Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief by David Starkey - Fourth Edition, 2022 from Macmillan Student Store

Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief

Fourth  Edition©2022  David Starkey

About

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.

Table 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

David Starkey

David Starkey is Founding Director of the Creative Writing Program at Santa Barbara City College where he is Professor of English. He is the editor of two collections of creative writing pedagogy, Teaching Writing Creatively and Genre by Example: Writing What We Teach, and co-author, with the late Wendy Bishop, of Keywords in Creative Writing. He has been active in all four genres. His latest of eleven small press poetry collections are Dance, You Monster, to My Soft Song and What Just Happened. His fiction has appeared in American Literary Review, Rio Grande Review, Sou’wester, and in the anthology Blue Cathedral: Contemporary Fiction for the New Millennium. His creative nonfiction has been published in Cimarron Review, Gulf Stream Magazine, Tampa Review, and in the book Living Blue in the Red States, which he edited. His plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis, Toronto, and elsewhere.