Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief by David Starkey - Fourth Edition, 2022 from Macmillan Student Store
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Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief

Fourth Edition ©2022 David Starkey

How can students with widely varied levels of literary experience learn to write poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and drama — over the course of only one semester? In Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief, David Starkey offers solutions to the challenges of teaching the introductory

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ISBN:9781319406530

ISBN:9781319215965

ISBN:9781319537753

Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief by David Starkey - Fourth Edition, 2022 from Macmillan Student Store

A lively, practical approach to writing in four creative genres.

How can students with widely varied levels of literary experience learn to write poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and drama — over the course of only one semester? In Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief, David Starkey offers solutions to the challenges of teaching the introductory creative writing course: (1) concise, accessible instruction in the basics of writing poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and drama; (2) short models of literature to analyze, admire and emulate; (3) inventive and imaginative assignments that inspire and motivate.　　

For the fourth edition, in response to reviewer requests, the literature and writing prompts have been significantly refreshed and David Starkey has added "Write Before You Read," prompts at the beginning of each chapter, brief author biographies and dates of publication following works in the anthologies, new guidelines on conducting genre-specific workshops both in-person and online, and a new section on writing for social change.

Features

Concise but thorough instruction on writing in four genres. In a notably lively style, and in only one chapter per genre, students are instructed in the elements of literature, and are shown how the elements work together in model poems, short-short stories, short essays, and ten-minute plays. Throughout, checklists remind students of important points to keep in mind as they write. A glossary of literary terms at the back of the book serves as a handy reference for review.

Diverse contemporary literature provides short, imitable models of creative writing. Each chapter features an anthology of contemporary writing in its genre, and each anthology presents a stimulating mix of selections that range from the more traditional — with work by writers such as Langston Hughes, John Cheever, Margaret Renkl, Kristina Halvorsen, and Jane Kenyon — to the experimental — including pieces by Joan Naviyuk Kane, Margaret Atwood, Solmaz Sharif, Dan Dietz, and Franny Choi. The models are all short, providing not only imitable examples but also time for students to revise and improve the short works they write.

Inventive creative writing assignments. Each chapter concludes with numerous highly praised "Kick-Starts," multiple writing prompts that inspire students to try their hands at writing in the genre.

New to This Edition

Lots of new creative writing including a new model poem for Chapter 1, Donika Kelly’s "Fourth Grade Autobiography"; a new model story for Chapter 2, Jeanine Capó Crucet’s "Animal Control"; and a new model of creative nonfiction for Chapter 3, Ylonda Gault Caviness’s "We Go Way Back." About one-third of the anthologized literary works are new to the fourth edition, including poetry by Franny Choi, Nicole Cooley, Natalie Diaz, David Hernandez, Danusha Laméris, Nathan McClain, Sjohnna McCray, and Solmaz Sharif; short fiction by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenya, Langston Hughes, and Nicole VanderLinden; creative nonfiction by Rigoberto González, Clara Oropeza, Margaret Renkl, and Peter Schjeldahl; and drama by Karen JP Howes.　

"Write before you read" prompts at the beginning of each chapter invite students to think, in writing, about what they know — and what they may still need to learn — about each of the four genres before they begin studying them.

Brief author biographies and dates of publication following works in the anthologies allows students to place the anthology selections in context and emphasizes how much of the work is by authors who are actively writing and publishing.

New Kick-Starts provide students with the creative spark to get writing.

New guidelines on conducting genre-specific workshops both in-person and online at the end of each chapter will help students share and discuss their work in each genre in a productive fashion, whether it is in face-to-face or virtual settings.

New section on writing for social change builds on the many examples of socially conscious writing already in the book, providing students with a starting point and a guide for the challenging task of responding to the times in which we live.

“Starkey's Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief  is one of the most comprehensive introductory texts currently being published. The writing on craft fundamentals provide a strong foundation for beginning writers and the diverse examples in the anthology feature some of the best contemporary authors. I've been using this text since the first edition and feedback from students is always excellent.”
—Thomas Maltman, Normandale CC

“My favorite part of the text is Starkey's clear, succinct chapters explaining the conventions of each genre. He provides students with enough information to begin writing in an unfamiliar genre without completely overwhelming them.”
—Yelizaveta Renfro, Saint Mary’s College

“A top-notch textbook on creative writing that dissects poetry, prose and drama for beginners.”
—Robert Moreira, The University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley

“Creative Writing is a fantastic book that deftly engages early writers in the craft. Starkey's focus on shorter forms cleverly balances the 21st-century drive for concision with the eternal elements of good writing: inspiration, practice, and revision.”
—Christopher Cartright, Georgia Southern University

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Table of Contents

Preface: A Few Words to Instructors　　

A Few Things You Should Know about Creative Writing　　

A Few Words about Revision

 

