best books on teaching creative writing

The 20+ Best Books on Creative Writing

If you’ve ever wondered, “How do I write a book?”, “How do I write a short story?”, or “How do I write a poem?” you’re not alone. I’m halfway done my MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts , and I ask myself these questions a lot, too, though I’m noticing that by now I feel more comfortable with the answers that fit my personal craft. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a Master’s of Fine Arts in Writing candidate, or even a college graduate, in order to soak up the great Wisdom of Words, as I like to call it. Another word for it is craft . That’s because there are so many great books out there on writing craft. In this post, I’ll guide you through 20+ of the most essential books on creative writing. These essential books for writers will teach you what you need to know to write riveting stories and emotionally resonant books—and to sell them.

I just also want to put in a quick plug for my post with the word count of 175 favorite novels . This resource is helpful for any writer.

Now, with that done… Let’s get to it!

What Made the List of Essential Books for Writers—and What Didn’t

So what made the list? And what didn’t?

Unique to this list, these are all books that I have personally used in my journey as a creative and commercial writer.

That journey started when I was 15 and extended through majoring in English and Creative Writing as an undergrad at UPenn through becoming a freelance writer in 2014, starting this book blog, pursuing my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts , and publishing some fiction and nonfiction books myself . My point here is not to boast, just to explain that these books have all helped me better understand and apply the craft, discipline, and business of writing over the course of more than half my life as I’ve walked the path to become a full-time writer. Your mileage my vary , but each of these books have contributed to my growth as a writer in some way. I’m not endorsing books I’ve never read or reviewed. This list comes from my heart (and pen!).

Most of these books are geared towards fiction writers, not poetry or nonfiction writers

It’s true that I’m only one human and can only write so much in one post. Originally, I wanted this list to be more than 25 books on writing. Yes, 25 books! But it’s just not possible to manage that in a single post. What I’ll do is publish a follow-up article with even more books for writers. Stay tuned!

The most commonly recommended books on writing are left out.

Why? Because they’re everywhere! I’m aiming for under-the-radar books on writing, ones that aren’t highlighted often enough. You’ll notice that many of these books are self-published because I wanted to give voice to indie authors.

But I did want to include a brief write-up of these books… and, well, you’ve probably heard of them, but here are 7 of the most recommended books on writing:

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron – With her guided practice on how to rejuvenate your art over the course of 16 weeks, Cameron has fashioned an enduring classic about living and breathing your craft (for artists as well as writers). This book is perhaps best known for popularizing the morning pages method.

The Art of Fiction by John Gardner – If you want to better understand how fiction works, John Gardner will be your guide in this timeless book.

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott – A beloved writing book on process, craft, and overcoming stumbling blocks (both existential and material).

On Writing by Stephen King – A must-read hybrid memoir-craft book on the writer mythos and reality for every writer.

Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose – A core writing book that teaches you how to read with a writer’s eye and unlock the ability to recognize and analyze craft for yourself.

Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin – Many writers consider this to be their bible on craft and storytelling.

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg – A favorite of many writers, this book takes an almost spiritual approach to the art, craft, and experience of writing.

I’m aiming for under-the-radar books on writing on my list.

These books are all in print.

Over the years, I’ve picked up several awesome books on creative writing from used bookstores. Oh, how I wish I could recommend these! But many of them are out of print. The books on this list are all available new either as eBooks, hardcovers, or paperbacks. I guess this is the right time for my Affiliate Link disclaimer:

This article contains affiliate links, which means I might get a small portion of your purchase. For more on my affiliate link policy, check out my official Affiliate Link Disclaimer .

You’ll notice a lot of the books focus on the business of writing.

Too often, money is a subject that writers won’t talk about. I want to be upfront about the business of writing and making a living as a writer (or not ) with these books. It’s my goal to get every writer, even poets!, to look at writing not just from a craft perspective, but from a commercial POV, too.

And now on to the books!

Part i: the best books on writing craft, the anatomy of story by john truby.

For you if: You want to develop an instinctive skill at understanding the contours of storytelling .

All I want to do as a writer, my MO, is tell good stories well. It took me so long to understand that what really matters to me is good storytelling. That’s it—that’s the essence of what we do as writers… tell good stories well. And in The Anatomy of Story , legendary screenwriting teacher John Truby takes you through story theory. This book is packed with movie references to illustrate the core beat points in story, and many of these example films are actually literary adaptations, making this a crossover craft book for fiction writers and screenwriters alike.

How to read it: Purchase The Anatomy of Story on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

The art of memoir by mary karr.

For you if: You’re writing a memoir book or personal essays .

Nobody is a better person to teach memoir writing than Mary Karr, whose memoirs The Liar’s Club and Lit are considered classics of the genre. In The Art of Memoir , Karr delivers a master class on memoir writing, adapted from her experience as a writer and a professor in Syracuse’s prestigious MFA program. What I love about this book as an aspiring memoirist is Karr’s approach, which blends practical, actionable advice with more bigger-picture concepts on things like truth vs. fact in memoir storytelling. Like I said in the intro to this list, I didn’t include many nonfiction and poetry books on this list, but I knew I had to make an exception for The Art of Memoir .

How to read it: Purchase The Art of Memoir on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

The emotional craft of fiction by donald maass.

For you if: Plot isn’t your problem, it’s character .

From literary agent Donald Maass, The Emotional Craft of Fiction gives you the skill set you need to master emotionally engaging fiction. Maass’s technique is to show you how readers get pulled into the most resonant, engaging, and unforgettable stories: by going through an emotional journey nimbly crafted by the author. The Emotional Craft of Fiction is a must-have work of craft to balance more plot-driven craft books.

How to read it: Purchase the The Emotional Craft of Fiction on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

How to Write Using the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson

For you if: You need a quick-and-dirty plotting technique that’s easy to memorize .

I first heard of the “Snowflake Method” in the National Novel Writing Month forums (which, by the way, are excellent places for finding writing craft worksheets, book recommendations, and online resources). In How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method , the Snowflake Method is introduced by its creator. This quick yet thorough plotting and outlining structure is humble and easy to master. If you don’t have time to read a bunch of books on outlining and the hundreds of pages that would require, check out How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method for a quick, 235-page read.

How to read it: Purchase How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

Meander, spiral, explode: design and pattern in narrative by jane alison.

For you if: You want to do a deep dive understanding of the core theory of story, a.k.a. narrative.

A most unconventional writing craft book, Meander, Spiral, Explode offers a theory of narrative (story) as recognizable patterns. According to author Jane Alison, there are three main narrative narratives in writing: meandering, spiraling, and exploding. This cerebral book (chock full of examples!) is equal parts seminar on literary theory as it is craft, and it will make you see and understand storytelling better than maybe any book on this list.

How to read it: Purchase Meander, Spiral, Explode on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

The modern library writer’s workshop by stephen koch.

For you if: You’re wondering what it means to be the writer you want to become .

This is one of the earliest creative writing books I ever bought and it remains among the best I’ve read. Why? Reading The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop echoes the kind of mind-body-spirit approach you need to take to writing. The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop doesn’t teach you the nuts and bolts of writing as much as it teaches you how to envision the machine. Koch zooms out to big picture stuff as much as zeroes in on the little details. This is an outstanding book about getting into the mindset of being a writer, not just in a commercial sense, but as your passion and identity. It’s as close as you’ll get to the feel of an MFA in Fiction education.

How to read it: Purchase The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

Romancing the beat by gwen hayes.

For you if: You write or edit the romance genre and want a trusted plotting strategy to craft the perfect love story .

If you’re writing romance, you have to get Gwen Hayes’s Romancing the Beat . This book breaks down the plot points or “beats” you want to hit when you’re crafting your romance novel. When I worked as a romance novel outliner (yes, a real job), our team used Romancing the Beat as its bible; every outline was structured around Hayes’s formula. For romance writers (like myself) I cannot endorse it any higher.

How to read it: Purchase Romancing the Beat on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

Save the cat writes a novel by jessica brody.

For you if: You have big ideas for a plot but need to work on the smaller moments that propel stories .

Jessica Brody’s Save the Cat! Writes a Novel adapts Blake Snyder’s bestselling screenwriting book Save the Cat! into story craft for writing novels. Brody reworks the Save the Cat! methodology in actionable, point-by-point stages of story that are each explained with countless relevant examples. If you want to focus your efforts on plot, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel is an excellent place to go to start learning the ins and outs of what makes a good story.

How to read it: Purchase Save the Cat! Writes a Novel on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

Story genius by lisa cron.

For you if: You’re a pantser and are terrified at outlining yet also realize you might have a “plot problem .”

More than any other book, Lisa Cron’s Story Genius will get you where you need to go for writing amazing stories. Story Genius helps you look at plotting differently, starting from a point of characterization in which our protagonists have a clearly defined need and misbelief that play off each other and move the story forward from an emotional interior and action exterior standpoint. For many of my fellow MFA students—and myself— Story Genius is the missing link book for marrying plot and character so you innately understand the contours of good story.

How to read it: Purchase Story Genius on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

Wonderbook: the illustrated guide to creating imaginative fiction by jeff vandermeer.

For you if: You’re writing in a speculative fiction genre—like science fiction, fantasy, or horror—or are trying to better understand those genres.

Jeff VanderMeer’s Wonderbook is a dazzling gem of a book and a can’t-miss-it writing book for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers. This book will teach you all the skills you need to craft speculative fiction, like world-building, with micro-lessons and close-reads of excellent works in these genres. Wonderbook is also one to linger over, with lavish illustrations and every inch and corner crammed with craft talk for writing imaginative fiction (sometimes called speculative fiction). And who better to guide you through this than Jeff VanderMeer, author of the popular Southern Reach Trilogy, which kicks off with Annihilation , which was adapted into a feature film.

How to read it: Purchase Wonderbook on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

Writing picture books by ann whitford paul.

For you if: You’re looking to write picture books and/or understand how they work .

This book is the only one you need to learn how to write and sell picture books. As an MFA student studying children’s literature, I’ve consulted with this book several times as I’ve dipped my toes into writing picture books, a form I considered scary and intimidating until reading this book. Writing Picture Books should be on the shelf of any writer of children’s literature. a.k.a. “kid lit.”

How to read it: Purchase Writing Picture Books on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

Writing with emotion, conflict, and tension by cheryl st. john.

For you if: You need to work on the conflict, tension, and suspense that keep readers turning pages and your story going forward .

Mmm, conflict. As I said earlier, it’s the element of fiction writing that makes a story interesting and a key aspect of characterization that is underrated. In Writing with Emotion, Tension, and Conflict , bestselling romance author Cheryl St. John offers a masterclass on the delicate dance between incorporating conflict, the emotions it inspires in characters, and the tension that results from those two factors.

How to read it: Purchase Writing with Emotion, Tension, and Conflict on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

Part ii: the best books on the productivity, mfas, and the business of writing, 2k to 10k: writing faster, writing better, and writing more of what you love by rachel aaron.

For you if: You struggle to find the time to write and always seem to be a chapter or two behind schedule .

