Elements of Creative Writing - (2nd edition)

Reviewed by Candace Walsh, Associate Professor of English, Central Washington University on 2/25/26

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This textbook provides an adequate amount of information and context about three main genres of creative writing: fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Each section is written by a specialist of the genre, rather than one author covering all three genres with greater or lesser success. This is a strength of the book. In the fiction section, I would have liked to see a capsule depiction of the way short story structure has developed over the last hundred years. Context would add dimension.

Additionally, story structure coexists with culture--from assumed norms of fiction that are coded to particular experiences related to identity and geographical context, and not covering this aspect of story structure was a missed opportunity.

The fiction section also focuses on teaching students how to write short stories to the deficit of novels. I understand that writing a good short story can prepare students to take on a novel, but many of my students have already written novel manuscripts, or in the process of doing so, and it's important to briefly describe how novel structure differs from short story structure, and why, among other topics.

The poetry section covers many essential aspects of poetry without getting bogged down in theoreticals. I think the creative nonfiction section's first chapter attempts to be comprehensive by starting out with an example by Montaigne, but it's not contextualized in an engaging way.

One strength across the genre sections is exercises and prompts. This makes the teachings inspiring and actionable.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Overall, I found the content to be accurate and unbiased. (Note: In the poetry section, the author misspelled Gerard Manley Hopkins as Gerard Manly Hopkins.) In some creative writing textbooks, I find so many misguided statements that I choose not to assign them. This book had a strong handle on craft elements and mechanics across the genres.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

In the creative nonfiction section, and less so, in the fiction section, I did not find the examples to sufficiently reflect 21st century prose. Given that I read the second edition, I would have liked to see more contemporary examples of short stories used as models or case studies. The poetry section was more in conversation with the current time frame.

The book does a competent job at covering a sufficiency of relevant evergreen conventions of each genre.

Clarity rating: 4

The fiction and poetry sections are enlivened by clarity, but the CNF section was compromised by murkiness. The clarity in two sections made me want to write fiction and poetry in the moments of reading the chapters, whereas I felt distanced by the CNF section.

Consistency rating: 3

In terms of consistency, a strength of the book is also a weakness. Given that each section is written by a different author, I was thrown by their dramatically different approaches to covering the topics in terms of introducing each genre, tone, and structure. It would strengthen the book to see more consistency in these areas, while maintaining each writer's voice.

Modularity rating: 5

The modularity of this textbook is strong. I appreciate that the book does not require me to overhaul my syllabus and lesson plans to follow its approach. I would have the flexibility to design my class in response to students' needs and my preferences, beginning by sharing a chapter about point of view in fiction before we look at story structure, even though story structure comes before point of view in the book.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

As stated earlier, more consistency of organization across the three main genre sections would provide students with a more harmonious learning experience.

Interface rating: 3

The Google docs version of the book offered the best experience for me. The PDF does not have page numbers, which is very unhelpful, since student should be able to easily cite and refer back to passages.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The book's grammar is consistently free of errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

There could be more in the way of diverse readings. It's important pedagogically, in my view, to sequence examples of poems, short stories, and essays with a sensitivity toward first impressions. The student/reader is subconsciously ascertaining: is this a welcoming context for my voice? In the CNF section, Francis Bacon and Michel Montaigne are the first examples used. Dead white men. In the poetry section, William Carlos Williams and George Saunders are cited first. In fiction, the author mentions "Sherwood Anderson, Willa Cather, Ernest Hemingway, Katherine Mansfield, and John Steinbeck" early on; they're all white and from the early 20th century. The first example of a story's plot is hetero male-centric: "Every morning a husband awakes late, kisses his wife on the cheek..." and then this story summary continues. He goes to work, he bumps into a manic pixie dream gambler...you get the picture. The next example is by John Steinbeck. The one after that is by Frannie Dove, a contemporary literary agent and writer. According to her website, she's had two stories published in literary journals (one in the North American Review (the book and authors are affiliated with this journal), but no books. The story the author describes was her first published story in 2022. One has to search for a pdf of that journal issue to read the story, which seems to be more in service to the journal than students/readers. Why was she included instead of, say, Raven Leilani? This is not about whether Frannie Dove is a good writer or not; I'm sure she is. It's an odd editorial choice that interferes with the credibility of the book as a whole.

Reviewed by Samar Fitzgerald, Fiction Writing Instructor, James Madison University on 11/12/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

It's as thorough as one could ask of a multi-genre, introductory-level textbook.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The authors are appropriately candid regarding biases. Creative-writing courses are process-oriented, so accuracy is not the best metric for a textbook. But the authors present paradigms for understanding the creative process and specific techniques for developing material that resonate with this reader--with only a few small exceptions. At the same time, I did not encounter here new ideas or ways of thinking about the creative process.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

That the authors are also editors of a small press enhances relevancy. An added advantage: the textbook creates an opportunity for students to be made aware of and potentially explore a small press. I would hope to see here links to interviews with journal authors or similar content. A section on a story or a poem before revision and after editorially work would be interesting and useful for students as well.

Clarity rating: 5

Overall, the writing is cogent and appropriately inviting to the entry-level student.

Consistency rating: 4

Again, consistency may not be the most useful metric in this case. The three authors have notably different voices, but this is ultimately a strength of the book. I appreciate that they did not attempt to merge their prose styles into a single voice.

