced).

RETURNING STUDENTS ONLY:

If you previously attended CSSSA in an artistic discipline other than Creative Writing, you must submit a recommendation from a CSSSA instructor in that department.

PLEASE NOTE:

1. Parents and teachers are not to edit or collaborate with the writer. Perfection is not the basis for admission; the panel will evaluate the intent, talent and creativity of response demonstrated by the applicant in the required assignments. Any suggestion of adult input will negatively influence the panel’s decision and hurt the applicant’s chances of admission.
2. All assignments must be typed or neatly hand-written, double-spaced and free of errors, and on separate pages. All entries must be typed in 12 pt. Font, with 1-inch margins. No fancy fonts please. Include your name and the proper assignment letter (A, B, C, D, E, or F) on each page.
3. We will not return the assignments; send copies, and not originals.
4. IMPORTANT: You must provide 4 sets of copies of each assignment for the Review Panel. Each of the 4 sets must have one copy of each assignment. For example, set 1 will include a copy of Assignment A, Assignment B, Assignment C, Assignment D, and so forth. Sets 2, 3 and 4 will be identical to set 1 with copies of Assignment A, Assignment B, Assignment C, Assignment D, etc. Be sure to staple each assignment and clip all 4 together with a paper clip.
5. Send your application and assignments to:

California State Summer School for the Arts
Attention: Creative Writing Department
P.O. Box 1077
Sacramento, CA 95812-1077