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9780312676025

The Practice of Creative Writing A Guide for Students

by
  • ISBN13:

    9780312676025

  • ISBN10:

    0312676026

  • Edition: 2nd
  • Format: Paperback
  • Copyright: 2012-08-10
  • Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's
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Summary

Designed for all students in the introductory course, The Practice of Creative Writing has a simple message: you can do this, and it’s worthwhile to try. Heather Sellers, who writes in multiple genres herself, has developed an approach that focuses on the habits and strategies that produce good writing in any genre: Images; Energy; Tension; Pattern; Insight; and Revision. She teaches students how to focus, to generate lots of writing, and to get to the good stuff — the powerful imagery and the stories they really want to tell. She provides opportunities to be playful and to experiment at the same time she teaches students the importance of discipline and craft. This new edition gives students even more support and encouragement, with earlier attention to structure — because students struggle with this strategy — and with expanded coverage of revision and a wider range of genres they can use as generative tools.

Table of Contents

Introduction

What Creative Writers Do

Questions Creative Writers Ask

The Four Parts of Creative Writing Writing: Your Audience and Your Tools

     Writing for Yourself

     Writing for Others

          Energy

          Images

          Tension

          Pattern

          Insight

          Revision

     Reading

     Working With Other Writers

     Publication

PART 1: BASICS

1. Finding Focus

The Mind’s Eye

     Write What You See

     Moving Images

Subject: Focus on What?

     Write What You Know

     Explore What Makes Us Human

Practicing Focus

     The Writing Habit

     Writing Rituals

     Flow

Lack of Focus

     Writer’s Block

     Distraction

     Procrastination

     Judgment

Writing Projects

2. Reading to Write

Reading Work in Progress Workshop

     Revision

     Editing

Reading Finished Work

Types of Creative Writing

     Fiction

     Creative Nonfiction

     Poetry

     Prose Poems

     Plays, Screenplays, Teleplays

     Graphic Novels, Comics, and Experiments

Reading to Write: The Art of Imitation

     Imitation: Guided Practice

     Types of Imitation

          Scaffolding: Writing Between the Lines

              Scaffolding a Poem

               Narrative Scaffolding

          Filling in the Blanks

Writing Projects

Readings

*Bob Hickok, A Primer (poetry)

*Betsy Sholl, Genealogy (poetry)

*Greg Allen, Title (drama)

Lorraine Lopez, The Night Aliens in a White Van Kidnapped My Teenage Son Near the

Baptist Church Parking Lot (fiction)

*Lynda Barry, Super Marlys Guide to Running in the Sprinkler (graphic narrative)

Sebastian Matthews, Buying Wine (poetry)

Billy Collins, Introduction to Poetry (poetry)

A. Van Jordan , af.ter.glow (poetry)

Jamaica Kincaid, Girl (fiction)

Amy Fusselman, from The Pharmacist’s Mate (nonfiction)

3. Building Blocks

Parts of Narrative Sentences

     Conflicts

     Scenes

     Building Narratives Using Conflict-Crisis-Resolution

     Pulling it All Together: Writing Scenes for Narrative

Parts of Poems

     A word on words

     Lines

          *Ciara Shuttlesworth, Sestina [poetry]

          Gwendolyn Brooks, We Real Cool [poetry]

     Turns

     Stanzas

     Playing with Poetry

Writing Projects

Building Blocks Workshop

Readings

     *Kim Addonizio, First Poem for You (poetry)

     *Sherman Alexie, Bird-watching at Night (fiction)

     *Gregory Corso, Marriage (poetry)

     Wesli Court, The Obsession (poetry)

     Dylan Thomas, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night (poetry)

     Brenda Miller, Swerve (nonfiction)

     Raymond Carver, Cathedral (fiction)

PART 2: STRATEGIES

4. Images

The Principles of Images

     Images are Active

     Reading is Image Viewing

     The Opposite of Thought

     Generating Images

Creating With Images

     Focus on People in Action

     Think From Within Images

     Use Specifics

     Move Around in Images

     One Sentence, One Action

     Summary Images

     Sliding

A Word on Ideas

Writing Projects

Images Workshop

Readings

*Tony Hoagland, Personal (poetry)

Gary Soto, Everything Twice (poetry)

*Sufjan Stevens, Casimir Pulaski Day (song lyrics)

*Suzan-Lori Parks, Father Comes Home from the Wars (Part 1) (drama)

*David Owen, The Dime Store Floor (nonfiction)

*Mary Robison, Pretty Ice (fiction)

Akhil Sharma, Surrounded by Sleep (fiction)

5. Energy

The Principles of Energy

Subject: Focus on What’s Fascinating

     Guidelines for Increasing Energy Using Subject

     Leaps: The Power of Gaps

          David Chase, excerpts from The Sopranos

     Words

          Specificity

          Verbs

               Muscles

               Filters

Manipulating Energy

     Pace: Choose when to "go for it"

          Slow Down to Increase Energy

          Vary the Pace to Sustain Energy

     Camera Work

     Too Much Energy?