If you’re struggling to find time of your own to write with competing obligations (family, work, whatever) making that hard, you need Rachel Aaron’s 2k to 10k . This book will get you in shape to go from writing just a few words an hour to, eventually, 10,000 words a day. Yes, you read that right. 10,000 words a day. At that rate, you can complete so many more projects and publish more. Writers simply cannot afford to waste time if they want to keep up the kind of production that leads to perpetual publication. Trust me, Aaron’s method works. It has for me. I’m on my way to 10k in the future, currently at like 4 or 5k a day for me at the moment.

How to read it: Purchase 2k to 10k on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

The 3 a.m. epiphany by brian kitele.

For you if: You’re going through writer’s block, have been away from writing for a while, or just want to loosen up and try something new .

Every writer must own an an exercise or prompt book. Why? Because regularly practicing your writing by going outside your current works-in-progress (or writer’s block) will free you up, help you plant the seeds for new ideas, and defrost your creative blocks. And the best book writing exercise book I know is The 3 A.M. Epiphany by Brian Kiteley, an MFA professor who uses prompts like these with his grad students. You’ll find that this book (and its sequel, The 4 A.M. Breakthrough ) go beyond cutesy exercises and forces you to push outside your comfort zone and learn something from the writing you find there.

How to read it: Purchase The 3 A.M. Epiphany on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

The 4-hour workweek by timothy ferriss.

For you if: You think being a writer means you have to be poor .

The 4-Hour Workweek changed my life. Although not strictly about writing in the traditional sense, The 4-Hour Workweek does an excellent job teaching you about how passive income can offer you freedom. I first heard about The 4-Hour Workweek when I was getting into tarot in 2013. On Biddy Tarot , founder Brigit (author of some of the best books on tarot ) related how she read this book, learned how to create passive income, and quit her corporate job to read tarot full time. As a person with a total and permanent disability, this spoke to me because it offered a way out of the 9-to-5 “active” income that I thought was the only way. I picked up Ferriss’s book and learned that there’s more than one option, and that passive income is a viable way for me to make money even when I’m too sick to work. I saw this come true last year when I was in the hospital. When I got out, I checked my stats and learned I’d made money off my blog and books even while I was hospitalized and couldn’t do any “active” work. I almost cried.; I’ve been working on my passive income game since 2013, and I saw a return on that time investment when I needed it most.

That’s why I’m recommending The 4-Hour Workweek to writers. So much of our trade is producing passive income products. Yes, your books are products! And for many writers, this means rewiring your brain to stop looking at writing strictly as an art that will leave you impoverished for life and start approaching writing as a business that can earn you a real living through passive income. No book will help you break out of that mindset better than The 4-Hour Workweek and its actionable steps, proven method, and numerous examples of people who have followed the strategy and are living the lifestyle they’ve always dreamed of but never thought was possible.

How to read it: Purchase The 4-Hour Workweek on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer’s Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book by Courtney Maum

For you if: You’re serious about making a living as a writer and publishing with a Big 5 or major indie publisher .

Courtney Maum’s Before and After the Book Deal addresses exactly what its title suggests: what happens after you sell your first book. This book is for ambitious writers intent on submission who know they want to write and want to avoid common pitfalls while negotiating terms and life after your debut. As many published authors would tell you, the debut is one thing, but following that book up with a sustainable, successful career is another trick entirely. Fortunately, we have Maum’s book, packed with to-the-moment details and advice.

How to read it: Purchase Before and After the Book Deal on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

Diy mfa: write with focus, read with purpose, build your community by gabriela pereira.

For you if: You’re stressed out wondering if you really need an MFA .

The MFA is under this header “business of writing” because it is absolutely an economic choice you make. And, look, I’m biased. I’m getting an MFA. But back when I was grappling with whether or not it was worth it—the debt, the time, the stress—I consulted with DIY MFA , an exceptional guide to learning how to enrich your writing craft, career, and community outside the structures of an MFA program. I’ve also more than once visited the companion site, DIYMFA.com , to find a kind of never-ending rabbit hole of new and timeless content on the writing life. On DIYMFA.com and in the corresponding book, you’ll find a lively hub for author interviews, writing craft shop talk, reading lists, and business of writing articles.

How to read it: Purchase DIY MFA on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

Mfa vs. nyc by chad harbach.

For you if: You’re wondering how far an MFA really gets you—and you’re ready to learn the realities of the publishing world .

About a thousand years ago (well, in 2007), I spent the fall of my sophomore year of college as a “Fiction Submissions and Advertising Intern” for the literary magazine n+1 , which was co-founded by Chad Harbach, who you might know from his buzzy novel, The Art of Fielding . In MFA vs NYC , Harbach offers his perspective as both an MFA graduate and someone deeply enmeshed in the New York City publishing industry. This thought-provoking look at these two arenas that launch writers will pull the wool up from your eyes about how publishing really works . It’s not just Harbach’s voice you get in here, though. The book, slim but mighty, includes perspectives from the likes of George Saunders and David Foster Wallace in the MFA camp and Emily Gould and Keith Gessen speaking to NYC’s writing culture.

How to read it: Purchase MFA vs. NYC on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

Scratch: writers, money, and the art of making a living – edited by manjula martin.

For you if: a) You’re worried about how to balance writing with making a living; b) You’re not worried about how to balance writing with making a living .

Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living is alternately one of the most underrated and essential books on writing out there. This collection of personal essays and interviews all revolve around the taboo theme of how writers make their living, and it’s not always—indeed, rarely—through writing alone. Some of the many contributing authors include Cheryl Strayed ( Wild ), Alexander Chee ( How to Write an Autobiographical Novel ), Jennifer Weiner ( Mrs. Everything ), Austin Kleon ( Steal Like an Artist ), and many others. Recently a young woman asked me for career advice on being a professional freelance writer, and I made sure to recommend Scratch as an eye-opening and candid read that is both motivating and candid.

How to read it: Purchase Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

Write to market: deliver a book that sells by chris fox.

For you if: You don’t know why your books aren’t selling—and you want to start turning a profit by getting a real publishing strategy

So you don’t have to be an indie author to internalize the invaluable wisdom you’ll find here in Write to Market . I first heard about Write to Market when I first joined the 20Booksto50K writing group on Facebook , a massive, supportive, motivating community of mostly indie authors. Everyone kept talking about Write to Market . I read the book in a day and found the way I looked at publishing change. Essentially, what Chris Fox does in Write to Market is help you learn to identify what are viable publishing niches. Following his method, I’ve since published several successful and #1 bestselling books in the quotations genre on Amazon . Without Fox’s book, I’m not sure I would have gotten there on my own.

How to read it: Purchase Write to Market on Amazon and add it on Goodreads

And that’s a wrap what are some of your favorite writing books, share this:, you might be interested in.

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Sarah S. Davis is the founder of Broke by Books, a blog about her journey as a schizoaffective disorder bipolar type writer and reader. Sarah's writing about books has appeared on Book Riot, Electric Literature, Kirkus Reviews, BookRags, PsychCentral, and more. She has a BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Library and Information Science from Clarion University, and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

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Nonfiction Books » Language » Writing Books

The best books on creative writing, recommended by andrew cowan.

The professor of creative writing at UEA says Joseph Conrad got it right when he said that the sitting down is all. He chooses five books to help aspiring writers.

Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande

On Becoming a Novelist by John C. Gardner

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

The Forest for the Trees by Betsy Lerner

Worstward Ho by Samuel Beckett

1 Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande

2 on becoming a novelist by john c. gardner, 3 on writing: a memoir of the craft by stephen king, 4 the forest for the trees by betsy lerner, 5 worstward ho by samuel beckett.

How would you describe creative writing?

But because it is in academia there is all this paraphernalia that has to go with it. So you get credits for attending classes. You have to do supporting modules; you have to be assessed. If you are doing an undergraduate degree you have to follow a particular curriculum and only about a quarter of that will be creative writing and the rest will be in the canon of English literature . If you are doing a PhD you have to support whatever the creative element is with a critical element. So there are these ways in which academia disciplines writing and I think of that as Creative Writing with a capital C and a capital W. All of us who teach creative writing are doing it, in a sense, to support our writing, but it is also often at the expense of our writing. We give up quite a lot of time and mental energy and also, I think, imaginative and creative energy to teach.

Your first choice is Dorothea Brande’s Becoming a Writer , which for someone writing in 1934 sounds pretty forward thinking.

Because creative writing has now taken off and has become this very widespread academic discipline it is beginning to acquire its own canon of key works and key texts. This is one of the oldest of them. It’s a book that almost anyone who teaches creative writing will have read. They will probably have read it because some fundamentals are explained and I think the most important one is Brande’s sense of the creative writer being comprised of two people. One of them is the artist and the other is the critic.

Actually, Malcolm Bradbury who taught me at UEA, wrote the foreword to my edition of Becoming a Writer , and he talks about how Dorothea Brande was writing this book ‘in Freudian times’ – the 1930s in the States. And she does have this very Freudian idea of the writer as comprised of a child artist on the one hand, who is associated with spontaneity, unconscious processes, while on the other side there is the adult critic making very careful discriminations.

And did she think the adult critic hindered the child artist?

No. Her point is that the two have to work in harmony and in some way the writer has to achieve an effective balance between the two, which is often taken to mean that you allow the artist child free rein in the morning. So you just pour stuff on to the page in the morning when you are closest to the condition of sleep. The dream state for the writer is the one that is closest to the unconscious. And then in the afternoon you come back to your morning’s work with your critical head on and you consciously and objectively edit it. Lots of how-to-write books encourage writers to do it that way. It is also possible that you can just pour stuff on to the page for days on end as long as you come back to it eventually with a critical eye.

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Good! Your next book, John Gardner’s On Becoming a Novelist , is described as comfort food for the aspiring novelist.

This is another one of the classics. He was quite a successful novelist in the States, but possibly an even more successful teacher of creative writing. The short story writer and poet Raymond Carver, for instance, was one of his students. And he died young in a motorcycle accident when he was 49. There are two classic works by him. One is this book, On Becoming a Novelist , and the other is The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers . They were both put together from his teaching notes after he died.

On Becoming a Novelist  is the more succinct and, I think, is the better of the two. He talks about automatic writing and the idea, just like Dorothea Brande, of the artist being comprised of two people. But his key idea is the notion of the vivid and continuous dream. He suggests that when we read a novel we submit to the logic of that novel in the same way as we might submit to the logic of a dream – we sink into it, and clearly the events that occur could not exist outside the imagination.

What makes student writing in particular go wrong is when it draws attention to itself, either through bad writing or over-elaborate writing. He suggests that these faults in the aspirant writer alert the reader to the fact that they are reading a fiction and it is a bit like giving someone who is dreaming a nudge. It jolts them out of the dream. So he proposes that the student writer should try to create a dream state in the reader that is vivid and appeals to all the senses and is continuous. What you mustn’t do is alert the reader to the fact that they are reading a fiction.

It is a very good piece of advice for writers starting out but it is ultimately very limiting. It rules out all the great works of modernism and post-modernism, anything which is linguistically experimental. It rules out anything which draws attention to the words as words on a page. It’s a piece of advice which really applies to the writing of realist fiction, but is a very good place from which to begin.

And then people can move on.

