preview

Creative Writing Is Not A Stranger

Decent Essays

Creative writing is not a stranger to the classroom. It’s more like a third cousin you see at family reunions. Unfortunately, creative writing is not seen as a beneficial skill students need to learn. Instead, it is used for elective classes or to fulfill a small section of a language arts standard. Creative writing provides more than entertainment, it provides “skills, which [students] have acquired in their pursuit of a fictional character, will serve them equally well in their pursuit of subjects for expository, persuasive, and analytic essays” (Anderson, 47). This genre of writing requires creativity, curiosity, and technical skills. Creative writing is detrimental to the progression of students’ writing ability. Teaching creative writing is not as simple as letting students explore their imaginations, Peterson (2014) and Crumey (2012) both suggest prior knowledge plays a significant role in the creative writing process. It has been widely said a writer should, “write what they know.” This sentiment is often shared as a nugget of wisdom to aspiring writers or those struggling from writer’s block. Peterson (2014) says, “young writers should ‘be passionate about what [they] do. Passion drives the best storytelling” (500). Crumey’s (2012) argument is that to become a better writer, you need to be well read and you need to write. He emphasizes this with a quote by Stephen King: “You’ve got to read a lot and write a lot” (114). Crumey (2012) explains the difference between

Get Access