Troubleshooting: Energy

Writing Projects

Energy Workshop

Readings

Rick Moody, Boys (fiction)

Brian Arundel, The Things I’ve Lost (nonfiction)

*Brian Turner, What Every Soldier Should Know (poetry)

6. Tension

The Principles of Tension

     Desire + Danger = Tension

     Setting the Thermostat: The Four Elements of Tension

Maintaining Tension

     Work With Two or Three Characters

     Match Your Opponents

     Stay Specific

     Write From Close Up

Manipulating Tension

     Thermostat Control: Adjusting the Temperature

      Layers: Adding Dimension

          Layering Images

          Layering with Triangles

          Layering Dialogue and Action

     Façade

Writing Projects

Tension Workshop

Readings

*Aimee Nezhukumatahil, Dog Custody (poetry)

*Theodore Roethke, The Waking (poetry)

*Agha Shahid Ali, Even the Rain (poetry)

Marisa Silver , What I Saw From Where I Stood (fiction)

Jessica Shattuck, Bodies (fiction)

Peter Morris, Pancakes (drama)

7. Pattern

Pattern by Ear Rhyme and Echoes

     Consonants and Vowels

     Word Order

          ee cummings "me up at does"

     Rhythm

     Meter

          Iambic Pentameter

          Free Verse

Pattern by Eye

     Objects

     Gestures

     Pattern on the Page

Layering Patterns

Writing Projects

Pattern Workshop

Readings

*Gregory Orr, The River (poetry)

Ellen Dore Watson, Ghazal (poetry)

Carolyn Kizer, Parent’s Pantoum (poetry)

*Marion Winik, from The Glen Rock Book of the Dead (nonfiction)

*Amy and David Sedaris, Relationship Quiz (nonfiction)

Lorrie Moore, How to Become a Writer (fiction)

Dinty Moore, Son of Mr. Green Jeans: An Essay on Fatherhood, Alphabetically Arranged (nonfiction)

8. Insight

Principles of Insight

     Accuracy

          Gestures

          Dialogue

     Generosity

     Trust Your Experience

Ways to Be Wise: Creating Insight

     Images

     Questions

     Lists

     Reversals

     Go Big

     Go Tiny

     Sneak Up

Ways to Be Unwise: What Not To Do

Writing Projects

Insight Workshop

Readings

*Kevin Young, Ode to the Midwest (poetry)

*Gerald Stern, Strauss Park (poetry)

Lynne McMahon, Carpe Diem (poetry)

*Amy Lee Scott, This is Not to Say (nonfiction)

*Marjane Satrapi, The Veil (graphic narrative)

*Amy Krouse Rosenthal, from Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life (nonfiction)

Michael Cunningham, White Angel (fiction)

9 Revision

     Revision is Seeing Again

     Writing is Seeing and Seeing Again

     Conquering Common Blocks

          What if I make it worse?

          I’m overwhelmed. I love my piece, sort of, and I know it could be better. But where do I start?

          What if I don’t want to change it?

Principles of Revision

     Limit your time

     Sketch It, Then Write It

     Read to get unstuck

     Revise by hand

     Don’t start at the beginning

     Delete, don’t Fix

     Play with Questions

Approaches to Revision: Student Writers Use the Strategies

     Energy, Images, and Tension as Revision Strategies: Meghan Wilson Revises

     Images Plus Scissors: Charlie Walter Revises

Editing

     Questions to Ask: Editing for Flow

     Questions to Ask: Editing for Common Grammar Errors

     Questions to Ask: Editing for Presentation

Principles of Revision

Writing Projects

Revision Workshop

Readings

Charlie Walter, I’ve Never Been Here Before (memoir)

Jack Ridl, Repairing the House (poetry)

Jack Ridl and "Repairing the House," The Poem and I Have a Little Conversation (interview)

PART THREE: FORMS

10. Recipes

Experiment

Showcase the Strategies

Abecedarius Reading Abecedarii

          David Lehman, Abecedarius (poetry)

     Writing an Abedcadrius

Anaphora

     Reading Anaphora

     Writing an Anaphora

Braid

     Reading Braids

     Writing a Braid

Ghazal

     Reading Ghazals

     Writing a Ghazal

Graphic

     Reading Graphics

          *Matthew Baker and Susanna Kwan, excerpt from The Dinner Party (graphic narrative)

     Writing a Graphic

Journey

     Reading Journeys

     Writing a Journey

Manifesto

     Reading Manifesto

          Elaine Sexton, Manifesto (nonfiction)

     Writing a Manifesto

One-Act Play

     Reading One-Act Plays

     Writing a One-Act Play

Pantoum

     Reading Pantoums

     Writing a Pantoum

Sestina

     Reading Sestinas

     Writing a Sestina

Sonnet

     Reading Sonnets

          David Livewell, Fatigues (poetry)

     Writing a Sonnet

Villanelle

     Reading Villanelles

     Writing a Villanelle

APPENDIXES

Appendix A Publication Public Readings

Literary Magazines

     Research a Wide Range of Publications

     Submit Your Work to Literary Magazines

          Decide Where to Send your Work

          How to Send Your Work Out

     Accept Rejection

Chapbooks and Portfolios

     Creating a Chapbook

     Writing An Artist’s Statements

Appendix B Resources for Writers

Smart Searching

General Resources

     Creativity and Inspiration

          In Print

          Online

     Images: Seeing More Closely

     Self -Expression and Personal Writing

          In Print

          Online

     Literary News

Instruction in Specific Genres

     Fiction

          In Print

          Online

     Short Short Stories

          In Print

          On line

     Poetry

          In Print

          On line

     Form Poetry

          In Print

          On line

     Nonfiction

          In Print

          On line

     Plays and Screenplays

          In Print

          On Line

     Children’s Books

     Graphic Narratives

          In Print

          On Line

     Teaching Creative Writing

          In Print

          On Line

     The Business of Writing: Agencies, Freelancing, Book Proposals, Publishing

          In Print

          On Line

Supplemental Materials

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