ISBN:9781319406530
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ISBN:9781319215965
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Learning to write poetry and fiction and nonfiction and drama in a single creative writing course is a real challenge, but David Starkey’s Creative Writing, Four Genres in Brief is the ideal way to meet it. By mapping out the basics of composing and crafting each genre, providing only very short models of literature for you to read and emulate, and providing inspiration with writing prompts and projects that will capture your imagination, Creative Writing will help you learn quickly and find a path into writing creatively.
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Learn MoreTable of Contents
Preface: A Few Words to Instructors
A Few Things You Should Know about Creative Writing
A Few Words about Revision
1 Writing Poetry
Write before you read
The elements of poetry
The short poem: Three models
Gail White, My Personal Recollections of Not Being Asked to the Prom
*Donika Kelly, Fourth Grade Autobiography
Rae Armantrout, Duration
Lines and stanzas
Meter and rhythm
The music of poetry
Images, symbols, and figurative language
Diction, syntax, and the language of poetry
Poetic forms
Getting started writing poetry
Kick-Starts: Beginning your poems
A few tips for participating in a poetry workshop
An Anthology of Short Poems
2 Writing the Short-Short Story
Write before you read
The elements of fiction
The short-short story: Three models
Isaac Babel, Crossing the River Zbrucz
Donald Barthelme, The Baby
*Jennine Capó Crucet, Animal Control
Structure and design
Creating characters
Writing dialogue
Setting the scene
Deciding on point of view, developing tone and style
Getting started writing the short-short story
Kick-Starts: Beginning your story
A few tips for participating in a short fiction workshop
An Anthology of Short-Short Stories
3 Writing Short Creative Nonfiction
Write before you read
The elements of creative nonfiction
Short creative nonfiction: Three models
Rebecca McClanahan, Liferower
*Ylonda Gault Caviness, We Go Way Back
David Sedaris, Jesus Shaves
Organizing creative nonfiction
Telling the truth
Creative nonfiction as narrative
The poetry of creative nonfiction
Writing yourself into creative nonfiction
Ethics and edicts
Getting started writing short creative nonfiction
Kick-Starts: Beginning your creative nonfiction
A few tips for participating in a creative nonfiction workshop
An Anthology of Short Creative Nonfiction
4 Writing the Ten-Minute Play
Write before you read
The elements of playwriting
The ten-minute play: Three models
David Ives, Sure Thing
Tina Howe, The Divine Fallacy
A. Rey Pamatmat, Some Other Kid
Structuring the ten-minute play
Creating believable characters
Writing convincing dialogue
Crafting a theme
Onstage: The elements of production
Getting started writing the ten-minute play
Kick-Starts: Beginning your play
A few tips for participating in a ten-minute play workshop
Playscript Format: A Model
An Anthology of Ten-Minute Plays
A Few Words about Getting Your Work Published and Produced
A Few Words about Hybrid Creative Writing
Sabrina Orah Mark, It’s Dark in There: Confessions of a Prose Poem
A Few Words about Writing for Social Change
*Claude McKay, If We Must Die
A Few Words of Farewell
Glossary
Acknowledgments
Index
*Indicates new selection