![Elements of Creative Writing cover image Read more about Elements of Creative Writing](https://open.umn.edu/rails/active_storage/representations/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6OTQ3MiwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--8904451a5d1055a26156d3e77f834496957ad344/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6eyJmb3JtYXQiOiJqcGciLCJyZXNpemUiOiI0OTB4MTAwMCJ9LCJwdXIiOiJ2YXJpYXRpb24ifX0=--92321c91481b14cf986468483667757f1e9e4957/medium-7e48b56f47456a721c12a1edbc5c39b5.jpg)
Elements of Creative Writing
J.D. Schraffenberger, University of Northern Iowa
Rachel Morgan, University of Northern Iowa
Grant Tracey, University of Northern Iowa
Copyright Year:
ISBN 13: 9780915996179
Publisher: University of Northern Iowa
Language: English
Formats Available
Conditions of Use
Attribution-NonCommercial
CC BY-NC
Reviews
![whole star](/assets/common/stars/star-whole-ebbcf1b563cbe9541b78044e6b52045cacd7a60851025c21fbfe9e895eefaa76.webp)
![whole star](/assets/common/stars/star-whole-ebbcf1b563cbe9541b78044e6b52045cacd7a60851025c21fbfe9e895eefaa76.webp)
![whole star](/assets/common/stars/star-whole-ebbcf1b563cbe9541b78044e6b52045cacd7a60851025c21fbfe9e895eefaa76.webp)
![whole star](/assets/common/stars/star-whole-ebbcf1b563cbe9541b78044e6b52045cacd7a60851025c21fbfe9e895eefaa76.webp)
![half star](/assets/common/stars/star-half-dd85ac3532d858bb1353d76a7648072e001179cb312ea9ff11b394d995c2bba2.webp)
Unlike Starkey's CREATIVE WRITING: FOUR GENRES IN BRIEF, this textbook does not include a section on drama. read more
Unlike Starkey's CREATIVE WRITING: FOUR GENRES IN BRIEF, this textbook does not include a section on drama.
As far as I can tell, content is accurate, error free and unbiased.
The book is relevant and up-to-date.
The text is clear and easy to understand.
I would agree that the text is consistent in terms of terminology and framework.
Text is modular, yes, but I would like to see the addition of a section on dramatic writing.
Topics are presented in logical, clear fashion.
Navigation is good.
No grammatical issues that I could see.
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.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
Fiction
- Chapter One: One Great Way to Write a Short Story
- Chapter Two: Plotting
- Chapter Three: Counterpointed Plotting
- Chapter Four: Show and Tell
- Chapter Five: Characterization and Method Writing
- Chapter Six: Character and Dialouge
- Chapter Seven: Setting, Stillness, and Voice
- Chapter Eight: Point of View
- Chapter Nine: Learning the Unwritten Rules
Poetry
- Chapter One: A Poetry State of Mind
- Chapter Two: The Architecture of a Poem
- Chapter Three: Sound
- Chapter Four: Inspiration and Risk
- Chapter Five: Endings and Beginnings
- Chapter Six: Figurative Language
- Chapter Seven: Forms, Forms, Forms
- Chapter Eight: Go to the Image
- Chapter Nine: The Difficult Simplicity of Short Poems and Killing Darlings
Creative Nonfiction
- Chapter One: Creative Nonfiction and the Essay
- Chapter Two: Truth and Memory, Truth in Memory
- Chapter Three: Research and History
- Chapter Four: Writing Environments
- Chapter Five: Notes on Style
- Chapter Six: Figurative Language
- Chapter Seven: Imagery and the Senses
- Chapter Eight: Writing the Body
- Chapter Nine: Forms
Back Matter
- Authors
- Contributors
- North American Review Staff
Ancillary Material
About the Book
This free and open access textbook introduces new writers to some basic elements of the craft of creative writing in the genres of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. The authors—Rachel Morgan, Jeremy Schraffenberger, and Grant Tracey—are editors of the North American Review, the oldest and one of the most well-regarded literary magazines in the United States. They’ve selected nearly all of the readings and examples (more than 60) from writing that has appeared in NAR pages over the years. Because they had a hand in publishing these pieces originally, their perspective as editors permeates this book. As such, they hope that even seasoned writers might gain insight into the aesthetics of the magazine as they analyze and discuss some reasons this work is so remarkable—and therefore teachable. This project was supported by NAR staff and funded via the UNI Textbook Equity Mini-Grant Program.
About the Contributors
Authors
J.D. Schraffenberger is a professor of English at the University of Northern Iowa. He is the author of two books of poems, Saint Joe's Passion and The Waxen Poor, and co-author with Martín Espada and Lauren Schmidt of The Necessary Poetics of Atheism. His other work has appeared in Best of Brevity, Best Creative Nonfiction, Notre Dame Review, Poetry East, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere.
Rachel Morgan is an instructor of English at the University of Northern Iowa. She is the author of the chapbook Honey & Blood, Blood & Honey. Her work is included in the anthology Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in American and has appeared in the Journal of American Medical Association, Boulevard, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere.
Grant Tracey author of three novels in the Hayden Fuller Mysteries; the chapbook Winsome featuring cab driver Eddie Sands; and the story collection Final Stanzas, is fiction editor of the North American Review and an English professor at the University of Northern Iowa, where he teaches film, modern drama, and creative writing. Nominated four times for a Pushcart Prize, he has published nearly fifty short stories and three previous collections. He has acted in over forty community theater productions and has published critical work on Samuel Fuller and James Cagney. He lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa.