Tag: Fiction
Invitation to the Voyages
"Invitation to the Voyages" is an exercise I use to teach imagery. It can be adapted for any writing genre.
Write Your Own Fairy-tale Handout
This handout is a creative writing exercise I use in my Speculative Literature class when we do a unit on fairy tales,...
Intro to the Writing of Fiction
Below you'll find a syllabus for a 200-level Intro to the Writing of Fiction course complete with readings and assignments.
Feature image courtesy of Andrew Seaman
Time in Narratives
A simple handout that illustrates key concepts of time in narratives by comparing them to the basic controls we use when watching videos.
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Place Essays — Examples Using Research
Incorporating research into creative nonfiction essays helps bring the narrative to life but can be difficult to do. Below you'll find a collection of...
Place Essays – Finding Places to Write About
Writing about place is more than writing about a vacation or a childhood home. There are certain tensions evident in all spaces when we...
Concision for Creative Writers
If you're looking for a way to encourage your creative writing students to be more concise, try this simple concision handout.
Photo by Todd Quackenbush on Unsplash
Exploring the Output of Writers
A great piece of advice for any writer is to read as much as possible. If one wants to write novels, reading great novels...
Student Centered Office Hours
Those of us who teach Creative Writing usually have the luxury that our students actively choose to be in the class. When they come...
Characters, Conflict, and Goals
It can be difficult to reveal connections between key elements of craft in fiction writing classes, but this activity is designed to do just that.
I Was Wearing Them the Day–Touchstone Moments and Details for the Fiction Writer
I’ve always been interested in the question of where the fiction writer finds material. I’ve always been particularly interested in how the autobiographical gets...
Activity: Refurbishing
I recently read a quotation by Janet Finch, who reminds writers, “You’re a writer and you have to invent it from scratch, all by...
Class Starters for the Fiction Workshop
For fiction writers, provocation is part of the job description. The same should go for our teaching of fiction, especially with students who are...
Literary Magazine Submissions
A handout covering the basics of submitting to literary magazines: where to submit, cover letters, terminology, and mistakes to avoid.
Creative Writing Feedback: On Finding Praise
There’s a lot of talk in teaching circles about feedback—how to give an appropriate amount that doesn’t overwhelm the student (or the teacher’s workload) and balances praise and constructive criticism. Finding praise is, of course, characterized by its very verb as the part where you have to strain yourself, what you include to soften the blow your critique.
QCS Workshop Responses
Silence in the classroom can be awkward, especially when your students are tasked with discussing their peers’ work in a creative writing workshop. I’ve found...
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Visualizing Class Participation
A diagram that helps students and teachers be on the same page when it comes to understanding expectations for and evaluations of class participation.
Creative Writing Feedback: On Finding Praise
There’s a lot of talk in teaching circles about feedback—how to give an appropriate amount that doesn’t overwhelm the student (or the teacher’s workload) and balances praise and constructive criticism. Finding praise is, of course, characterized by its very verb as the part where you have to strain yourself, what you include to soften the blow your critique.
A Paraphrasing PowerPoint
A PowerPoint presentation explaining what paraphrasing is, how to paraphrase, and an in-class activity for paraphrasing.