Educators
About this Page
This section of the website is designed for individuals who are interested in incorporating creative writing in their classrooms, groups or other relevant spaces. Creative writing is a journey, a process of discovery— it can be messy at times, but it can also be very rewarding. Here you will find some resources to help get you started!
It's important to note that if you plan to engage students or other individuals in this writing process, you should have prior experience in this area. It can be very detrimental to unearth difficult memories through the writing process, if they are not dealt with appropriately. Remind your students to only enter spaces and memories that they feel comfortable with. Above all - they should have fun with it!
It's important to note that if you plan to engage students or other individuals in this writing process, you should have prior experience in this area. It can be very detrimental to unearth difficult memories through the writing process, if they are not dealt with appropriately. Remind your students to only enter spaces and memories that they feel comfortable with. Above all - they should have fun with it!
Resources
Download the Packet
| tins_educator_packet.pdf |
Using Prompts to Generate Writing
The following prompts are excellent for surfacing content. Give your students 10 to 15 minutes to do a freewrite on one of these prompts. Further work will need to be done with revision and editing in order to arrive at a "polished" piece.
From Image to Text
Write a series of autobiographical sketches/vignettes inspired by photographs that are collected in one place, for one occasion, and in this way create a scrapbook in words. Or, write a series of autobiographical vignettes inspired by photographs from different times in your life.
Dear Mr. President
Write a letter or series of letters to a public figure (President Obama, Newt Gingrich, Lady Gaga…) that you would never send. Include personal experiences and information that wouldn’t usually be “public.”
I Want to Know Why
Write a list of at least 10 things that fall into the category of things not known, not understood. Important – give yourself a constraint to avoid abstraction or “large” topics. For example, you might limit the things not known to events of the past month, or to family encounters. Do a freewrite based on one of the list items.
I Don't Know Why I Remember
Think of things that have stuck in your memory, but for no obvious reason. (Not the “important” or big events — go for the small moments.) Render them precisely on the page using vivid, concrete details. Don’t try to explain why these moments stuck with you, just put the reader right there in the moment.
Using Readings to Inspire Writing
Another effective way of surfacing content is to gain inspiration from other published authors. Here are two examples of using published works to inspire writing.
My Name by Sandra cisneros
Stories Inspired by this Reading
Sonrisas by Pat Mora
Stories Inspired by this Poem
Q&A With Student Writers
This conversation with our student writers may give you more of an insight into their writing process, as well as other ideas for incorporating creative writing, art, media and storytelling in the spaces you are a part of.
The Danger of a Single Story
Because we are complex beings with multilayer identities, our stories must also be complex and multilayered.
