All freshmen Literary Arts majors take Creative Writing, a course that serves as a foundation for the genre writing courses that follow. Students learn the basics of creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and drama while learning to read and discuss each others' writing. Building a writing community is a main focus of the course.

Creative nonfiction courses focus on developing different approaches and methods to writing true stories. Students read and discuss examples by professional writers while working on their own essays and memoirs.

Students in fiction classes work on developing their skills in the different elements of fiction writing. Students in upper levels work on collections of short stories or novels. Students have often been readers for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award.

Through reading a wide variety of poetry and studying different techniques, forms, and approaches, student poets learn to develop their own voices. Upper level students work on collections of their poems.

Thematic Studies offers student writers the opportunity to read and discuss different types of books in order to reflect on their own writing practice. By examining the techniques of professional writers, students learn how their work fits into the existing literature.

Print and Online Publications: (Literary Magazine)

Students in Print and Online Publications: Literary Magazine create ASGARD, the winner of the 2021 NCTE Realm First Class Award as one of the top 13 student literary magazines in the United States. By advertising, selecting, organizing, editing, and designing for the magazine, students learn a wide range of publishing skills. The magazine has also won the top prize from Virginia High School League, including two Charles V. Savedge Awards for Excellence in Scholastic Journalism for consistent  exceptional performance. This course is available to freshmen.

Students in Print and Online Publications: Yearbook work on all elements of yearbook, including design, photography, interviewing, writing, and editing the yearbook. The yearbook's production is student-directed, and many opportunities for student leadership are available. Freshmen are able to take this class and help preserve the memories of the school year.

In conjunction with the Theatre Arts department, Playwriting and Directing offers student writers an opportunity to write and direct a one act play. The class is usually reserved for upperclassmen.