I never would have expected the master of terror Stephen King to write a book about writing. But your next choice, On Writing , is more of an autobiography .

Yes. It is a surprise to a lot of people that this book is so widely read on university campuses and so widely recommended by teachers of writing. Students love it. It’s bracing: there’s no nonsense. He says somewhere in the foreword or preface that it is a short book because most books are filled with bullshit and he is determined not to offer bullshit but to tell it like it is.

It is autobiographical. It describes his struggle to emerge from his addictions – to alcohol and drugs – and he talks about how he managed to pull himself and his family out of poverty and the dead end into which he had taken them. He comes from a very disadvantaged background and through sheer hard work and determination he becomes this worldwide bestselling author. This is partly because of his idea of the creative muse. Most people think of this as some sprite or fairy that is usually feminine and flutters about your head offering inspiration. His idea of the muse is ‘a basement guy’, as he calls him, who is grumpy and turns up smoking a cigar. You have to be down in the basement every day clocking in to do your shift if you want to meet the basement guy.

Stephen King has this attitude that if you are going to be a writer you need to keep going and accept that quite a lot of what you produce is going to be rubbish and then you are going to revise it and keep working at it.

Do you agree with him?

He sounds inspirational. Your next book, Betsy Lerner’s The Forest for the Trees , looks at things from the editor’s point of view.

Yes, she was an editor at several major American publishing houses, such as Simon & Schuster. She went on to become an agent, and also did an MFA in poetry before that, so she came through the US creative writing process and understands where many writers are coming from.

The book is divided into two halves. In the second half she describes the process that goes from the completion of the author’s manuscript to submitting it to agents and editors. She explains what goes on at the agent’s offices and the publisher’s offices. She talks about the drawing up of contracts, negotiating advances and royalties. So she takes the manuscript from the author’s hands, all the way through the publishing process to its appearance in bookshops. She describes that from an insider’s point of view, which is hugely interesting.

But the reason I like this book is for the first half of it, which is very different. Here she offers six chapters, each of which is a character sketch of a different type of author. She has met each of them and so although she doesn’t mention names you feel she is revealing something to you about authors whose books you may have read. She describes six classic personality types. She has the ambivalent writer, the natural, the wicked child, the self-promoter, the neurotic and a chapter called ‘Touching Fire’, which is about the addictive and the mentally unstable.

Your final choice is Worstward Ho by Samuel Beckett .

This is a tiny book – it is only about 40 pages and it has got these massive white margins and really large type. I haven’t counted, but I would guess it is only about two to three thousand words and it is dressed up as a novella when it is really only a short story. On the first page there is this riff: ‘Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.’

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When I read this I thought I had discovered a slogan for the classroom that I could share with my students. I want to encourage them to make mistakes and not to be perfectionists, not to feel that everything they do has to be of publishable standard. The whole point of doing a course, especially a creative writing MA and attending workshops, is that you can treat the course as a sandpit. You go in there, you try things out which otherwise you wouldn’t try, and then you submit it to the scrutiny of your classmates and you get feedback. Inevitably there will be things that don’t work and your classmates will help you to identify those so that you can take it away and redraft it – you can try again. And inevitably you are going to fail again because any artistic endeavour is doomed to failure because the achievement can never match the ambition. That’s why artists keep producing their art and writers keep writing, because the thing you did last just didn’t quite satisfy you, just wasn’t quite right. And you keep going and trying to improve on that.

But why, when so much of it is about failing – failing to get published, failing to be satisfied, failing to be inspired – do writers carry on?

I have a really good quote from Joseph Conrad in which he says the sitting down is all. He spends eight hours at his desk, trying to write, failing to write, foaming at the mouth, and in the end wanting to hit his head on the wall but refraining from that for fear of alarming his wife!

It’s a familiar situation; lots of writers will have been there. For me it is a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is something I have to keep returning to. I have to keep going back to the sentences, trying to get them right. Trying to line them up correctly. I can’t let them go. It is endlessly frustrating because they are never quite right.

You have published four books. Are you happy with them?

Reasonably happy. Once they are done and gone I can relax and feel a little bit proud of them. But at the time I just experience agonies. It takes me ages. It takes me four or five years to finish a novel partly because I always find distractions – like working in academia – something that will keep me away from the writing, which is equally as unrewarding as it is rewarding!

September 27, 2012

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Andrew Cowan

Andrew Cowan is Professor of Creative Writing and Director of the Creative Writing programme at UEA. His first novel, Pig , won the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, the Betty Trask Award, the Ruth Hadden Memorial Prize, the Author’s Club First Novel Award and a Scottish Council Book Award. He is also the author of the novels Common Ground , Crustaceans ,  What I Know  and  Worthless Men . His own creative writing guidebook is  The  Art  of  Writing  Fiction .

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Teaching Creative Writing

• © 2012
• Heather Beck 0

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A Diverse Approach to Teaching Creative Writing

Creative Writing for Professional Writing Majors

How to Teach Creatively

• creative writing
• critical theory

Table of contents (25 chapters)

Front matter, introduction.

Heather Beck

A Short History of Creative Writing in British Universities

• Graeme Harper

A Short History of Creative Writing in America

• DeWitt Henry

On the Reform of Creative Writing

• David G. Myers

Creative Writing and Creative Reading in the Poetry Workshop

• Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Jena Osman

The Irrational Element in the Undergraduate Poetry Workshop: Beyond Craft

• Gary Hawkins

The Creative Writing Workshop: a Survival Kit

• Michelene Wandor

Undergraduate Creative Writing

Undergraduate creative writing provision in the uk: origins, trends and student views, undergraduate creative writing in the united states: buying in isn’t selling out, hidden purposes of undergraduate creative writing: power, self and knowledge.

• Hans Ostrom

No Factories, Please — We’re Writers

• Maureen Freely

Postgraduate Creative Writing

Teaching creative writing at postgraduate levels: the sheffield hallam experience.

• Steven Earnshaw

Creative Writing and Ph.D. Research

A critique of postgraduate workshops and a case for low-residency mfas.

• Robin Hemley

Get Citation

As the online world of creative writing teaching, learning, and collaborating grows in popularity and necessity, this book explores the challenges and unique benefits of teaching creative writing online.

This collection highlights expert voices who have taught creative writing effectively in the online environment, to broaden the conversation regarding online education in the discipline, and to provide clarity for English and writing departments interested in expanding their offerings to include online creative writing courses but doing so in a way that serves students and the discipline appropriately.

Interesting as it is useful, Theories and Strategies for Teaching Creative Writing Online offers a contribution to creative writing scholarship and begins a vibrant discussion specifically regarding effectiveness of online education in the discipline.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 | 9  pages, don’t short circuit the muse, chapter 2 | 7  pages, teaching creative writing online without tears, chapter 3 | 14  pages, when the way you read is who you are, chapter 4 | 10  pages, making the write impression, chapter 5 | 16  pages, navigating trauma in the online creative writing classroom, chapter 6 | 14  pages, software and hardware tools for teaching creative writing and self-editing online, chapter 7 | 17  pages, zoom in and zoom out, chapter 8 | 13  pages, digital pedagogy in the online creative writing classroom, chapter 9 | 18  pages, designing peer review, chapter 10 | 10  pages, taking the poetry exercise online, chapter 11 | 10  pages, a sense of openness, chapter 12 | 10  pages, motivate, accommodate, and emulate, chapter 13 | 15  pages, using flash fiction as a pedagogical tool in teaching creative writing online.

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23 Books for Teaching Writing

• Kristin Halverson
• August 13, 2021
• No Comments

When it comes to teaching writing, I didn’t learn a whole lot in my teacher prep program. It is a skill I have honed over time. I was also fortunate enough to observe some master teachers who excel at their craft and learn from them.

Throughout the years, I’ve amassed a collection of mentor texts for teaching writing – books that I love, the kids love, and also perfectly match the skills I want to teach. Whenever I discover a new picture book, I love to share it with others.

So… here’s my list of 23 books for teaching writing!

General writing, 1 – one day, the end: short, very short, shorter-than-ever stories by rebecca kai dotlich.

Theme: Adding Details

I absolutely adore this story and it is one of my favorite books for teaching writing. I play it up like I have the BEST new book for the students to hear – they’re going to loooove this story. It is so in-depth and there is so much going on in each of the stories – they’ll never believe it is all in one book. And then I start reading. And they crack up because they know how ridiculous the stories sound when they have few to no details. A must-read for all primary grades!

Writing Book 2 –  Ralph Tells a Story by Abby Hanlon

Theme: Finding Inspiration

Secondary Skill: Speech Bubbles/Dialogue

Ralph can’t write a story because nothing ever happens to him…or so he thinks. Ralph avoids writing like the plague because he thinks he has nothing to say, until one day, his classmates help him discover that maybe he does have stories to tell.

3 –  A Squiggly Story by Andrew Larsen

Theme: How To Start Writing/Adding Details (for early writers)

How do you write a story when you don’t know any words, only letters? The little boy in this story discovers the answer from his sister. As she prompts him to add details and move the story along, the little boy realizes that even he can write a story. This is great for emergent writers and has an emphasis on oral storytelling from the few symbols that the boy puts on paper. I love how the teacher and classmates help the little boy continue to develop his story by suggesting ideas – just like we do at school!

4 –  The Best Story by Eileen Spinelli

Theme: Writing from the Heart

This is one of the first books I get out each year from my set of books for teaching writing. I follow it up with a heart map graphic organizer. The main character in this book enters a contest at the library, trying to win for having the best story. The problem is, she keeps getting conflicting information on what makes ‘the best story’ from her family. As she tries to add all these elements to her story, she discovers that the best story is the one that is your own.

Writing Book 5 –  Rocket Writes a Story by Tad Hills

Theme: Finding Inspiration/The Magic of Words

Rocket wants to write his very own story. He starts by collecting words. Then, he decides to use his words to write a story but doesn’t know what to write. As Rocket is guided by the little yellow bird, he slowly develops his story, which he shares with Owl, his newly discovered and eventual friend.

6 –  Author: A True Story by Helen Lester

Theme: The Writing Process/Finding Inspiration

The author tells the story of her life – how she became a writer. I love how she explains the process of becoming a published author and how it takes persistence and practice (as everything does to be good at it!) and she experiences the same things that our students do as they are writing. It demystifies the process of becoming an author, which seems so elusive to children, when they are, in fact, authors themselves!

Writing Book 7 –  Little Red Writing by Joan Holub

Theme: Writing, Words (Grammar), and the Mechanics of a Story

Little Red Writing’s teacher (Mrs. 2 at pencil school) tells the students they will be writing a story. While she gives the basic elements of a story, Little Red sets off to write her story. She encounters a variety of situations that might try to deter her from sticking to the plot – including an adjective forest but also has other problems arise such as a run-on sentence with the help of conjunction glue and all capitals and large punctuation with adverbs. As the author introduces each element, she includes it in the story of Little Red Writing in a comical way. There’s a lot going on with this story, but you can take it one step at a time if you want.

