We all do it. We perpetuate these myths, and often they can be good advice and even good teaching tools, yet just as often these five catch phrases can create stumbling blocks. They aren’t right for everyone in every situation. Know Your Characters’ Motivation This is the myth that started me thinking about writing this post.Continue reading “5 Creative Writing Myths Debunked”
Author Archives: Kendall Dunkelberg
Creative Writing Final Exam
This is a follow-up post to my series on teaching a 4-genre introductory creative writing class: Why 4 Genres?, How I teach 4 Genres in 1 Semester, Part I, How I teach 4 Genres in 1 Semester, Part II, How I teach 4 Genres in 1 Semester, Part III, and Teaching Creative Writing with Literary Magazines. All have been written asContinue reading “Creative Writing Final Exam”
Where Have I Been?
It’s been just over a month since my last post to this blog. Before that, I had been on a roll, posting frequently about creative writing pedagogy issues and my new textbook. So what happened? Life — Okay, Spring Break That’s right. Once every semester, even professors get to take a break. Often this isContinue reading “Where Have I Been?”
Teaching Creative Writing with Literary Magazines
I’m a big fan of teaching creative writing with literary magazines, and have been doing it my whole my career. When I first started teaching Creative Writing, I used the textbook The Creative Process by Carol Burke and Molly Best Tinsley. It is a thin little book with chapters on poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, along withContinue reading “Teaching Creative Writing with Literary Magazines”
How I teach 4 Genres in 1 Semester, Part III
In the first parts of this series, I discussed why I teach 4 genres, how teaching 4 genres is more efficient, and how small group workshops help me juggle 4 genres in one class. That covers about the first 50-60% of a semester, but now I’d like to turn to what I do in the restContinue reading “How I teach 4 Genres in 1 Semester, Part III”
How I teach 4 Genres in 1 Semester, Part II
One question I get about my new textbook A Writer’s Craft is, how is it possible to teach poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and drama all in one semester? This post is a continuation of “How I teach 4 Genres in 1 Semester, Part I,” where I talk about the efficiencies of teaching 4 genres at the intro levelContinue reading “How I teach 4 Genres in 1 Semester, Part II”
How I teach 4 Genres in 1 Semester, Part I
Teaching creative writing in 4 genres makes it more interesting, fun, and efficient than teaching the genres individually; you can see how each genre relates to and informs the others.
Why 4 Genres?
Why 4 genres? Because it is challenging, rewarding, and fun to teach them together and learn things from each that can be applied to any genre.
Good News Today
This morning, I heard from my publisher, Palgrave/Macmillan, about my introductory creative writing textbook A Writer’s Craft, so I updated my book page with information, including the projected pub date (August) and price ($24.00 / £14.99).
Why I Support the Mississippi Arts Commission
This week we learned that there is a bill in the Mississippi Senate to close the Mississippi Arts Commission and consolidate it under the Mississippi Development Authority. The Arts Commission director was blind-sided by this news, and obviously there was no planning with the commission that led to the proposal. According to the Clarion Ledger,Continue reading “Why I Support the Mississippi Arts Commission”
Kendall Dunkelberg 