Creative Writing Classroom

This paper begins by pointing out the tendency to undervalue creative writing courses, and explores the reasons why some believe that creative writing courses are a waste of time. It asks the question "How do creative writing teachers benefit students?" and offers several answers. It also presents several central questions that creative writing teachers should ask in order to create an effective classroom for creative writing students. A discussion of effective methods for teaching creative writing, and an exploration of the mindset and habits that most expert writers have in common are also presented.

Keywords: Atelier Approach; Creativity; Critical Phase; Inspiration Approach; Generative Phase; Techniques Approach; Timed Writing; Workshop Approach

Overview

The Challenges of Creative Writing Teaching

In the last few decades, higher education in America has increasingly focused on concepts such as accountability and, along with that, a demand for objectively quantifying or measuring results or outcomes in education. Of course this is an important concept that educators must consider when designing courses and assignments, but the recent concentration on outcomes or results can be quite difficult to handle when it comes to courses where creativity is a central point of focus. Additionally, if measurable outcomes become the primary basis on which all classes and courses are assessed, then courses that demand student creativity may become undervalued in education. As Johnston (2009), a creative writing at Harvard, observes, some stakeholders in education — including administrators, parents, politicians and teachers — may feel that courses such as creative writing have no commercial or fiscal relation to the real world; thus such courses lack any inherent value to society. He bluntly poses the question on behalf of those holding this viewpoint, why should teachers "muck up students' brains and semesters with fluffy, timewasting classes?" (p. 4). Students' time could be better invested into, for example, a business or hotel management course. Johnston concludes by saying that, "commercially speaking, such classes [business or hotel management courses] are surer bets, but when did education get reduced to a pesky hoop through which students must jump just to land in a job?" (p. 4).

In essence, James (2008) points out this same argument by noting that "creative writing has been the ugly stepsister in the English discipline for years." He argues that

…literature scholars carry the torch for pure language, and, on the other side, the composition and rhetoric theorists approach writing like a science. Somewhere off in a dark corner, the creative writing staff loiters, getting paid to do nothing more than say what they think about student writing (James, 2008, p. 79).

Perhaps this viewpoint is also founded on the premise that creative writing teachers do not really teach anything since creativity is something some people have and others don't. But is this true, and if it isn't true, then how do creative writing teachers help students make gains in their classrooms? How do they teach anything of value to the students in their classrooms? Vakil (2008) points out the subtleties and intricacies of teaching students to write creatively:

Leaving aside where it comes from, or even what it is, any sane discussion about teaching creative writing has to begin with the admission that making a great story (credible voice, living characters, universal significance), depends on an ineffable quality — call it timing, a good ear, empathy or determination — that cannot be taught in the way that a skill like riding a bicycle, wiring a plug, frying an egg or laying a brick can be (p. 157).

Watts asks, "how do we teach our students to master the complexities, the intricacies, of plot, setting, characters, point of view, voice, back story, and scenes?" (2007, p. 28). This question and other important questions — particularly questions of method/technique, assignments, and assessment — must be asked and adequately answered if a creative writing teacher is to succeed in giving students a valuable experience in the classroom. Also, in asking those questions, many aspects of creative writing courses become clearer. The answers seem to overlap in the areas that are essential to an effective creative writing classroom.

Applications

How Do Creative Writing Courses Benefit Students?

Watts points out that, in the hopes of mastering the art of writing, many struggling writers have sought tutelage with experienced mentors; this arrangement has a long historical precedent, and certainly many of the world's greatest writers had their particular mentors. Watts writes "my teaching experiences, which range from work in kindergarten classrooms to graduate level coursework, confirm this. Writers gain inspiration from those who have met the same problems and vanquished them" (2007, p. 20). Blythe and Sweet (2008) call this the "Atelier Model," which some teachers use when they teach writing (p. 305). Roebuck (2007) points out that most writing teachers also understand "there are at least two different parts of any creative act (the unconscious or generative phase and the conscious, critical phase that edits and revises) that can have a conflicting relationship" (p. 11). A good writing teacher can show students how to allow these two processes to complement each other rather than hinder each other. This is what Watts means when he writes about balancing the two main elements, creative imagination and the knowledge or understanding of how to write with good technique:

As always, I begin with the intentions and experiences of my students, balancing those with what I believe are the hallmarks of well-crafted fiction. Sometimes this means stretching writers beyond what they know, beyond their growing knowledge of the world, beyond their youthful understanding of the way we tell stories. I teach craft, yet I respect the imaginary worlds they create, worlds based on experience, filtered through feelings and the scrim of memory (2007, p. 29).