1 Writing Poetry　

Write before you read　　　

The elements of poetry　　

The short poem: Three models　　　

Gail White, My Personal Recollections of Not Being Asked to the Prom　　

*Donika Kelly, Fourth Grade Autobiography　　

Rae Armantrout, Duration　　

Lines and stanzas　　　

Meter and rhythm　　　

The music of poetry　　　

Images, symbols, and figurative language　　　

Diction, syntax, and the language of poetry　　　

Poetic forms　　　

Getting started writing poetry　　　

　　　　Kick-Starts: Beginning your poems　　　

A few tips for participating in a poetry workshop　　　

An Anthology of Short Poems　

　　　　　　　　

2 Writing the Short-Short Story

Write before you read　　　

The elements of fiction　　　

The short-short story: Three models　　　

Isaac Babel, Crossing the River Zbrucz　

Donald Barthelme, The Baby　　

*Jennine Capó Crucet, Animal Control　　

Structure and design　　　

Creating characters　　　

Writing dialogue　　　

Setting the scene　　　

Deciding on point of view, developing tone and style　　

Getting started writing the short-short story　　

　　　　　　　Kick-Starts: Beginning your story　　

A few tips for participating in a short fiction workshop　　　　

An Anthology of Short-Short Stories　　

　

3 Writing Short Creative Nonfiction　

Write before you read　　　

The elements of creative nonfiction　　　

Short creative nonfiction: Three models　　

Rebecca McClanahan, Liferower　　

*Ylonda Gault Caviness, We Go Way Back　　

David Sedaris, Jesus Shaves　　

Organizing creative nonfiction　　　

Telling the truth　　　

Creative nonfiction as narrative　　　

The poetry of creative nonfiction　　

Writing yourself into creative nonfiction　　

Ethics and edicts　　　

Getting started writing short creative nonfiction　　　

　　　　　Kick-Starts: Beginning your creative nonfiction　

A few tips for participating in a creative nonfiction workshop　　　

An Anthology of Short Creative Nonfiction　　

　

4 Writing the Ten-Minute Play　

Write before you read　　　

The elements of playwriting　　　

The ten-minute play: Three models　

David Ives, Sure Thing　　

Tina Howe, The Divine Fallacy　　

A. Rey Pamatmat, Some Other Kid　　

Structuring the ten-minute play　　　

Creating believable characters　　

Writing convincing dialogue　　

Crafting a theme　　

Onstage: The elements of production　　　

Getting started writing the ten-minute play　　　

　　　　　Kick-Starts: Beginning your play　

A few tips for participating in a ten-minute play workshop　　　　

Playscript Format: A Model　　

An Anthology of Ten-Minute Plays　　

　

A Few Words about Getting Your Work Published and Produced

A Few Words about Hybrid Creative Writing

Sabrina Orah Mark, It’s Dark in There: Confessions of a Prose Poem　

A Few Words about Writing for Social Change

*Claude McKay, If We Must Die　

　

A Few Words of Farewell

Glossary　　

Acknowledgments　　

Index　　

*Indicates new selection

David Starkey

David Starkey is Professor of English, Director of the Creative Writing Program, and former Director of the Composition Program at Santa Barbara City College. A frequent collaborator with the late Wendy Bishop, Starkey helped develop a pedagogy focused on the cross-pollination of composition and creative writing. In addition to his work with Bishop, which includes the co-authored Keywords in Creative Writing (2006), he is the editor of two collections of essays on pedagogy, Teaching Writing Creatively (1998) and Genre by Example: Writing What We Teach (2001), and a special issue of Teaching English in the Two-Year College (Dec. 2014). Starkey is a poet (Dance, You Monster, to My Soft Song, 2021; What Just Happened, 2021), a writer of fiction and creative nonfiction (published in American Literary Review, in Cimarron Review, in Living Blue in the Red States,and elsewhere), and a playwright whose plays have been produced across the U.S. Starkey is also a committed practitioner, and his writing on corequisite composition is informed by his participation in SBCC’s Express to Success program, an early-adopter of the ALP/corequisite model. His conference presentations in recent years have emphasized his pedagogy and passion for working with a broad range of student writers. He is currently editing a collection of essays on teaching corequisite composition.

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Instructor's Resource Manual for Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief (Online Only)

David Starkey | Fourth Edition | ©2022 | ISBN:9781319406585

David Starkey, Accelerating Comp with Hello Writer

David Starkey (Santa Barbara City College) is the author of Hello, Writer.: An Academic Writing Guide, a new composition text publishing fall 2021 from Bedford/St. Martin’s and Macmillan Learning.

David Starkey, Being Present in Bite Sized Chunks

David Starkey (Santa Barbara City College) is the author of Hello, Writer.: An Academic Writing Guide, a new composition text publishing fall 2021 from Bedford/St. Martin’s and Macmillan Learning.

David Starkey, Go Overboard on Feedback

David Starkey (Santa Barbara City College) is the author of Hello, Writer.: An Academic Writing Guide, a new composition text publishing fall 2021 from Bedford/St. Martin’s and Macmillan Learning.

David Starkey, Teaching Hello Writer Online

David Starkey (Santa Barbara City College) is the author of Hello, Writer.: An Academic Writing Guide, a new composition text publishing fall 2021 from Bedford/St. Martin’s and Macmillan Learning.