Writing Book 8 –  The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds

Theme: The Magic of Words

Secondary Theme: Helping Others

Anything Peter H. Reynolds writes is gold in my opinion. This is one of my favorite books for teaching writing. Jerome (the main character) collects words in this book. He drops his collection one day and the words combine in ways he had never thought possible. As Jerome begins to share his words with others, he learns that you never know what words will help someone’s day be a little bit brighter. This is a must-read!

9 –  Max’s Words by Kate Banks

Theme: The Magic of Words/Creating Descriptive Sentences

Max wants to be like his brothers who each collect things, so he decides to collect words. His collection grows and grows and Max realizes that while his brothers may have large collections, their collections aren’t worth much – just money, but he can create incredible sentences and stories. The illustrations in this one are fantastic!

Writing Book 10 –  What Do Authors Do? by Eileen Christelow

Theme: The Writing Process

The author based this book on questions children ask her as she does presentations around the country. It is one of a handful of books I’ve got on this list of books for teaching writing that shows the entire process – idea through publishing – for how a book is made (technically two books – a picture book and a chapter book). This book has comic-book style illustrations and has just the right touch of fun and whimsy added to the details of writing.

Writing Book 11 –  The Plot Chickens by Mary Jane Auch

If you like puns, you’ll love this book. It is FULL of them as Henrietta decides to write her own book. She gets advice about ‘hatching a plot,’ creating suspense, having the main character solve their problem, and using the five senses to describe in vivid detail for the reader. Not only does Henrietta write her own book, but she also self-publishes after she is turned down so the reader sees the publishing process as well!

12 –  How This Book Was Made by Mac Barnett

Mac Barnett is another favorite author and does a fabulous job with this piece – especially when you’re looking for books to teach writing. Barnett relays the story of how a book is written and published – with a few interesting side steps along the way from a tiger and pirates. I use this when I introduce sharing as a part of the writing process (in particular) because the book ends with the idea that a book isn’t complete until it has a reader.

13 –  A Perfectly Messed Up Story by Patrick McDonnell

Theme: Your Story (and Life) Aren’t Always Perfect

This story starts out perfectly mundane until a drop of PB and J falls on the page…and the story must adjust. With continued unexpected difficulties from an invisible, perceived reader who isn’t taking very good care of the book, the character and story adjust. This is a great fit for teaching kids that life isn’t always perfect – and we can adjust to continue on.

Writing Book 14 –  The Panda Problem by Deborah Underwood

Theme: Fiction Story Elements

15 –  Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

Theme: Strategies for Getting Unstuck

Secondary Theme: Perseverance, Creativity

Writers get stuck. It happens to everyone. But what do you do when you are stuck? Oliver Jeffers is one of my favorite authors and I love how this book (a pretty quick read) can lead into a conversation of what authors should do when they get stuck. We create an anchor chart and leave it up for reference as long as it is needed!

16 –  Chalk by Bill Thomson, I Walk With Vanessa by Kerascoët, or Any Other Wordless Picture Book

Theme: Illustrations Tell a Story

Illustrations are an important part (if not a critical part, depending on the book) of any picture book. By showing my students one or a few wordless picture books and discussing how we can ‘read’ the story through all the amazing illustrations, they understand that their illustrations are just as important and should a) match the story, b) be detailed, and c) help the reader understand what is going on.

Writing Book 17 –  Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Connor

Theme: Writers Edit and Revise

Students love to be fancy – so I use Fancy Nancy to encourage them to make their writing ‘fancy’ after the draft! We don’t always do this, but when we take a piece through the entire writing process, this is a great text to refer to for getting them to edit and revise their work.

Genre-Specific Writing

18 –  jabari jumps by gaia cornwall.

Theme: Perseverance, Overcoming Your Fears

Jabari is ready to jump off the high dive – he has done everything he needs to do to be ready. But when the time arrives, he isn’t quite sure, although he won’t admit that. He does his warm-up stretches and lets the other kids go first, but eventually, makes the climb up the ladder and takes his dad’s advice to reach his goal.

Potential Writing Prompts:

• Jabari gets nervous to jump off the high dive. Everyone gets nervous. Think of a time you were nervous and write about what made you nervous and how you calmed down.
• Jumping off the high dive for the first time can be scary. Think of a time you did something that scared you. How did you feel when you did the thing that was scary before you did it?
• Jabari perseveres in the story – he doesn’t give up on his goal of jumping off the high dive. Write about a time you persevered – a time when you overcame obstacles to achieve a goal.
• Jabari’s dad supports him in achieving his goal. Think of someone who supports you in achieving your goals. Write about them, what qualities they exhibit that make them so supportive, a time when they supported you, and how they did it.

19 –  A Hat for Mrs. Goldman by Michelle Edwards

Theme: Compassion

Mrs. Goldman knits hats for everyone, with the help of Sophia, who makes the pom-poms. Mrs. Goldman is too busy taking care of everyone else though and doesn’t have a hat for herself so Sophia decides to knit her one. She tries and tries, but the hat is full of mistakes. Sophia comes up with a creative solution to her problem to make a one-of-a-kind hat for Mrs. Goldman.

• Mrs. Goldman shows compassion for others by knitting them hats. How do you show compassion for others? Write about a time you showed someone or something compassion.
• Sophia is a child, but notices a need in her neighbor and shows her compassion by knitting her a hat. What is something that your class could do to show compassion? Think about where there might be a need in your community and write about how you could help!
• Sophia’s hat is full of holes, but she comes up with a creative solution to the problem. Think about a time you solved a problem. Write about the problem and how you solved it.

Argumentative:

Writing book 20 –  can i be your dog by troy cummings.

Theme: Compassion, Empathy

Arfy is a homeless mutt living in a box in the alley – he needs a home. So, he writes a series of letters to all the residents of Butternut Street (starting with the nicest looking house and ending with the one that is kind of scary looking, but he is so desperate he would take anything), and one by one they turn him down. Just when he thinks all hope is lost, a solution presents itself. I cried the first time I read this one – it is a winner in my book!

• Arfy gets many rejection letters, but he keeps trying to find a loving home and family because it is so important to him. Why is it important to not give up when something is very important to us? Write about this and share a time when something was very important to you.
• Think about something you want to change at home. Write a persuasive letter to your adults and convince them to make the change.
• Write a letter to your teacher about something you would like to change about your classroom. Think about how you could best persuade him/her.
• Consider your community. How could it be a better place for everyone? Write a letter to your town board, city officials, mayor, or other people in charge of your community. Convince them to make the change.

21 –  A Pet for Petunia by Paul Schmid

Petunia wants a pet – and has to convince her family to let her get one. The pet that Petunia wants though? A little less than conventional. Petunia ends up loving the animals that others may not like (even remotely).

Possible Writing Prompts:

• Petunia tries to convince her parents to let her get a pet skunk. Make a list of reasons your adults should let you get the pet you want.
• Petunia changes her mind about have a skunk for a pet when she learns how much they smell. Think of a time when you changed your mind about something. What was it? What made you change your mind?
• Petunia sees a porcupine at the end of the book. Write a prediction for what you think will happen next with Petunia. Give evidence to support your prediction.

Informative:

Writing book 22 –  facts vs. opinions vs. robots by michael rex.

Theme: All About Facts and Opinions

Secondary Theme: Getting Along with Others

In a playful, engaging, and interactive manner, the author takes the reader through the differences between facts and opinions. There are questions asked of the reader to discern between fact and opinion and the author incorporates the theme of getting along with others, even when our opinions differ.

• Select the topic of your choice. Make a list of facts about the topic and a list of opinions about the topic.
• Write some facts and opinions about your teacher.
• Think of an opinion you agree or disagree with. Write why you agree/disagree with that opinion.
• Make a modified t-chart with you on the left and your friend on the right. Write a fact about yourself and a fact about your friend. Then, write an opinion about yourself and an opinion about your friend. Exchange papers with your friend and add a fact and opinion to each column on their paper while they add to yours.

23 – Any of the National Geographic Early Readers (like Sea Otters , Planets , or Pyramids )

Theme: All About (Topic)

National Geographic does a top-notch job with books for kids (just as they do for adults!). The photographs and content are super engaging and give just the right amount of content information on a topic. These books are a hot item in my classroom library – so much so that I’ve had to get multiple copies of some!

• Use the topic from your book and write a brochure or book of your own ‘All About (Topic).”
• Create a “Did You Know?” poster of things you learned on your book’s topic.
• Create a 3D model of your book’s topic. Write an informational description of the topic, as if your piece were to be displayed at a museum.
• Write a newspaper or magazine article on your topic.
• Make a list of questions you still have about your topic after reading. (Then, see if you can find the answers!)

What are the books for teaching writing that you treasure? Have you used any of those listed above? Share your favorites below! I always find that linking these books with targeted Writing Mini-Lessons really helps cement the concepts for my students. It also greatly improves the content of their writing and allows each one of them to develop their own unique voice. ?

WRITTEN BY: KRISTIN HALVERSON, NBCT

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Teaching Creative Writing: Tips for Your High School Class

When I was first told that I’d be teaching creative writing, I panicked. While I had always enjoyed writing myself, I had no idea how to show others how to do it creatively. After all, all of my professional development had focused on argumentative writing and improving test scores. 

Eventually, though, I came to love my creative writing class, and I think you will too. In this post, I hope to help you with shaping your own creative writing class. 

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I personally use and love, or think my readers will find useful.

The Importance of Teaching Creative Writing

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of how to teach creative writing, let’s first remind ourselves why you should teach a creative writing class.  

How often do you see students freeze in your English class, wondering if what they’re writing is “right”? How often do your students beg you to look over their work to make sure that they’re doing it “right”? 

We English teachers know that there’s no such thing as “right” when it comes to writing. But our students really struggle with the idea of there being no one correct answer. Creative writing is one solution to this problem.

By encouraging our students to explore, express themselves, and play with language, we show them how fun and exploratory writing can be. I know there have been many times in my life when writing clarified my own ideas and beliefs for me; creative writing provides this opportunity for our high school students. 

Plus, creative writing is just downright fun! And in this modern era of standardized testing, high-stakes grading, and just increased anxiety overall, isn’t more fun just what our students and us need? 

Creative writing is playful, imaginative, but also rigorous. It’s a great balance to our standard literature or composition curriculum. 

Whether you’re choosing to teach creative writing or you’re being voluntold to do so, you’re probably ready to start planning. Make it as easy as possible on yourself: grab my done-for-you Creative Writing Class here !

Otherwise, preparing for an elective creative writing class isn’t much different than preparing for any other English class .

Set your goals and choose the standards you’ll cover. Plan lessons accordingly. Then, be sure to have a way to assess student progress. 

Teaching Creative Writing Tip #1: Get Clear on Your Goals

First, what do you want to achieve with your creative writing class? In some school, Creative Writing is purely a fun elective. The goal is create a class that students enjoy with a side of learning. 

For other schools or district cultures, however, Creative Writing might be an intensely academic course. As a child, I went to an arts middle school. Creative writing was my major and it was taken very seriously. 

The amount of rigor you wish to include in your class will impact how you structure everything . So take some time to think about that . You may want to get some feedback from your administrator or other colleagues who have taught the course. 

Some schools also sequence creative writing classes, so be sure you know where in the sequence your particular elective falls. I’ve also seen schools divide creative writing classes by genre: a poetry course and a short story course. 

