creative writing techniques pdf

Elements of Creative Writing

J.D. Schraffenberger, University of Northern Iowa

Rachel Morgan, University of Northern Iowa

Grant Tracey, University of Northern Iowa

Copyright Year: 2023

ISBN 13: 9780915996179

Publisher: University of Northern Iowa

Language: English

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Reviewed by Robert Moreira, Lecturer III, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 3/21/24

Unlike Starkey's CREATIVE WRITING: FOUR GENRES IN BRIEF, this textbook does not include a section on drama. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Unlike Starkey's CREATIVE WRITING: FOUR GENRES IN BRIEF, this textbook does not include a section on drama.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

As far as I can tell, content is accurate, error free and unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The book is relevant and up-to-date.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is clear and easy to understand.

Consistency rating: 5

I would agree that the text is consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 5

Text is modular, yes, but I would like to see the addition of a section on dramatic writing.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Topics are presented in logical, clear fashion.

Interface rating: 5

Navigation is good.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical issues that I could see.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

I'd like to see more diverse creative writing examples.

As I stated above, textbook is good except that it does not include a section on dramatic writing.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Chapter One: One Great Way to Write a Short Story
• Chapter Two: Plotting
• Chapter Three: Counterpointed Plotting
• Chapter Four: Show and Tell
• Chapter Five: Characterization and Method Writing
• Chapter Six: Character and Dialouge
• Chapter Seven: Setting, Stillness, and Voice
• Chapter Eight: Point of View
• Chapter Nine: Learning the Unwritten Rules
• Chapter One: A Poetry State of Mind
• Chapter Two: The Architecture of a Poem
• Chapter Three: Sound
• Chapter Four: Inspiration and Risk
• Chapter Five: Endings and Beginnings
• Chapter Six: Figurative Language
• Chapter Seven: Forms, Forms, Forms
• Chapter Eight: Go to the Image
• Chapter Nine: The Difficult Simplicity of Short Poems and Killing Darlings

Creative Nonfiction

• Chapter One: Creative Nonfiction and the Essay
• Chapter Two: Truth and Memory, Truth in Memory
• Chapter Three: Research and History
• Chapter Four: Writing Environments
• Chapter Five: Notes on Style
• Chapter Seven: Imagery and the Senses
• Chapter Eight: Writing the Body
• Chapter Nine: Forms

Back Matter

• Contributors
• North American Review Staff

Ancillary Material

• University of Northern Iowa

About the Book

This free and open access textbook introduces new writers to some basic elements of the craft of creative writing in the genres of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. The authors—Rachel Morgan, Jeremy Schraffenberger, and Grant Tracey—are editors of the North American Review, the oldest and one of the most well-regarded literary magazines in the United States. They’ve selected nearly all of the readings and examples (more than 60) from writing that has appeared in NAR pages over the years. Because they had a hand in publishing these pieces originally, their perspective as editors permeates this book. As such, they hope that even seasoned writers might gain insight into the aesthetics of the magazine as they analyze and discuss some reasons this work is so remarkable—and therefore teachable. This project was supported by NAR staff and funded via the UNI Textbook Equity Mini-Grant Program.

About the Contributors

J.D. Schraffenberger  is a professor of English at the University of Northern Iowa. He is the author of two books of poems,  Saint Joe's Passion  and  The Waxen Poor , and co-author with Martín Espada and Lauren Schmidt of  The Necessary Poetics of Atheism . His other work has appeared in  Best of Brevity ,  Best Creative Nonfiction ,  Notre Dame Review ,  Poetry East ,  Prairie Schooner , and elsewhere.

Rachel Morgan   is an instructor of English at the University of Northern Iowa. She is the author of the chapbook  Honey & Blood , Blood & Honey . Her work is included in the anthology  Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in American  and has appeared in the  Journal of American Medical Association ,  Boulevard ,  Prairie Schooner , and elsewhere.

Grant Tracey   author of three novels in the Hayden Fuller Mysteries ; the chapbook  Winsome  featuring cab driver Eddie Sands; and the story collection  Final Stanzas , is fiction editor of the  North American Review  and an English professor at the University of Northern Iowa, where he teaches film, modern drama, and creative writing. Nominated four times for a Pushcart Prize, he has published nearly fifty short stories and three previous collections. He has acted in over forty community theater productions and has published critical work on Samuel Fuller and James Cagney. He lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

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As it was in the last edition, we have set first page as "A" and started "Title page" from "i".

Why is there a space here?

indent title on the second line so it's clear...

This should also be added under Nonfiction as well, the Hixson piece.

insert Hixson

change to "themes of the fourth edition" to avoid repeating "new" twice

The Fiction section is not appearing here... I'm not sure where it went.

I don't think we want his name here!!

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AU: Perhaps "creative"?

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AU: Please check if "The" sho\ uld be deleted as it is not a part of the name of university.