Those two elements are also relevant to how creative writing teachers run their classes. As Caldwell (2007) notes, there are two distinct processes in the art of writing that must be focused upon during class: "1) The inspiration or drafting of raw material; 2) The redrafting and perfecting of this material" (p. 7). This echoes the ideas of Roebuck as well as Watts. Like them, Caldwell would also argue that a good writing teacher knows how to get students focused and more adept in those two areas.

Vakil (2008) points out yet another way writing teachers benefit their students, arguing that teaching writing "is a way of lessening the static authority of the teacher: the idea that there is an answer and the teacher knows it" (p. 165). Writing is an important part of education because it teaches students that in life there are sometimes many "correct answers" for any given problem. Writing courses teach students a model of thinking in which, as Vakil puts it, "neat rules and fixed interpretations" are at times exposed as inadequate (p. 165).

Additionally, creative writing is particularly demanding of objectivity when applying the second phase of writing: revision and editing. During this phase, the ideal is to become completely the objective reader rather than the subjective writer. As Morgan (2006) points out, "young writers are less likely to have developed that detachment, and this is where tactful intervention by the teacher is crucial: tactful, because it shouldn't overwhelm the student with either the impersonal authority of elders-and-betters or impose the teacher's personal authority and taste" (p. 31). A good writing teacher can use his or her expertise and "pedagogical judgment," to decide "what feedback on what aspects of the piece will be most helpful at this stage of the work's and the writer's development" (p. 31). In short, there are many ways that a teacher can help a student to become a better writer. Many of these ways directly relate to the teacher's techniques and assignments in the classroom.

What Are Effective Methods for Teaching Creative Writing?

A good creative writing teacher should possess a wealth of helpful knowledge from reading, study and experience. This is why Watts has slowly gathered "writer quotes, interviews, and other materials from various sources, and grouped them by writing processes/categories" (2007, p. 21). By having such a file on hand, the teacher can produce thought provoking and helpful information on any given writing problem that a student faces in the classroom. Caldwell (2007) offers a simple tip for creative writing students by looking at a famous writer's habits to help students become better writers:

In A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway talks about writing in the morning until he couldn't keep writing (from fatigue or other commitments). "I always worked until I had something done and I always stopped when I knew what was going to happen next. That way I could be sure of going on the next day" (p. 8).

The Workshop Approach

However, a more central consideration is the overall structure and design of the course. There are various ways to structure a creative writing course, the most popular is to create a "writer's workshop." Blythe and Sweet (2008) extensively researched and examined the possibilities for structuring a course, and identified six different approaches. They tried all six of these approaches in the classroom, which in turn helped them to slowly evolve a seventh approach that seems to mix several approaches (p. 307).

The foundation of the approach remains the workshop, but in the workshop the authors concentrate on examining writing techniques. They point out that the techniques approach is best able to "demystify" the art of creative writing, observing that, "unlike the inspiration approach, where no guarantees exist for full-brain contact with the muse, the techniques approach appeals to the rational, democratic person — you too can learn to be a writer" (p. 313). Talent — and most likely creativity — "can be developed by learning and using the right techniques, especially since the approach reduces the seemingly huge and overwhelming task to manageable skill points" (Blythe and Sweet, 2008, p. 313).