Know what your administrator expects and then think about what you as an instructor want to accomplish with your students.  

Teaching Creative Writing Tip #2: List Out Your Essential Skills

Regardless of your class’s level of rigor, there are some skills that every creative writing course should cover. 

First, you need to cover the writing process. Throughout the course, students should practice brainstorming, outlining, writing, and editing their drafts. In nearly every Poem Writing Activity that I use in my class, students follow the same process. They examine a model text, brainstorm ideas, outline or fill out a graphic organizer, put together a final draft, and then share with a peer for feedback. 

That last step–sharing and critiquing work–is an essential skill that can’t be overstated. Students are often reluctant to share their work, but it’s through that peer feedback that they often grow the most. Find short, casual, and informal ways to build in feedback throughout the class in order to normalize it for students. 

Literary terms are another, in my opinion, must-cover topic for teaching a creative writing class. You want your students to know how to talk about their writing and others’ like an actual author. How deep into vocabulary you want to go is up to you, but by the end of the course, students should sound like writers honing their craft. 

Lastly, you should cover some basic writing skills, preferably skills that will help students in their academic writing, too. I like to cover broad topics like writing for tone or including dialogue. Lessons like these will be ones that students can use in other writing assignments, as well. 

Of course, if you’re teaching a creative writing class to students who plan on becoming creative writing majors in college, you could focus on more narrow skills. For me, most of my students are upperclassmen looking for an “easy A”. I try my best to engage them in activities and teach them skills that are widely applicable. 

Teaching Creative Writing Tip #3: Make Sure Your Materials are Age-Appropriate

Once you know what you’re teaching, you can begin to cultivate the actual lessons you’ll present. If you pick up a book on teaching creative writing or do a quick Google search, you’ll see tons of creative writing resources out there for young children . You’ll see far less for teens. 

Really, the content and general ideas around creative writing don’t change much from elementary to high school. But the presentation of ideas should .

Every high school teacher knows that teens do not like to feel babied or talked down to; make sure your lessons and activities approach “old” ideas with an added level of rigor or maturity.

Take for example the haiku poem. I think most students are introduced to haikus at some point during their elementary years. We know that haiku is a pretty simple poem structure. 

However, in my Haiku Poem Writing Lesson , I add an extra layer of rigor. First, students analyze a poem in which each stanza is its own haiku. Students are asked not only to count syllables but to notice how the author uses punctuation to clarify ideas. They also analyze mood throughout the work.  

By incorporating a mentor text and having students examine an author’s choices, the simple lesson of writing a haiku becomes more relevant and rigorous. 

Teaching Creative Writing Tip #4: Tell Students What They Should Not Write About

You’ll often be surprised by just how vulnerable your students are willing to be with you in their writing. But there are some experiences that we teachers don’t need to know about, or are required to act on. 

The first day of a creative writing course should always include a lecture on what it means to be a mandated reporter. Remind students that if they write about suicidal thoughts, abuse at home, or anything else that might suggest they’re in danger that you are required by law to report it. 

Depending on how strict your district, school, or your own teaching preferences, you may also want to cover your own stance on swearing, violence, or sexual encounters in student writing. One idea is to implement a “PG-13” only rule in your classroom.

Whatever your boundaries are for student work, make it clear on the first day and repeat it regularly.

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Teaching Creative Writing Tip #5: Give Students Lots of Choice

Creative writing should be creative . Yes, you want to give students parameters for their assignments and clear expectations. But you want them to feel a sense of freedom, also.  

I took a class once where the story starters we were given went on for several pages . By the time we students were able to start writing, characters had already been developed. The plot lines had already been well-established. We felt written into a corner, and we all struggled with wrapping up the loose ends that had already been created. 

I’ve done an Author Study Project with my class in which students were able to choose a poet or short story author to study and emulate. My kids loved looking through the work of Edgar Allan Poe, Elizabeth Acevedo, Neil Gaiman, and Jason Reynolds for inspiration. They each gravitated towards a writer that resonated with them before getting to work. 

Another example is my Fairy Tale Retelling Project. In this classic assignment, students must rewrite a fairy tale from the perspective of the villain. Students immediately choose their favorite tales, giving them flexibility and choice.

I recommend determining the form and the skills that must be demonstrated for the students . Then, let students choose the topic for their assignment. 

Teaching Creative Writing Tip #6: Use Hands-On Activities

If you’re teaching a class full of students who are excited to write constantly, you can probably get away writing all class period. Many of us, however, are teaching a very different class. Your students may have just chosen an elective randomly. They might not even have known what creative writing was!

(True story–one of my creative writing students thought the class would be about making graffiti. I guess that is writing creatively!)

For students who have no long-term writing aspirations, you need to make your lessons and activities a little more engaging. 

When possible, I try to make writing “hands-on.” Adding some tactile activity to a standard lesson breaks up class, engages students, and makes the lesson more memorable.

For example, when I teach students the old adage “Show. Don’t Tell” , I could just give them a scene to write. Instead, I print simple sentences onto strips of paper and have students randomly select one from a hat. (Then they turn this simple sentence into a whole “telling” scene.)

Simply handing students a strip of paper that they can touch and feel makes the lesson more exciting. It creates more buy-in with students. 

Another one of my favorite hands-on activities is a Figurative Language Scavenger Hunt. I hang up posters of mentor poems around the room, each full of different figurative language techniques. 

Then, students must get up and explore the posters around the room in an attempt to find an example of 10 different figurative language techniques.

We could do the same lesson on a worksheet, but having students up and moving increases engagement, collaboration, and gives everyone a break from constantly sitting. 

Teaching Creative Writing Tip #7: Incorporate Mentor Texts

One way to make sure that your creative writing class is rigorous–and valuable–enough for high school students is to use mentor texts . 

Mentor texts are essential for older students because it shows them what’s possible . Many of my students will rush through an assignment just to be done with it. If you ask them what they could do to improve their writing, they say that they think it’s fine. 

But when they’re shown mentor texts or exemplar products produced by their peers, suddenly students see a myriad of ways in which they could improve their own work. They’re quick to make edits. 

I try to always include a mentor text and several examples whenever I introduce students to new ideas or teach a new lesson. You can pull mentor texts from classic writers. However, I also recommend including writing from more modern poets and writers as well. 

Teaching Creative Writing truly is a special job. Your students trust you with writing that many adults in their lives will never see. You’ll be able to watch students grow and bloom in a totally new way.

That doesn’t mean that teaching creative writing is without challenges or difficulties, however. If you want an easy place to start, or just want to save yourself a ton of planning time, I highly recommend checking out my Complete Creative Writing Class . 

Inside this bundle, you’ll receive daily warm-ups, weekly lessons, two projects, several activities, a lesson calendar, and more! It’s truly everything you need for an engaging 9-week elective course!

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How to Teach Creative Writing | 7 Steps to Get Students Wordsmithing

“I don’t have any ideas!”

“I can’t think of anything!”

While we see creative writing as a world of limitless imagination, our students often see an overwhelming desert of “no idea.”

But when you teach creative writing effectively, you’ll notice that  every  student is brimming over with ideas that just have to get out.

So what does teaching creative writing effectively look like?

We’ve outlined a  seven-step method  that will  scaffold your students through each phase of the creative process  from idea generation through to final edits.

7. Create inspiring and original prompts

Use the following formats to generate prompts that get students inspired:

• personal memories (“Write about a person who taught you an important lesson”)
• imaginative scenarios
• prompts based on a familiar mentor text (e.g. “Write an alternative ending to your favorite book”). These are especially useful for giving struggling students an easy starting point.
• lead-in sentences (“I looked in the mirror and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Somehow overnight I…”).
• fascinating or thought-provoking images with a directive (“Who do you think lives in this mountain cabin? Tell their story”).

Don’t have the time or stuck for ideas? Check out our list of 100 student writing prompts

6. unpack the prompts together.

Explicitly teach your students how to dig deeper into the prompt for engaging and original ideas.

Probing questions are an effective strategy for digging into a prompt. Take this one for example:

“I looked in the mirror and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Somehow overnight I…”

Ask “What questions need answering here?” The first thing students will want to know is:

What happened overnight?

No doubt they’ll be able to come up with plenty of zany answers to that question, but there’s another one they could ask to make things much more interesting:

Who might “I” be?

In this way, you subtly push students to go beyond the obvious and into more original and thoughtful territory. It’s even more useful with a deep prompt:

“Write a story where the main character starts to question something they’ve always believed.”

Here students could ask:

• What sorts of beliefs do people take for granted?
• What might make us question those beliefs?
• What happens when we question something we’ve always thought is true?
• How do we feel when we discover that something isn’t true?

Try splitting students into groups, having each group come up with probing questions for a prompt, and then discussing potential “answers” to these questions as a class.

The most important lesson at this point should be that good ideas take time to generate. So don’t rush this step!

5. Warm-up for writing

A quick warm-up activity will:

• allow students to see what their discussed ideas look like on paper
• help fix the “I don’t know how to start” problem
• warm up writing muscles quite literally (especially important for young learners who are still developing handwriting and fine motor skills).

Freewriting  is a particularly effective warm-up. Give students 5–10 minutes to “dump” all their ideas for a prompt onto the page for without worrying about structure, spelling, or grammar.

After about five minutes you’ll notice them starting to get into the groove, and when you call time, they’ll have a better idea of what captures their interest.

Did you know? The Story Factory in Reading Eggs allows your students to write and publish their own storybooks using an easy step-by-step guide.

4. Start planning

Now it’s time for students to piece all these raw ideas together and generate a plan. This will synthesize disjointed ideas and give them a roadmap for the writing process.

Note:  at this stage your strong writers might be more than ready to get started on a creative piece. If so, let them go for it – use planning for students who are still puzzling things out.

Here are four ideas for planning:

Graphic organisers

A graphic organiser will allow your students to plan out the overall structure of their writing. They’re also particularly useful in “chunking” the writing process, so students don’t see it as one big wall of text.

Storyboards and illustrations

These will engage your artistically-minded students and give greater depth to settings and characters. Just make sure that drawing doesn’t overshadow the writing process.

Voice recordings

If you have students who are hesitant to commit words to paper, tell them to think out loud and record it on their device. Often they’ll be surprised at how well their spoken words translate to the page.

Write a blurb

This takes a bit more explicit teaching, but it gets students to concisely summarize all their main ideas (without giving away spoilers). Look at some blurbs on the back of published books before getting them to write their own. Afterward they could test it out on a friend – based on the blurb, would they borrow it from the library?

3. Produce rough drafts

Warmed up and with a plan at the ready, your students are now ready to start wordsmithing. But before they start on a draft, remind them of what a draft is supposed to be:

• a work in progress.

Remind them that  if they wait for the perfect words to come, they’ll end up with blank pages .

Instead, it’s time to take some writing risks and get messy. Encourage this by:

• demonstrating the writing process to students yourself
• taking the focus off spelling and grammar (during the drafting stage)
• providing meaningful and in-depth feedback (using words, not ticks!).

Reading Eggs also gives you access to an ever-expanding collection of over 3,500 online books!

