Teaching Creative Writing

I was really delighted to receive my copy of this book the other week. I have one chapter in it: Finding a suitable narrative voice when writing for children. I’ve written on this theme before and I use the type of exercise I’ve outlined here quite often in my own classes. I even use it myself as I start each new children’s book.

But I don’t really want to talk about just my own chapter here. I’d like to say it’s an excellent reference book for a creative writing teacher or a writer. There are fifty chapters, so that means forty-nine creative writing exercises I’ve not used before. This is extremely useful as my students inform me that what they most like about their classes are the opportunities they have to complete creative writing exercises. It’s my own experience too that I’ll often get a completely new idea by doing one of these exercises.

There are chapters also by several colleagues I know well: Elaine Walker (editor), Steve May (the paperless workshop), Philip Gross (collaborative poetry game), Vanessa Harbour (voice in young adult literature) and Craig Batty (describing feeling). There are several people I do not yet know and I’m look forward to reading about writing animals (Sandra Burr), yoga on the page (Beverly Frydman) and leaving the comfort zone Nicholas Y.B. Wong.

The book is also extremely attractive and very tactile.