Modularity rating: 5

Yes. The text is very user-friendly and versatile.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

In a few places, I found the organization of ideas more obfuscating than clarifying. For example, the topic of narrative structure was mentioned in different (sometimes overlapping, sometimes conflicting) chapters in the fiction section. Moreover, my instinct is not to start students off with the complicated matter of structure as this text does, but with the smallest unit of creative writing--the image--and to build from there.

Interface rating: 5

I did not note any interface concerns.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I noted very few typos.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

One can always strive for greater relevancy, of course. But I did appreciate this textbook's emphasis on works published in the North American Review. That helps ensure the referenced works are not the same, heavily anthologized content one usually encounters in a creative writing textbook.

Reviewed by Colin Rafferty, Professor, University of Mary Washington on 8/2/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Fantastically thorough. By using three different authors, one for each genre of creative writing, the textbook allows for a wider diversity of thought and theory on writing as a whole, while still providing a solid grounding in the basics of each genre. The included links to referred texts also builds in an automatic, OER-based anthology for students. Terms are not only defined clearly, but also their utility is explained--here's what assonance can actually do in a poem, rather than simply "it's repeated vowel sounds,"

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Calling the content "accurate" requires a suspension of the notion that art and writing aren't subjective; instead, it might be more useful to judge the content on the potential usefulness to students, in which case it' s quite accurate. Reading this, I often found myself nodding in agreement with the authors' suggestions for considering published work and discussing workshop material, and their prompts for generating creative writing feel full of potential. It's as error-free, if not more so, than most OER textbooks (which is to say: a few typos here and there) and a surprising number of trade publications. It's not unbiased, per se--after all, these are literary magazine editors writing the textbook and often explaining what it is about a given piece of writing that they find (or do not find) engaging and admirable--but unbiased isn't necessarily a quantity one looks for in creative writing textbooks.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The thing about creative writing is that they keep making more of it, so eventually the anthology elements of this textbook will be less "look what's getting published these days" and more "look what was getting published back then," but the structure of the textbook should allow for substitution and replacement (that said, if UNI pulls funding for NAR, as too many universities are doing these days, then the bigger concern is about the archive vanishing). The more rhetorical elements of the textbook are solid, and should be useful to students and faculty for a long time.

Clarity rating: 5

Very clear, straightforward prose, and perhaps more importantly, there's a sense of each author that emerges in each section, demonstrating to students that writing, especially creative writing, comes from a person. As noted above, any technical jargon is not only explained, but also discussed, meaning that how and why one might use any particular literary technique are emphasized over simply rote memorization of terms.

Consistency rating: 4

It's consistent within each section, but the voice and approach change with each genre. This is a strength, not a weakness, and allows the textbook to avoid the one-size-fits-all approach of single-author creative writing textbooks. There are different "try this" exercises for each genre that strike me as calibrated to impress the facets of that particular genre on the student.

Modularity rating: 5

The three-part structure of the book allows teachers to start wherever they like, genre-wise. While the internal structure of each section does build upon and refer back to earlier chapters, that seems more like an advantage than a disadvantage. Honestly, there's probably enough flexibility built into the textbook that even the callbacks could be glossed over quickly enough in the classroom.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Chapters within each genre section build upon each other, starting with basics and developing the complexity and different elements of that genre. The textbook's overall organization allows some flexibility in terms of starting with fiction, poetry, or nonfiction.

Interface rating: 4

Easy to navigate. I particularly like the way that links for the anthology work in the nonfiction section (clearly appearing at the side of the text in addition to within it) and would like to see that consistently applied throughout.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

A few typos here and there, but you know what else generally has a few typos here and there? Expensive physical textbooks.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The anthology covers a diverse array of authors and cultural identities, and the textbook authors are not only conscious of their importance but also discuss how those identities affect decisions that the authors might have made, even on a formal level. If you find an underrepresented group missing, it should be easy enough to supplement this textbook with a poem/essay/story.

Very excited to use this in my Intro to CW classes--unlike other OERs that I've used for the field, this one feels like it could compete with the physical textbooks head-to-head. Other textbooks have felt more like a trade-off between content and cost.

Reviewed by Jeanne Cosmos, Adjunct Faculty, Massachusetts Bay Community College on 7/7/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Direct language and concrete examples & Case Studies.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

References to literature and writers- on track.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

On point for support to assist writers and creative process.

Clarity rating: 5

Direct language and easy to read.

Consistency rating: 4

First person to third person. Too informal in many areas of the text.

Modularity rating: 5

Units are readily accessible.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Process of creative writing and prompts- scaffold areas of learning for students.

Interface rating: 5

No issues found.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The book is accurate in this regard.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Always could be revised and better.

Yes. Textbook font is not academic and spacing - also not academic. A bit too primary. Suggest- Times New Roman 12- point font & a space plus -
Some of the language and examples too informal and the tone of lst person would be more effective if - direct and not so 'chummy' as author references his personal recollections. Not effective.

Reviewed by Robert Moreira, Lecturer III, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 3/21/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Unlike Starkey's CREATIVE WRITING: FOUR GENRES IN BRIEF, this textbook does not include a section on drama.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

As far as I can tell, content is accurate, error free and unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The book is relevant and up-to-date.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is clear and easy to understand.

Consistency rating: 5

I would agree that the text is consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 5

Text is modular, yes, but I would like to see the addition of a section on dramatic writing.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Topics are presented in logical, clear fashion.

Interface rating: 5

Navigation is good.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical issues that I could see.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

I'd like to see more diverse creative writing examples.

As I stated above, textbook is good except that it does not include a section on dramatic writing.