2. share drafts for peer feedback.

Don’t saddle yourself with 30 drafts for marking. Peer assessment is a better (and less exhausting) way to ensure everyone receives the feedback they need.

Why? Because for something as personal as creative writing, feedback often translates better when it’s in the familiar and friendly language that only a peer can produce. Looking at each other’s work will also give students more ideas about how they can improve their own.

Scaffold peer feedback to ensure it’s constructive. The following methods work well:

Student rubrics

A simple rubric allows students to deliver more in-depth feedback than “It was pretty good.” The criteria will depend on what you are ultimately looking for, but students could assess each other’s:

• use of language.

Whatever you opt for, just make sure the language you use in the rubric is student-friendly.

Two positives and a focus area

Have students identify two things their peer did well, and one area that they could focus on further, then turn this into written feedback. Model the process for creating specific comments so you get something more constructive than “It was pretty good.” It helps to use stems such as:

I really liked this character because…

I found this idea interesting because it made me think…

I was a bit confused by…

I wonder why you… Maybe you could… instead.

1. The editing stage

Now that students have a draft and feedback, here’s where we teachers often tell them to “go over it” or “give it some final touches.”

But our students don’t always know how to edit.

Scaffold the process with questions that encourage students to think critically about their writing, such as:

• Are there any parts that would be confusing if I wasn’t there to explain them?
• Are there any parts that seem irrelevant to the rest?
• Which parts am I most uncertain about?
• Does the whole thing flow together, or are there parts that seem out of place?
• Are there places where I could have used a better word?
• Are there any grammatical or spelling errors I notice?

Key to this process is getting students to  read their creative writing from start to finish .

Important note:  if your students are using a word processor, show them where the spell-check is and how to use it. Sounds obvious, but in the age of autocorrect, many students simply don’t know.

A final word on teaching creative writing

Remember that the best writers write regularly.

Incorporate them into your lessons as often as possible, and soon enough, you’ll have just as much fun  marking  your students’ creative writing as they do producing it.

Need more help supporting your students’ writing?

Read up on  how to get reluctant writers writing , strategies for  supporting struggling secondary writers , or check out our huge list of writing prompts for kids .

Watch your students get excited about writing and publishing their own storybooks in the Story Factory

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100 Best Creative Writing Books of All Time

We've researched and ranked the best creative writing books in the world, based on recommendations from world experts, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. Learn more

A Memoir of the Craft

Stephen King | 5.00

Mark Manson I read a bunch of books on writing before I wrote my first book and the two that stuck with me were Stephen King’s book and “On Writing Well” by Zinsser (which is a bit on the technical side). (Source)

Jennifer Rock If you are interested in writing and communication, start with reading and understanding the technical aspects of the craft: The Elements of Style. On Writing Well. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. (Source)

Benjamin Spall [Question: What five books would you recommend to youngsters interested in your professional path?] On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft by Stephen King, [...] (Source)

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Bird By Bird

Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Anne Lamott | 4.88

Susan Cain I love [this book]. Such a good book. (Source)

Timothy Ferriss Bird by Bird is one of my absolute favorite books, and I gift it to everybody, which I should probably also give to startup founders, quite frankly. A lot of the lessons are the same. But you can get to your destination, even though you can only see 20 feet in front of you. (Source)

Ryan Holiday It was wonderful to read these two provocative books of essays by two incredibly wise and compassionate women. [...] Anne Lamott’s book is ostensibly about the art of writing, but really it too is about life and how to tackle the problems, temptations and opportunities life throws at us. Both will make you think and both made me a better person this year. (Source)

The War of Art

out of 5 stars4,70 | 4.76

James Altucher When a writer or an entrepreneur, or a manager, or an employee, or a…whatever…sits down to get to work, he or she is often met by “the resistance”. The excuses that come up: I can’t do this. I am too old. I don’t have enough money. I’m scared. “The War of Art” is the guide to getting through that block. The comfort zone is papered up and cemented shut by our excuses. Learn to blast through that... (Source)

Seth Godin Also hard to find on audio. I find Steve's voice to be fascinating, and even before I knew him, I was fascinated by listening to him speak his own work. The War of Art is one of those books, at least for me when I finally was exposed to it, I said, 'Why wasn't I informed? Why did it take this long for this book to land on my desk?'... You need to be clear with yourself about what you are afraid... (Source)

Brian Koppelman Talks about resistance. (Source)

The Elements of Style

William Jr. Strunk | 4.57

Tobi Lütke [My] most frequently gifted book is [this book] because I like good writing. (Source)

Bill Nye This is my guide. I accept that I’ll never write anything as good as the introductory essay by [the author]. It’s brilliant. (Source)

The Hero With a Thousand Faces

Joseph Campbell | 4.57

The first popular work to combine the spiritual and psychological insights of modern psychoanalysis with the archetypes of world mythology, the book creates a roadmap for navigating the frustrating path of contemporary life. Examining heroic myths in the light of modern psychology, it considers not only the patterns and stages of mythology but also its relevance to our lives today--and to the life of any person seeking a fully realized existence. Myth, according to Campbell, is the projection of a culture's dreams onto a large screen; Campbell's book, like Star Wars , the...

The first popular work to combine the spiritual and psychological insights of modern psychoanalysis with the archetypes of world mythology, the book creates a roadmap for navigating the frustrating path of contemporary life. Examining heroic myths in the light of modern psychology, it considers not only the patterns and stages of mythology but also its relevance to our lives today--and to the life of any person seeking a fully realized existence. Myth, according to Campbell, is the projection of a culture's dreams onto a large screen; Campbell's book, like Star Wars , the film it helped inspire, is an exploration of the big-picture moments from the stage that is our world. It is a must-have resource for both experienced students of mythology and the explorer just beginning to approach myth as a source of knowledge.

Ray Dalio The book I’d give [every graduating senior in college or high school] would be [...] Joseph Campbell’s 'Hero of a Thousand Faces'. It's little bit dense but it’s so rich, so it’s a good one. (Source)

Darren Aronofsky [I'm] totally part of his cult. Because I believe in that hero’s journey. (Source)

Kyle Russell Book 28 Lesson: Embedded in human psychology (and the resulting symbolism we find compelling) is a wish for our struggles to be meaningful, for our suffering to have value, for our effort to pay off for ourselves and those we love - and to then be recognized for it. https://t.co/lWgr4k7d8Y (Source)

On Writing Well

The Classic Guide To Writing Nonfiction

William Zinsser | 4.55

Tim O'Reilly On Writing Well, by William Zinsser. I wouldn't say this book influenced me, since my principles of writing were established long before I read it. However, it does capture many things that I believe about effective writing. (Source)

Derek Sivers Great blunt advice about writing better non-fiction. So inspiring. (Source)

The Writer's Journey

Mythic Structure for Writers

Christopher Vogler | 4.50

Darren Aronofsky It’s the Bible for screenwriters. I think it’s the best book on how to write a screenplay ever written. It helped me get through so many roadblocks as a writer. (Source)

Writing Down the Bones

Freeing the Writer Within

Natalie Goldberg | 4.47

Brie Code @gamesandbowties Oh I love that book! And am intrigued by mystic poetry and would love to see it on Twitter 😇 (Source)

Writing Tools

50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer

Roy Peter Clark | 4.47

The Artist's Way

Julia Cameron | 4.46

Anand C STARTING FROM AUTHENTICITY: by observing, showing humility and being grateful - I started being open to what’s in the sub-conscious more (30+ sessions in). Speaking your truth is a powerful result of this. One great book to help explore this. https://t.co/sOAgAHhWsO (Source)

Emma Gannon Instead of all these fast paced books saying: ‘Here’s how to be amazing, here’s how to get a side hustle, here’s how to hustle, hustle, hustle.’ This is the total opposite. It’s about slowing right down and connecting with yourself again. (Source)

Don't have time to read the top Creative Writing books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.

Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:

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• Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.

The Emotion Thesaurus

A Writer's Guide to Character Expression

Becca Puglisi | 4.38

Save the Cat

The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need

Blake Snyder | 4.37

Eric Weinstein [Eric Weinstein recommended this book on Twitter.] (Source)

Bill Liao The human world occurs in language so best get good at it! (Source)

Neville Medhora It takes you through 11 different 'archetypes' of screenplays you can write, and the exact elements each needs to be a great story. (Source)

Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting

Robert McKee | 4.35

Gotham Writers' Workshop: Writing Fiction

The Practical Guide From New York's Acclaimed Creative Writing School

Gotham Writers' Workshop | 4.33

The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction

Jeff VanderMeer, Jeremy Zerfoss | 4.33

Becoming a Writer

Dorothea Brande, John Gardner | 4.33

Sophie King This book will help you work out what you can do with your own book. (Source)

Andrew Cowan Because creative writing has now taken off and has become this very widespread academic discipline it is beginning to acquire its own canon of key works and key texts. This is one of the oldest of them. It’s a book that almost anyone who teaches creative writing will have read. They will probably have read it because some fundamentals are explained and I think the most important one is Brande’s... (Source)

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

How to Edit Yourself Into Print

Renni Browne, Dave King | 4.32

Alina Varlanuta My professional path – copywriting – somehow intertwines with my unprofessional (hahaha) path – writing so I would recommend reading literature for both. Somehow reading and writing are two ways of doing the same thing: storytelling (even when you read you tell yourself a story in your own voice, bringing your personal emotion and empathy to the story you’re reading). The only difference is that... (Source)

Plot & Structure

Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish

James Scott Bell | 4.30

Zen in the Art of Writing

Ray Bradbury | 4.27

Maria Popova In Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You, Ray Bradbury — acclaimed author, dystopian novelist, hater of symbolism — shares not only his wisdom and experience in writing, but also his contagious excitement for the craft. Blending practical how-to’s on everything from finding your voice to negotiating with editors with snippets and glimpses of the author’s own career,... (Source)

Steering the Craft

Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew

Ursula K. Le Guin | 4.27

Reading Like a Writer

A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them

Francine Prose | 4.27

Steal Like an Artist

10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

Austin Kleon | 4.26

Seth Godin Breezy and fun and yes, scary. Scary because it calls your bluff. (Source)

Ryan Holiday Part of ambition is modeling yourself after those you’d like to be like. Austin’s philosophy of ruthlessly stealing and remixing the greats might sound appalling at first but it is actually the essence of art. You learn by stealing, you become creative by stealing, you push yourself to be better by working with these materials. Austin is a fantastic artist, but most importantly he communicates... (Source)

Chase Jarvis Super small, fast read. (Source)

Outlining Your Novel

Map Your Way to Success

K. M. Weiland | 4.25

Writing Fiction for Dummies

Randy Ingermanson | 4.23

Characters and Viewpoint (Elements of Fiction Writing)

Orson Scott Car | 4.22

Wired for Story

The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence

Lisa Cron | 4.22

2,000 to 10,000

How to Write Faster, Write Better, and Write More of What You Love

Rachel Aaro | 4.21

Creating Character Arcs

The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot, and Character Development (Helping Writers Become Authors Book 7)

K.M. Weiland | 4.21

Powerful Character Arcs Create Powerful Stories

Have you written a story with an exciting concept and interesting characters—but it just isn’t grabbing the attention of readers or agents? It’s time to look deeper into the story beats that create realistic and compelling character arcs. Internationally published, award-winning novelist K.M. Weiland shares her acclaimed method for achieving memorable and moving character arcs in every book you write.