35 spelled out here

We have set first page as "A" and started "Title page" from "i". Accordingly page reference for Preface and About the Author is listed here.

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Content in Chapter 12 were removed at the later phase of the project, accordingly the TOC entries are removed here.

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Creative Writing Handbook - Becoming a Complete Writer in all Genres

This book is for and about amazing you. It contains three main parts beyond this section. The next, ‘Creatives’ and ‘Control’ explores each notion separately. Part three examines the all-important G-forces: Grail and Grails. Discussions in this chapter underpin the thematic title and core pursuit of this book – aiding writers to identify and tightly define the core goal or goals that they desire to realize from their textual quests and conquests. Part four explores 17 popular writing genres and provides an original example of each. Four of these illustrations are first-time attempts by this writer to compose a script in a foreign discipline that is outside his comfort zone and areas of interest. May these modest, raw offerings embolden you to likewise experiment at becoming a complete writer. The penultimate chapter, Part five, explores six topics that may aid writers to answer the holy grail writer’s question, as defined by this author. These topics in order are: Spelling, scripts, styles, solo writing, champions (i.e., role models) and circulation. This book does not aim to teach readers how to develop most technical skills required of competent writers. Open-access and commercial literature available on these topics are mature. Engaging these topics are best served by a medley of resources such as handbooks, video presentations, college curricula and years of dedicated writing practice. Part I Publishers’ edition © Jericho 15 The concluding part of most sections and each chapter is titled ‘Further reading’. These parts offer one or two open-access resources that explore material discussed in that section/chapter in further detail. The principal pursuit of this book aims to help you to identify the core goal/s that may motivate you to be the best writer possible in your chosen fields. There is a dearth of literature that unravels this all-important journey. This book is suitable for informal educational settings and structured teaching environments. It may support writers of all skill levels who thrive from learning solo, in groups or a mixture thereof. It may also guide Creative Writing Professors who teach applied education courses at all levels – from certificate to Graduate-level coursework. Creative writing author authors authorship publication publishing self-publishing self-publication writing creativity Creative Writing 101

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11 Creative Writing Techniques

Learn how to add pizzazz to any type of writing.

The articles below show you how to use creative writing tools in fiction or non-fiction. Each article features a series of examples so it becomes easier to apply the technique.

List of creative writing techniques

Click the links below to go to a specific section:

Personification

Show don’t tell

Repetition in writing

Contrast in writing

The rule of three in writing

Parallelism

1. Metaphors

Learn how to use metaphors and get inspired by these examples …

Learn how to use metaphors >>

Metaphor examples >>

Get inspired by over 10 simile examples by various authors …

Simile examples >>

3. Analogies

Get inspired by these analogy examples …

Analogy examples >>

Improve your writing style

Learn how to write better and find your voice. Get free writing tips in your inbox.

Get free writing tips >>

Get inspired by these imagery examples …

Imagery examples >>

5. Personification

Learn how to use personification to make your writing sparkle …

Personification examples >>

6. Show don’t tell

Get inspired by these examples of “show, don’t tell” …

Show don’t tell examples >>

7. Repetition in writing

Get inspired by these examples of word repetition …

Examples of repetition in writing >>

8. Contrast in writing

Discover how to use contrast in your writing …

Examples of contrast in writing >>

9. The rule of 3 in writing

Get inspired by these examples of the rule of 3 …

The rule of 3 in writing >>

10. Parallelism in writing

Get inspired by these examples of the parallelism …

Parallelism examples >>

11. Switch the point of view (POV)

Discover how to switch the point of view …

Point of view examples >>

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Creative writing examples

Learn how to inject creativity in any writing.

Creative writing exercises

Try these exercises to add a touch of creativity to your writing.

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The Creative Writing Handbook

Techniques for New Writers

• © 1996
• Latest edition
• John Singleton ,
• Mary Luckhurst

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5 Citations

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

Front matter, making a mark.

• John Singleton, Mary Luckhurst

The Workshop Way

Words words words.

• John Singleton, Geoff Sutton

Writing the Self

The short story.

• John Singleton

Innovative Fiction and the Novel

• Elizabeth Baines

Writing to Form — Verse

• John Lennard

Writing for Performance: Stage, Screen and Radio

Journalistic writing.

• Mary Luckhurst, Betty Princep

Editing and Rewriting

• Liz Cashdan, Mary Luckhurst, John Singleton

Back Matter

• creative writing

About this book

Bibliographic information.

Book Title : The Creative Writing Handbook

Book Subtitle : Techniques for New Writers

Editors : John Singleton, Mary Luckhurst

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-13814-2

Publisher : Red Globe Press London

eBook Packages : Palgrave Literature & Performing Arts Collection , Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)

Copyright Information : Macmillan Publishers Limited 1996

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : VIII, 284

Additional Information : Previously published under the imprint Palgrave

Topics : Creative Writing

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The creative writing coursebook : forty writers share advice and exercises for poetry and prose

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