Most creative writing teachers concur that a workshop approach is the optimal structure for a creative writing class. According to Minot (2003) "the workshop is a doorway for you to get criticism and motivation for you to write because of the deadlines that are imposed" (cited in Blythe & Sweet, 2008, p. 314). Thus, a workshop forces students to produce output, and it gives them the opportunity to get feedback about that output. Running a good workshop requires a lot of consideration. If a creative writing teacher runs a good workshop, it can open the eyes of students to a new world, and give them enthusiasm about that new world. Minot succinctly expresses the idea, which relates back to the question of how a creative writing teacher benefits the student:

Good teachers of creative writing don't just teach the techniques; they infect the students with certain enthusiasms simply by being in a closed room with them long enough for the virus to catch (cited in Roebuck, 2007, p. 14).

Blythe and Sweet warn of various ways writing workshops can go wrong. For example, if a workshop has too many students, then students may not all get equal time spent examining their work. Also, there may be the tendency for what the authors call "alpha apprentices" to "dominate the conversation" and make "shy students disappear into the woodwork." Also, a lot of negative criticism may "rip apart works and souls" (2008, p. 314). These are just a few problems that may arise from the workshop structure of a course. Others offer ways to prevent these negative possibilities. For example, Prichard advises that "more than twelve would be too large of a group for everyone to get equal attention, so I put a cap on registrations" (2008, p. 20).

Giving Feedback

A fine and delicate balancing act becomes apparent when considering advice on criticism. Watts (2007) advises that both teachers and students need to be trained in "how to give feedback without crushing the writer" (p. 25). Antoniou and Moriarty (2008) look at criticism from the other side, arguing that students need to give "honest but constructive feedback" warning that, "as the course progresses, they will learn that repeatedly telling their friends that their work is 'good' will not help them to improve, and that they are actually doing them a disservice" (p. 162). They also concur with Watts by writing "on the other hand, hearing someone tell you that your work is 'crap' will not inspire you to rework and try again, so it is important that I manage the classes so that people remain respectful and constructive by giving suggestions for development and improvement through the process of editing and redrafting" (p. 162). Thus, an expert creative writing teacher is walking a critical tightrope when overseeing class criticism of a student's work.

Johnson (2003) describes his writing workshops as fundamentally "a labor-intensive 'skill acquisition' course, emphasizing the sequential acquisition of fiction techniques and providing the opportunity to practice them … [in which] "apprentices learned best (as in music or the martial arts) through oldfangled imitation of master craftsmen, through assignments aimed at learning a repertoire of literary strategies, and by writing and revising prodigiously" ( 2). Blythe and Sweet also believe imitating masters is quite effective. They developed workshops in which their "praxis was dominated by combining the great works and the techniques approach" and found that combining imitation with teaching techniques "worked fairly well as a starting point for our classes" (2008, p. 316).

Classroom Exercises

There are many classroom exercises that can be used to help students grow as writers. Johnson as well as other teachers have advised assigning students to bring to class "the finest prose passage they've ever read, telling me in one page why they admire it, what literary strategies in it they want to master" (Johnson, 2003, 7). Roebuck suggests starting the course with various timed exercises. For example, one exercise that is effective in making students feel more confident about creative writing while also giving them experience with new creative efforts is an exercise in which students "are told that they will be required to write for ten minutes, with their prompt being "I remember." Thus, Roebuck tells students to begin writing for ten minutes and to write without censoring themselves (2007, p. 9). Roebuck relates students' experience with this small assignment:

…many students produced pages of text that told, for the most part, intimate compelling stories from their childhood or from just weeks, days or hours before. As a teacher trying to get students to kick start their writing practice, it was strange to have so much to work with and discuss from such a short exercise. The learning curve climbed quickly as I tried more timed writings and as I was able to reiterate the "rules." All of the writing improved, mainly in its clarity and attention to specificity. Just as important the students were having fun, there was joy in the seemingly scary, dreadful act of writing and discussing what they had committed to the page. It seemed that a huge hurdle in self-censorship had been crossed, and the possibilities for further growth became real (p. 10).

Issues

How Do Students Learn to Think Like Writers?