By applying the foundation of the Three-Act Story Structure and then...

By applying the foundation of the Three-Act Story Structure and then delving even deeper into the psychology of realistic and dynamic human change, Weiland offers a beat-by-beat checklist of character arc guidelines that flexes to fit any type of story.

This comprehensive book will teach you:

Gaining an understanding of how to write character arcs is a game-changing moment in any author’s pursuit of the craft.

Bring your characters to unforgettable and realistic life—and take your stories from good to great!

Writing Fiction

A Guide to Narrative Craft

Janet Burroway, Elizabeth Stuckey-French | 4.20

Story Engineering

Character Development, Story Concept, Scene Construction

Larry Brooks | 4.19

The Art of Fiction

Notes on Craft for Young Writers

John Gardner | 4.19

The Anatomy of Story

22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller

John Truby | 4.19

Writing Magic

Creating Stories that Fly

Gail Carson Levine | 4.19

The Positive Trait Thesaurus

A Writer's Guide to Character Attributes

Angela Ackerman, Becca Puglisi | 4.18

The Art of Dramatic Writing

Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives

Lajos Egri | 4.17

Seth Rogen Very referential to certain plays. (Source)

The Negative Trait Thesaurus

A Writer's Guide to Character Flaws

Angela Ackerman, Becca Puglisi | 4.17

The Emotional Wound Thesaurus

A Writer's Guide to Psychological Trauma

Becca Puglisi | 4.16

Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint

Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Dynamic Characters and Effective Viewpoints

Nancy Kress | 4.16

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Structuring Your Novel

Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story

K. M. Weiland | 4.16

Creative Living Beyond Fear

Elizabeth Gilbert | 4.16

Mark Manson I read a bunch of books on writing before I wrote my first book and the two that stuck with me were Stephen King’s book and “On Writing Well” by Zinsser (which is a bit on the technical side). I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Big Magic.” (Source)

Chelsea Frank I read everything with an open mind, often challenging myself by choosing books with an odd perspective or religious/spiritual views. These books do not reflect my personal feelings but are books that helped shape my perspective on life, love, and happiness. (Source)

Story Genius

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Lisa Cron | 4.16

Back to Creative Writing School

Bridget Whelan | 4.15

Writing the Breakout Novel

Donald Maass | 4.15

Where the Wild Things Are

Maurice Sendak | 4.15

Richard Branson Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. (Source)

Barack Obama During a trip to a public library in Washington’s Anacostia neighborhood in 2015, Obama shared some of his childhood favorites with a group of young students. He also read (and acted out) Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak to kids at the White House in 2014. (Source)

Martha Stewart In this photo, Jimmy Fallon and I enjoy slurping Eggs of Newt together for Season-5 of “The Martha Stewart Show." I am dressed as "Queen of the Wild Things" inspired by the beloved Maurice Sendak children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are." https://t.co/1ZBqXEW7dC (Source)

Into the Woods

A Five Act Journey Into Story

out of 5 stars31 | 4.15

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel

The Last Book on Novel Writing You'll Ever Need

Jessica Brody | 4.14

How to Write a Damn Good Novel

A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling

James N. Frey | 4.14

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Jack M. Bickham | 4.14

On Becoming a Novelist

John Gardner, Raymond Carver | 4.14

Andrew Cowan This is another one of the classics. He was quite a successful novelist in the States, but possibly an even more successful teacher of creative writing. The short story writer and poet Raymond Carver, for instance, was one of his students. And he died young in a motorcycle accident when he was 49. There are two classic works by him. One is this book, On Becoming a Novelist, and the other is The... (Source)

Stein on Writing

A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies

Sol Stein | 4.14

Letters to a Young Poet

Rainer Maria Rilke | 4.13

Todd Henry A book of mentorship for young artists. (Source)

Estella Ng Letters to a Young Poet - it is everything. [...] This line in Letters to a Young Poet “If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself, tell yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches" is an important one to me. I constantly go back to this to evaluate if I have been living a full life. (Source)

Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go

Les Edgerton | 4.13

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The Writing Life

Annie Dillard | 4.13

How Not to Write a Novel

200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them—A Misstep-by-Misstep Guide

Howard Mittelmark, Sandra Newman | 4.13

How to Write Dazzling Dialogue

The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript

James Scott Bel | 4.12

Take Off Your Pants! Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing

Libbie Hawke | 4.12

Conflict and Suspense (Elements of Fiction Writing)

James Scott Bell | 4.11

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The First Five Pages

A Writer's Guide To Staying Out of the Rejection Pile

Noah Lukeman | 4.11

Many writers spend the majority of their time devising their plot. What they don't seem to understand is that if their execution -- if their prose -- isn't up to par, their plot may not even be considered.

Write. Publish. Repeat. (The No-Luck-Required Guide to Self-Publishing Success)

Sean M. Platt and Johnny Truan | 4.10

In 2013, Johnny B. Truant and Sean Platt published 1.5 million words and made their full-time livings as indie authors. In Write. Publish. Repeat., they tell you exactly how they did it: how they created over 15 independent franchises across 50+ published works, how they turned their art into a logical, sustainable business, and how any independent author can do the same to build a sustainable, profitable career with their writing.

Write. Publish. Repeat. explains the current self-publishing landscape and...

Write. Publish. Repeat. explains the current self-publishing landscape and covers the truths and myths about what it means to be an indie author now and in the foreseeable future. It explains how to create books your readers will love and will want to return to again and again. Write. Publish. Repeat. details expert methods for building story worlds, characters, and plots, understanding your market (right down to your ideal reader), using the best tools possible to capture your draft, and explains proven best practices for editing. The book also discusses covers, titles, formatting, pricing, and publishing to multiple platforms, plus a bit on getting your books into print (and why that might not be a good idea!). But most importantly, Write. Publish. Repeat. details the psychology-driven marketing plan that Sean and Johnny built to shape their stories into "products" that readers couldn't help but be drawn into -- thus almost automatically generating sales -- and explores ways that smart, business-minded writers can do the same to future-proof their careers.

This book is not a formula with an easy path to follow. It is a guidebook that will help you build a successful indie publishing career, no matter what type of writer you are ... so long as you're the type who's willing to do the work.

James Altucher Sean Platt has a good book that just came out about writing many books. I recommend it. “Write. Publish. Repeat.” I think Sean has published over 50 books. I don’t know because he uses pseudonyms as well. (Source)

Kaci Lambe Kai On the same flight, I read Write. Publish. Repeat. by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant. They made it seem so easy to become an author and a creative. It's as easy as the title. Create a thing. Put it out into the world. Do it all over again. I got off that flight a changed human being. I knew I wanted to make my living as an independent creative in which I create works, release them, and obtain... (Source)

The Ode Less Travelled

Unlocking the Poet Within

Stephen Fry | 4.08

Fry is a wonderfully engaging teacher and writer of poetry himself, and he explains the various elements of poetry in simple terms, without condescension. His enjoyable exercises and witty insights introduce the concepts of Metre, Rhyme, Form, Diction, and Poetics. Aspiring poets will learn to write a sonnet, on ode, a villanelle, a ballad, and a haiku, among others. Along the way, he introduces us to poets we've heard of, but never read. The Ode Less Travelled is a lively celebration of poetry that makes even the most reluctant reader want to pick up a pencil and give it a try. BACKCOVER: Advanced Praise: “Delightfully erudite, charming and soundly pedagogical guide to poetic form… Fry has created an invaluable and highly enjoyable reference book.” — Publishers Weekly “A smart, sane and entertaining return to the basics… If you like Fry's comic manner… this book has a lot of charm… People entirely fresh to the subject could do worse than stick with his cheerful leadership.” — The Telegraph (UK) “…intelligent and informative, a worthy enterprise well executed.” — Observer (UK) "If you learn how to write a sonnet, and Fry shows you how, you may or may not make a poem. But you will unlock the stored wisdom of the form itself." —Grey Gowrie, The Spectator (UK) “…intelligent and informative, a worthy enterprise well executed.” — Observer (UK)

The Forest for the Trees

Betsy Lerner | 4.08

Andrew Cowan Yes, she was an editor at several major American publishing houses, such as Simon & Schuster. She went on to become an agent, and also did an MFA in poetry before that, so she came through the US creative writing process and understands where many writers are coming from. (Source)

No Plot? No Problem!

A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days

Chris Baty | 4.08

Daily Rituals

How Artists Work

Mason Currey | 4.08

Alok Kejriwal Daily Rituals - Book Review "Sooner or later, Pritchett writes, "great men turn to be alike. They never stop working. They never lose a minute. It's very depressing". Daily Rituals is a remarkable book. It chronicles the daily habits of artists, writers, composers.. see note https://t.co/tMUhBKmzkI (Source)

Bobby Voicu Mason Currey’s "Daily Rituals" will show you how 161 of the most creative and inspiring minds in the world work. This book’s great to demolish the myth that artists don’t have a routine and they’re just waiting for inspiration to hit them. As David Brook… https://t.co/4Owd29TQEm (Source)

B. J. Novak B. J. also recommended Daily Rituals by Mason Currey for anyone who would enjoy seeing the daily routines of legends like Steve Jobs, Charles Darwin, and Charles Dickens. "It is so reassuring to see that everyone has their own system, and how dysfunctional a lot of them are". (Source)

Divergent (Divergent, #1)

Veronica Roth | 4.08

The Foundations of Screenwriting

Syd Field | 4.07

The Fire in Fiction

Passion, Purpose and Techniques to Make Your Novel Great

Donald Maass | 4.07

The Writing Strategies Book

Your Everything Guide to Developing Skilled Writers

Jennifer Serravallo | 4.06

The Story Grid

What Good Editors Know

Shawn Coyne and Steven Pressfiel | 4.06

Revision & Self-Editing

Techniques for Transforming Your First Draft Into a Finished Novel

James Scott Scott Bell | 4.06

•Write a cleaner first draft right out of the gate using Bell's plotting principles •Get the most out of revision and self-editing techniques by honing your skills with detailed exercises •Systematically revise a completed draft using the ultimate revision checklist that talks you through the core story elements

Spilling Ink

A Young Writer's Handbook

Ellen Potter, Anne Mazer, et al. | 4.06

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Judi Barrett, Ronald Barrett | 4.06

Travis Herzog I absolutely LOVED this book as a kid, and I still love reading it today as an adult. @Ginger_Zee and @RobMarciano, I challenge you to post your own "shelfie" (selfie with a book) and @Disney will donate up to 1 million books for kids in need! #magicofstorytelling https://t.co/zEwuZpf0zc (Source)

The Rural Setting Thesaurus

A Writer's Guide to Personal and Natural Places

Angela Ackerman, Becca Puglisi | 4.06

Emotion Amplifiers

Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglis | 4.05

Techniques of the Selling Writer

Dwight V. Swain | 4.05

The Right to Write

An Invitation and Initiation Into the Writing Life

Julia Cameron | 4.05

How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy

Orson Scott Card | 4.05

Still Writing

The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life

Dani Shapiro | 4.05

Writing 21st Century Fiction

High Impact Techniques for Exceptional Storytelling

Donald Maass | 4.04

Ernest Hemingway on Writing

Larry W. Phillips | 4.04

Maria Popova Ernest Hemingway famously maintained that it was bad luck to talk about writing. Yet, over the course of his career, he frequently wrote about writing in his novels and short stories, his letters to editors, friends, critics, and lovers, in interviews, and even in articles specifically commissioned on the subject. In Ernest Hemingway on Writing, editor Larry W. Phillips culls the finest,... (Source)

Imaginative Writing

Janet Burroway | 4.04

Eats, Shoots & Leaves

The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

Lynne Truss | 4.04

Write to Market

Deliver a Book that Sells (Write Faster, Write Smart, #3)

Chris Fox | 4.03

Insurgent (Divergent, #2)

Veronica Roth | 4.03

The Science of Storytelling

out of 5 stars10 | 4.03

‘One of my absolute favourite writers’ Decca Aitkenhead

Who would we be without stories?

