Elements of Creative Writing

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J.D. Schraffenberger, University of Northern Iowa

Rachel Morgan, University of Northern Iowa

Grant Tracey, University of Northern Iowa

ISBN 13: 9780915996179

Publisher: University of Northern Iowa

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of Use

Attribution-NonCommercial
CC BY-NC

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

University of Northern Iowa

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.

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