One last consideration that seems extremely important is to inculcate within writing students a certain mindset as well as habits that it seems most writers have in common. For example, writers clearly understand the close relationship between being a good reader and being a good writer. Morgan (2006) points out that, "all writers owe an enormous debt to their reading (and listening and viewing) within and beyond their particular genre, and draw on it in their writing … in a real sense, we could not write if we had not read" (p. 23). Thus, for good reason Morgan believes that creative writing teachers should assign reading of excellent works from various authors, then critically analyze what makes that work excellent. And as Vakil observes, examining famous works with a critical eye "might help them to be better readers of their own work, which is a crucial factor missing in almost all the students when they first start a course of creative writing (2008, p. 164). Watts cites John Gardner's The Art of Fiction (1983), in which Gardner advises the student writer, "… in order to achieve mastery he must read widely and deeply and must write not just carefully but continually, thoughtfully assessing and reassessing what he writes, because practice, for the writer as for the concert pianist, is the heart of the matter" (cited in Watts, 2007, p. 25). Watts concludes that, "It seems that 'nobody but a reader ever became a writer'" (p. 25).

A very common habit among writers is that of setting a piece of writing aside for some time so as to get a more objective, reader's viewpoint on the writing. Morgan points out that "all the poets I know do this: after working on a poem they will often lay it aside for weeks, months or years; only the distance of time enables them to make often radical changes" (2006, p. 25). Related to this, and to discussion of the relationship between being a reader and being a writer, is the importance of what Morgan describes as "encouraging the writer to décentre, to step out of the writer's shoes and into the reader's" (p. 30). This concept also comes back to those two fundamental processes of creative writing. Creativity comes out of the subjective imagination of the individual, but the best way to revise and edit is to enter the objective, critical side, which is the side of the reader rather than the writer. With time and practice, student writers become more like expert writers. As Morgan observes, "experienced writers have already internalized the eye and ear of their intended reader audience: it contributes, paradoxically, to their sense of assurance" (p. 31). Certainly, there are many famous writers who discuss in various interviews and books the importance of such things as these.

An important example of adopting the creative writer's mindset relates to the process of generating creative writing, where again, the teacher could use explanations from famous writers. Caldwell uses ideas from a 1935 interview with Gertrude Stein. Stein advised young writers: "You will write if you will write without thinking of the result in terms of a result, but think of the writing in terms of discovery, which is to say that creation must take place between the pen and the paper, not before in a thought or afterwards in a recasting" (cited in Caldwell, 2007, p. 8). This is quite similar to Lamott's (1994) description that a first draft is like "watching a Polaroid develop. You can't — and, in fact, you're not supposed to — know exactly what the picture is going to look like until it has finished developing" (cited in Watts, 2007, p. 25). Creative writing teachers who are themselves creative writers understand this as well as many other aspects of how writers think when they write a story or a poem, so they can teach students a new way of writing that unblocks their own creativity.

The process of creative writing has many valuable things to teach students if the creative writing teacher has thoroughly considered the central questions, and endeavored to find answers that work. After finding the right answers, the teacher can then design a creative writing course that successfully teaches students valuable lessons. These valuable lessons are not only about creative writing, but indirectly are about many other areas of life and fields of knowledge — quite possibly even about business or hotel management.

Terms & Concepts

Atelier Approach: A method of teaching creative writing students in which a student receives individual guidance from an expert writer. This is a master-apprentice model that comes from the trades of past centuries. In creative writing, the master is sometimes a great author, a tutor/professor, or a professional editor.

Critical Phase: The second phase of creative writing, in which the writer tries to look objectively like a reader at his or her own writing. In this phase, the writer may make radical changes (revisions) and do substantial editing of the work.

Inspiration Approach: A method of teaching creative writing in which the teacher concentrates on developing the writing student's inner process of imagination, and focuses on enhancing the student's creativity. Teachers using this approach focus on showing students invention strategies, and the teacher usually assigns exercises that are intended to foster creativity.

Generative Phase: The first phase of creative writing, in which the writer focuses on generating subjective thoughts and impressions. In this phase, the writer creates without much concern over more formal elements such as good grammar or tight organization.

