How to Teach Creative Writing

Providing Students with the Fundamentals

Introduce the important elements of storytelling. Great works of literature share elements across the genres. In order for your students to excel at creative writing, they need to know the fundamentals of storytelling. As a result, you need to spend some time focusing on the core elements of storytelling. Focus instruction time on teaching: Theme. The theme of a story is its message or the main idea behind it. Setting. The setting of a story is the location or time it takes place in. Plot. The plot is the overall story, narrative, or sequence of events. Characterization. Characterization is how a character or person in a story is explained or presented to the reader. Conflict and dramatic action. Conflict and dramatic action are the main events of focus in the story. These events are often tense or exciting and are used to lure the reader in.

Encourage students to engage the reader. While creative writing is an exercise in expressing individual creativity through writing, the trick to great creative writing is to make it truly compelling and engaging for the reader. The more engaging the story, the more creative the work will be as a whole. Explain how your students, as writers, can appeal to the humanity of their readers. One great way to do this is to ask them to explore character development. By developing the characters in their story, readers will become invested in the story. Discuss the triggers that engage readers in an effective story. Most great stories start with a problem, which is solved with the resolution, or conclusion of the story. Encourage students to create an engaging problem that will hook the readers in the first few pages of a short story or novel.

Explain the importance of tone and atmosphere. Let your students know the importance of interesting settings with compelling tone and atmosphere. The tone and atmosphere are essentially the “feel” of the story. This is important in creating a gripping story that is well-rounded. By setting the tone and atmosphere of a story, the author will establish his or her attitude to the subject and the feel of the story. Tone can be positive, neutral, or negative. Atmosphere can be dark, happy, or neither. Descriptive words like “darkness” or “sunshine” can help set both the tone and atmosphere.

Promote the use of active verbs. While a student might be a great writer, without the use of active verbs, their story may be dry and not really compelling. To cure this, you should ask your students to use active verbs throughout their story. Active verbs are a great way to make stories come alive. Active verbs are used to show action in the story. Active verbs are very often a better alternative to passive voice, as it keeps your writing clear and concise for your readers. For example, instead of writing “The cat was chased by the dog” your student can write “The dog chased the cat.”

Guiding Students through the Process

Allow students to pick their topic. The first step in guiding students through the writing process is to allow them to pick their topic. Picking their topic will allow your students to own their writing and to use their own creative energy to craft an engaging story. Tell your students to brainstorm about ideas they are truly interested in. If you must restrict the general topic, make sure that your students have a good amount of wiggle room within the broad topic of the assignment. Never assign specific topics and force students to write. This will undermine the entire process.

Have your students write a flexible outline. After your students have chosen a topic, have them create a flexible and general outline for their story. This outline will serve as a guide as they write their story. Because the outline is flexible, it will guide them while not limiting their creativity. Consider: Letting your students know that the outline is non-binding. They don’t have to follow it in later steps of the writing process. Telling your students that the parts of their outline should be written very generally. Recommending that your students create several outlines, or outlines that go in different directions (in terms of plot and other elements of storytelling). The more avenues your students explore, the better.

Avoid teaching a story “formula.” One of the most important things to remember when teaching creative writing is to dispense with the idea that stories should follow certain arcs or formulas. While formulaic writing can aid students who need direction, it can also bind students and limit their imaginations. Tell students that there is no “right” way to write a story. Let students know that their imaginations should guide their way. Show students examples of famous writing that breaks normal patterns, like the works of E.E. Cummings, William Faulkner, Charles Dickens, and William Shakespeare. Ask students to forget about any expectations they think you have for how a story should be written.

Provide feedback on rough drafts. As your students move through the writing process, you should read over drafts and provide feedback. Feedback is essential in guiding writers and making sure they are on the right path to storytelling success. Gather the first drafts and comment on the student's work. For first drafts, you want to check on the overall structure of the draft, proper word use, punctuation, spelling, and overall cohesion of the piece. Remind them that great writers usually wrote several drafts before they were happy with their stories. Avoid grading drafts for anything other than completion.

Organize editing groups. An important part of the writing process is the formation of editing groups in your class. Editing groups will enable your students to read each other's work and give feedback during the writing process. Students should benefit by listening to the reactions of an audience to their work. Let students pair off to edit each others' papers. Have your students join groups of 3 or 4 and ask them to go edit and provide feedback on each member’s story. Provide guidance so students contribute constructively to the group discussion.

Evaluate your students based on their creativity. Ultimately, when it comes to evaluating your students' work and assigning a grade, you need to evaluate them based on their creativity. While it may be tempting to assign grades based on a certain model or formula, you should look deep into your students' work to see if they've succeeded at writing with creativity. Reward your students if they are innovative or do something unique and truly creative. Avoid evaluating your students based on a formula. Assess and review your own standards as often as you can. Remember that the point is to encourage your students' creativity.

Spurring Creativity

Inspire students with an appreciation of literature. Creative writing students will probably arrive with a keen appreciation for great literature and favorite works, but a savvy teacher will review and introduce new literary works of art. Students will learn from the teacher and the masters who preceded them. Teach your students about a variety of writers and genres. Have your students read examples of different genres. Promote a discussion within your class of the importance of studying literature. Ask students to consider the many ways literature improves the world and asks individuals to think about their own lives.

Provide your students with a large number of resources. One of the best ways to teach and promote creative writing is to make sure your students have the resources to write. Such resources include both creative resources and material resources to actually write. Make sure your room is stocked with a wide variety of fiction stories. Make sure your room is stocked with plenty of paper for your students to write on. Line up other writing teachers or bring in writers from the community to talk to and encourage your students.

Have your students write practice stories based on random photos or pictures you provide. A good way to get your students into the habit of creative writing is to have them write a series of practice stories using a bank of pictures and photos you supply. Cut out pictures and photographs from magazines, comic books, and newspapers. Have your students cut out photographs and pictures and contribute them to your bank. Consider having your students randomly draw a given number of photos and pictures and writing a short story based on what they draw. This technique can help students overcome writer's block and inspire students who think that they're "not creative."

Arrange an audience. One way to teach and reinforce best writing practices is to provide your students with audiences for their writing. This way, your students will have the chance to have their writing read by real people who can enjoy their work and provide constructive criticism. Pair your students with students from another grade in your school. Allow your students to write stories that younger students in your school would like to read. Pair your students with another student in the class and have them evaluate each others' work.

Create a writing space. For many students, it is very important to have a space that is geared toward promoting creative writing. A space specifically designed for creative writing will allow students to focus their creativity into the writing process. If you just have a typical classroom to work with, make sure to put inspirational posters or other pictures on the walls. Open any curtains so students can see outside. If you have the luxury of having an extra classroom or subdividing your own classroom, create a comfortable space with a lot of inspirational visuals. Writing spaces can help break writer's block and inspire students who think that they're "not creative."

Publish your students’ work. One way to teach and promote creative writing is to do an informal publication of your students’ stories. This way, your students will not only be able to be proud that their work is printed for others to read, but they’ll be able to read each others' work and get ideas for their own future stories. Involve students in the printing process. Publication does not have to be expensive or glossy. Copies can be made in the school workroom if possible or each student might provide a copy for the others in the group. A collection of the stories can be bound with a simple stapler or brads. Seek out other opportunities for your students to publish their stories.