Stories mould who we are, from our character to our cultural identity. They drive us to act out our dreams and ambitions, and shape our politics and beliefs. We use them to construct our relationships, to keep order in our law courts, to interpret events in our newspapers and social media. Storytelling is an essential part of what makes us human.

There have been many attempts to understand what makes a good story – from Joseph Campbell’s...

There have been many attempts to understand what makes a good story – from Joseph Campbell’s well-worn theories about myth and archetype to recent attempts to crack the ‘Bestseller Code’. But few have used a scientific approach. This is curious, for if we are to truly understand storytelling in its grandest sense, we must first come to understand the ultimate storyteller – the human brain.

In this scalpel-sharp, thought-provoking book, Will Storr demonstrates how master storytellers manipulate and compel us, leading us on a journey from the Hebrew scriptures to Mr Men, from Booker Prize-winning literature to box set TV. Applying dazzling psychological research and cutting-edge neuroscience to the foundations of our myths and archetypes, he shows how we can use these tools to tell better stories – and make sense of our chaotic modern world.

Hannah Fry This is the intro to The Science of Storytelling by @wstorr. Easily the best book I've read this year. https://t.co/WzpSWlzVGi https://t.co/RX9kdQANeB (Source)

Adam Rutherford Tomorrow night at @WaterstonesTCR I’ll be in conversation with @wstorr about his brilliant book The Science of Storytelling - a book that has made me change how I write. Come. https://t.co/mbQpHfwysV (Source)

The Art of War for Writers

Fiction Writing Strategies, Tactics, and Exercises

James Scott Bell | 4.03

The Sense of Style

The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century

Steven Pinker | 4.03

Writing Alone and with Others

Pat Schneider, Peter Elbow | 4.02

The Urban Setting Thesaurus

A Writer's Guide to City Spaces

Angela Ackerman, Becca Puglisi | 4.02

Living the Writer's Life

Natalie Goldberg | 4.02

The Creative Writing Coursebook

Forty Authors Share Advice and Exercises for Fiction and Poetry

Julia Bell, Paul Magrs, Andrew Motion | 4.02

Getting Into Character

Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn from Actors

Brandilyn Collins | 4.02

GMC: Goal, Motivation and Conflict

The Building Blocks of Good Fiction

Debra Dixon | 4.01

The Modern Library Writer's Workshop

A Guide to the Craft of Fiction

Stephen Koch | 4.01

Beginnings, Middles & Ends (Elements of Fiction Writing)

Nancy Kress | 4.01

Old Friend from Far Away

The Practice of Writing Memoir

Natalie Goldberg | 4.01

Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers

Anne Bernays, Pamela Painter | 4.01

Description & Setting

Ron Rozelle | 4.01

The Art of the Novel

Milan Kundera | 4.00

Make a Scene

Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time

Jordan E. Rosenfeld | 4.00

Story Trumps Structure

How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules

Steven James and Donald Maas | 4.00

The Best Books for Teaching High School Writing

Writing for Learning and the Love of It

“…up until around a week ago I had never found much joy doing research for an essay and inputting information from a source into my writing. That is until I wrote my first essay in my college writing class… it was the first time I had a feeling of joy and wasn’t just ‘getting it over with'" (College English student reflection essay)

Books for Renewing Purpose and Vision for Writing

Books to Help You Empower Writers

Books to Think About the Big Picture: Philosophy for Learning, for Life

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Discussions about the writing craft.

Your favourite creative writing books?

So, I was looking for a good creative writing book (I'm still an amateur writer) to learn creative writing and I somehow stumbled upon this book, Making Shapely Fiction by Jerome Stern . It consists of various techniques on how to start a story or a chapter.

I always had trouble starting a chapter or a scene. I have the setting, conflict, goal, plot, everything clear in mind, but I was unable to put it into words. My usual question would be: where to start? How to start? How should I weave introspection and narrative? And others.

This book came as a boon to me. I'm not done reading it yet, but from the little I've read, I've learnt a lot.

Are there any creative writing books that you thought completely changed your game? I'd appreciate it if you share.

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10 Best Creative Writing Books to Read in 2023

The world of creative writing possesses an extraordinary ability to unleash imagination, craft narratives, and evoke emotions that resonate with readers. Whether you're an aspiring writer or simply someone who appreciates the art of storytelling, consider Oxford Summer Courses. Embark on a transformative journey through our Creative Writing summer school, where you will have the opportunity to explore the art of crafting compelling narratives, experimenting with various writing styles, and honing your literary skills.

Where are Oxford Summer Courses Hosted?

Disclaimer:.

Please note that the following list of books is recommended reading to broaden your knowledge and deepen your appreciation of creative writing and literature. While some of these books may be included in the Oxford Summer Courses curriculum, the specific content of the summer school can vary. If you wish to study these subjects with us, you can apply to our Creative Writing summer school.

1. On Writing, by Stephen King

• "Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration; the rest of us just get up and go to work."
• Published in 2000, "On Writing" by Stephen King is a masterclass in the craft of storytelling. It combines King's personal journey as a writer with practical advice on honing your writing skills during your time at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can Stephen King's advice on discipline and the writing process benefit aspiring writers at Oxford Summer Courses today?

2. Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott

• "Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere."
• Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird" is an encouraging guide for writers facing the daunting task of putting words on the page. Through humor and personal anecdotes, she offers valuable insights into the writing process during your Creative Writing summer school at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How does Lamott's emphasis on "shitty first drafts" resonate with your own experiences as a writer at Oxford Summer Courses?

3. The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

• "Omit needless words."
• A timeless classic, "The Elements of Style" is a concise guide to writing well. It provides essential rules of grammar and composition that every writer should know, especially during their time at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How do the principles outlined in "The Elements of Style" apply to various forms of creative writing, from fiction to poetry, at Oxford Summer Courses?

4. The story, by Robert McKee

• "Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact."
• Robert McKee's "Story" is a comprehensive exploration of the principles behind effective storytelling. It's a must-read for anyone looking to understand the structure and elements of compelling narratives during their time at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can the insights from "Story" enhance your ability to construct engaging and impactful stories during your Creative Writing summer school at Oxford Summer Courses?

5. Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert

• "Do whatever brings you to life, then. Follow your own fascinations, obsessions, and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart."
• In "Big Magic," Elizabeth Gilbert delves into the creative process and encourages writers to embrace their creativity with courage and curiosity, a valuable lesson during your time at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can Gilbert's philosophy on creativity inspire you to approach your writing with a sense of wonder and daring at Oxford Summer Courses?

6. The Art of Fiction, by John Gardner

• "Fiction seeks out truth. The writer has to go into the dark, quiet spaces of himself and feel around for the truth."
• John Gardner's "The Art of Fiction" offers profound insights into the art and craft of writing fiction. It explores the intricacies of character development, plot, and the writer's role in conveying truth through storytelling during your Creative Writing summer school at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can Gardner's exploration of truth in fiction inform your own creative writing endeavors at Oxford Summer Courses?

7. Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg

• "Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open."
• Natalie Goldberg's "Writing Down the Bones" is a meditative guide to writing practice. It encourages writers to tap into their innermost thoughts and emotions during their Creative Writing summer school at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can Goldberg's approach to writing as a form of meditation help you access deeper layers of creativity in your work at Oxford Summer Courses?

8. The Elements of Eloquence, by Mark Forsyth

• "Rhetoric is the art of dressing up some unimportant matter to fool the audience for the moment."
• "The Elements of Eloquence" explores the art of rhetoric and language play. Mark Forsyth's witty and informative book will inspire you to experiment with language in your writing during your time at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can a deeper understanding of rhetorical devices enhance your ability to craft persuasive and evocative prose at Oxford Summer Courses?

9. Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury

• "Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me. After the explosion, I spent the rest of the day putting the pieces together."
• Ray Bradbury's "Zen in the Art of Writing" is a collection of essays that celebrate the joy and passion of writing. Bradbury shares his insights on creativity and the writing life during your Creative Writing summer school at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can Bradbury's enthusiasm for writing infuse your own creative process with energy and purpose at Oxford Summer Courses?

10. The Nighttime Novelist, by Joseph Bates

• "Writing is an exploration of the heart."
• "The Nighttime Novelist" by Joseph Bates is a practical guide for writers who balance their craft with busy lives. It offers strategies for maximizing your writing time and making progress on your projects during your time at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can the techniques outlined in "The Nighttime Novelist" help you maintain a consistent and productive writing practice at Oxford Summer Courses?

Oxford Summer Courses invites you to immerse yourself in the enchanting world of creative writing during your time at our summer school. In this blog post, we present a meticulously curated list of 10 classic books that will ignite your imagination and deepen your understanding of the art of storytelling. From Stephen King's practical wisdom in "On Writing" to Ray Bradbury's celebration of the writing life in "Zen in the Art of Writing," these books will serve as your companions on your creative writing journey at Oxford Summer Courses. Through our Creative Writing program, you will have the opportunity to explore these influential texts, share your insights with fellow writers, and refine your craft. Join us on this literary adventure and embark on a transformative experience that will shape your writing skills and inspire your creative spirit during your time at Oxford Summer Courses. Who knows, you might just discover a newfound passion for the art of storytelling and create narratives that resonate with readers for generations to come.

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After submitting your application, we'll be in touch very soon to inform you of the outcome. Apply now to begin your journey with Oxford Summer Courses!

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Ignite your passion for creative writing at Oxford Summer Courses. Immerse yourself in a carefully curated list of books that will spark your creativity, refine your storytelling abilities, and help you embark on a transformative journey as a writer.

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Teaching Creative Writing Paperback – April 3, 2014

• Language English
• Publisher How To Books
• Publication date April 3, 2014
• Dimensions 6.86 x 0.47 x 9.26 inches
• ISBN-10 1845285190
• ISBN-13 978-1845285197
• See all details

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ How To Books (April 3, 2014)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1845285190
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1845285197
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.9 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.86 x 0.47 x 9.26 inches
• #1,097 in Lesson Planning for Educators

About the author

Helen stockton.

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