Techniques Approach: A method of teaching creative writing in which the teacher uses various creative texts that best illustrate various technical concepts so that students will learn more about the various techniques that are used in creative writing. The premise to this approach is that students can best learn to write creatively by increasing their understanding of fictional techniques.

Workshop Approach: A method of teaching creative writing in which a creative writing teacher leads a group of writing students who critique each other's works. The teacher functions as a facilitator and editor who gives guidance and advice while creating a non-hostile environment that encourages students to take risks.

Bibliography

Antoniou, M. & Moriarty, J. (2008). What can academic writers learn from creative writers? Developing guidance and support for lecturers in higher education. Teaching in Higher Education; 13: 157-167. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=31483414&site=ehost-live

Blythe H. & Sweet, C. (2008). The writing community: A new model for the creative writing classroom. Pedagogy; 8: 305-325. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=31551719&site=ehost-live

Caldwell, G. (2007). How and what do creative writing teachers teach and what do creative writing students learn? Educational Insights; 11: 1-13. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. Accession Number: 26464081.

Chong, S., & Lee, C. (2012). Developing a pedagogical-technical framework to improve creative writing. Educational Technology Research & Development, 60, 639-657. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=78385178&site=ehost-live

Heitin, L. (2012). Troupe adapts students' stories for the school and N.Y.C. stages. Education Week, 31, 12-13. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=73387506&site=ehost-live

James, D. (2008). A short take on evaluation and creative writing. Community College Enterprise; 14: 79-82. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=34180268&site=ehost-live

Johnson, C. (2003). A boot camp for creative writing. Chronicle of Higher Education; 50: B7-B10. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=11274687&site=ehost-live

Johnston, B. A. (2009). Why teach creative writing? The crabgrass question. American Book Review; 30: 4-5. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=43169638&site=ehost-live

Prichard, H. (2008). Write here, write now. Young Adult Library Services; 6: 19-23. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct =true&db=ehh&AN=33272035&site=ehost-live

Morgan, W. (2006). "Poetry makes nothing happen": Creative writing and the English classroom. English Teaching: Practice & Critique; 5: 17-33. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=31598336&site=ehost-live

Olthouse, J.M. (2012). Why I write: What talented creative writers need their teachers to know. Gifted Child Today, 35, 116-121. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=75281174&site=ehost-live

Peterson, S. (2011). Teaching writing in rural Canadian classrooms. Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, 19, 39-48. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=58027641&site=ehost-live

Roebuck, R. (2007). Pulling from the well: Allowing creativity to flow in the creative writing workshop. Educational Insights; 11: 1-16. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=26464087&site=ehost-live

Smith, G. (2013). Dream writing: A new creative writing technique for secondary schools?. English in Education, 47, 245-260. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=90675567&site=ehost-live

Vakil, A. (2008). Teaching creative writing. Changing English: Studies in Culture & Education; 15: 157-165. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=32069643&site=ehost-live

Watts, J. (2007). Putting author voices in the classroom: A strategy for writing teachers. Virginia English Bulletin; 57: 20-31. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct =true&db=ehh&AN=32773456&site=ehost-live

Suggested Reading

Bayle, E. (2009). How to learn how to write: The dialectics of literary creation through re-creation. International Journal of Learning; 15: 59-63. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=40825448&site=ehost-live

Perry, G. (2007). Art and trauma: Danger and dynamics in the creative writing workshop. Educational Insights, 11: 1-13. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=26464086&site=ehost-live

Wiesendanger, K., Perry, J. & Braun, G. (2009). Implementing a three stage structured strategy to assist struggling writers. Virginia English Bulletin; 59: 38-46. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=47937657&site=ehost-live

Essay by Sinclair Nicholas, M.A.

Sinclair Nicholas, MA, holds degrees in Education and Writing and is a freelance writer with many feature articles, essays, editorials and other short works published in various publications around the world. Sinclair is the author of several books, including The AmeriCzech Dream — Stranger in a Foreign Land and the Comprehensive American-Czech Dictionary; he is a lecturer at the University of Northern Virginia — Prague, and has lived in the Czech Republic since 1991.