Please help me out.

[Juntira S.]

I'm thinking of a Master Degree in Creative Writing at NYU. The most important part of the admission is a 25-30 page, double-spaced FICTION!!. I don't really know what they look for in those pages besides that they have to be good. Please give me some ideas. Thanks.

[General Urko]

If you're applying for fiction, then they're basically looking for a couple of short stories or a novel excerpt. They're not specifically looking for a particular style or subject matter, but the quality needs to be high as competition for these programs is tough. Here's a few links that might help you out:

http://creative-writing-mfa-handbook.blogspot.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Writing-Mfa-Handbook-Prospective/dp/082642886X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228928972&sr=8-1
http://sethabramson.blogspot.com/2009/04/counseling-center-for-applicants-cca.html

Good luck!

[FalseReality]

I actually go to NYU. I'm doubling majoring in journalism and politics, but since I'll be done with most required classes at the end of this year (I'm a junior) I was thinking of taking a minor in creative writing.

I haven't quite looked into the major program yet, but if you have any questions about NYU or NYC, I'll be happy to answer. Just send me a message.

Best of luck tho.

[emily00]

I actually go to NYU. I'm doubling majoring in journalism and politics, but since I'll be done with most required classes at the end of this year (I'm a junior) I was thinking of taking a minor in creative writing.

I haven't quite looked into the major program yet, but if you have any questions about NYU or NYC, I'll be happy to answer. Just send me a message.

Best of luck tho.

Have you asked the course leaders what they are looking for?

If they refuse to tell you anything, either orally or in writing, other than that your application 'oeuvre' must be 'a fiction' then I would be a bit suspicious about the quality of the course on offer...but if you are determined to press ahead and be creative, I recommend you have a go at a dramatic monologue. The are quite interesting to construct and write - you could create a narrator based on someone you have come acrosss in real life, perhaps one of the 'minor players' in one of the stories you have covered as a journalist? A touch of self-delusion and the use of ironic distancing (e.g. narrator being allowed gradually to reveal more than s/he actually understands, so writer/narrator/reader relationship is interesting)...depends what they want. If they want swathes of descriptive writing, then a dramatic monologue offers limited scope.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do!

[FalseReality]

As I've said earlier, I haven't quite looked into creative writing, and if I did intend on pursuing it, my schedule would only allow me to make it a minor. Also, I don't believe I have to apply for the program; I'm quite confident I only have to declare the minor, thus making me eligible to take creative writing classes. Of course I'm already an enrolled student so my circumstances are different.
For incoming freshman or majors, it's a different story.