What exactly is creative writing and is it even needed?

[Ruthie]

I was a Lit major and all I ever wrote were essays and term papers.

Now, with hsing, I keep reading about how moms need to work on creative writing skills with their kids.

 

When would this be needed, other than an elective class of some sort. Isn't creative writing something you either have or don't?

Ruthie

[Ellie]

It's what the public schools, having failed in teaching children to read and write well at all, have decided children need to know how to do.

 

Most dc do NOT need to know how to write "creatively." But so many of us poor hsers had never planned to teach our dc and we don't *know* what we're supposed to do. So when public school teachers and textbook publishers (in response to public schools, their customers) blather on about "creative writing," we think we're supposed to do *that.*

 

JMHO, of course.:tongue_smilie:

[Hillary in KS]

You know, I focus on teaching my children to write. That means grammar, and structured/guided writing exercises for a long time. Once they've got the mechanics of writing down, we can explore their creative side. :)

 

Eldest ds is 13, and I still focus more on structured writing in school. However, in his spare time he has written 3 books. So he gets his crreative writing in, it's just something he does in his spare time.

[Laurie4b]

Creative writing is writing poetry or fiction. You are totally correct--it is the least-useful of the writing skills from a practical standpoint, as it is used IRL only by folks who write fiction or poetry. Expository writing is what everyone else does!

 

SWB makes this point in the WTM.

 

On the other hand, young kids especially often like writing their own stories, in the same way they like drawing or painting. Most won't go on to be artists, but some will, and it's an enriching experience. It's much harder for older students, who are hard on themselves in terms of how "dorky" their plot, etc. is. Little kids love their own stuff! So to me, creative writing is a good thing to give them opportunity for and instruction in when they are younger. If they show promise, they can continue. All along, however, they should be learning the basics of solid, expository writing.

[Angel]

Creative writing may not be necessary for all students. I agree that they will either have the bent toward it or not. However, I disagree that it has no place in expository writing. I believe my creative writing bent in high school, and the class I took to further my knowledge, greatly enriched my expository writing.

[Nan in Mass]

Writing Strands teaches some basics of writing fiction. I've found that to be very useful for doing great books. Authors make choices for reasons. An easy way to learn the implications of those reasons is to try out the choices for oneself. And like Angel, I've found that there is quite a lot of crossover between expository and creative. For example, most expository is also supposed to entertain, whether we admit it or not. SAT essays are a good example. I find the easiest way to get my children to appreciate the rhyming structure of Beowulf, for example, or the in-praise bits of The Iliad, or Ben Franklin's Autobiography, is to have them try writing something like that themselves.

-Nan

[Kathie in VA]

Creative writing is actually a vague term if you think about it. I think it is mostly used for fiction writing but it can be applied to many other types of writing. For instance we are using Classical Writing and have done many narrations or re-writes of fables, fairy tales, etc. This is typically not thought of as creative writing since my dc are not thinking up the whole story themselves. However you should see what they come up with sometimes! They've gotten 'creative' and told a well known tale like "The Gingerbread Man" and turned it into "The Gingerbread Jedi!" I've read some essays where the point could have been made dry but instead was made very humorous due to the creative juices flowing in the author!

 

So basically I have no plans to teach creative writing on it's own. As we go thru our CW program I will allow/encourage my dc to get creative with their papers occasionally. Perhaps we'll get into some actual fiction, totally made up stories at some point, I don't know. The way I see it, that would just introduce the ability of an original storyline, organizing it themselves, and the rest falls under an actual type writing like narrative, essay, report, etc.

 

just my 2cents!

 

hth

[Angel]

For example, most expository is also supposed to entertain, whether we admit it or not.

-Nan

 

:iagree: I was thinking this but couldn't find the right words in my foggy morning state:001_smile:

[FloridaLisa]

When would this be needed, other than an elective class of some sort. Isn't creative writing something you either have or don't?

 

There are lots of ways to use creative writing pragmatically in addition to what others have said -- in advertising, public relations and speech writing off the top of my head. One of my favorite writing programs was a creative writing course called The Wonder of Words. http://centerforhomeeducation.com/thewonderofwordsdvd.aspx The teaching is on video (DVD now I'm sure) and it's geared to middle schoolers. We loved it and I later used some of the methods for teaching speech.

 

HTH,

Lisa

[Robin in DFW]

I am getting ready to use this with my 6th grader.

 

I actually live a few miles from Rosie Watson's homeschool center...it's a great place! She offers classes based on her program.

 

I just finished watching the teacher video and will begin the student video with my ds tomorrow. It looks like fun, which I think is her whole point.

 

She is also a rep for TLP and promotes literature-based language arts. We will be using a TLP guide beginning next week.

 

She has some great thoughts on language arts.

 

Robin

[Ruthie]

Thanks for your replies :). It makes me feel better.

 

I don't question that expository writing benefits from creativity... I, myself, love a entertaining and well written research paper! But I was just referring to when an assignment specifically says to write a mystery or something. I never did it and it would kill me if I had to. My one son is very creative and comes up with stuff all the time. I help him with that in terms of flow and word choices, etc etc. But creativity is hard to force, KWIM? So, I was just puzzled when my SIL said that her class wrote a story every week !!!

 

Thanks again

Ruth