ANDA ŞTEFANOVICI, Teaching Creative Writing to Students
TEACHING CREATIVE WRITING TO STUDENTS
Lector univ. dr. ANDA ŞTEFANOVICI
Universitatea “Petru Maior”, Târgu Mureş
The basic premise considered when devising the syllabus is that creative writing springs
from the kind of everyday experience that most of our students share. Some exercises, meant to help
them access their lived experiences in a new way, with an eye toward exploring the creative
potential of seemingly common events, are presented.
While we assume students enter our classroom with enough experiences and imagination to
begin to write creatively, we make no assumptions concerning their backgrounds, ages, education
levels, and gender or ethnic identities. As teachers, we have taught students in these environments
ourselves, and we have tried to design exercises that worked well with both younger and older
students; they can also be enjoyed by learners of English in a less formal environment; last, we
have tested some of them on teachers who really got entangled in the web of personal experience,
trying to memorise past events, both enjoyable and painful in character. Several exercises ask
students to draw on the kind of experiences they have had with their families or others they have
lived with; there are also opportunities for those who live alone. Other exercises explore
experiences with work, travel, and romance, in addition to more mundane events, such as grocery
shopping. Last, but not least, they can invent relationships, scramble words and ideas, and use them
for their creative potential.
We cannot all be creative writers. We cannot all have distinctive personalities that will
shape our styles; but we can all try to keep our pens clean (i.e. coherent) and sharp (i.e. correct). In
doing this, we shall in no way be killing our own creative impulses. On the contrary, if we renounce
to prefabricated phrases, clichés, or learned-by-heart patterns, the outcome will be more than
beneficial for both the writer and the reader. Alan Warner in his book, Creative Writing. A Short
Guide to English Style (1961: 192) gives pertinent advice in this sense: “if we clear away the smog
of euphemisms and officialese and inert prefabricated phrases, we shall see better not only the plain
daylight of common sense but also the colours of the spectrum and the rainbow”. In other words, let
us be creative writers who, by means of a piece of personal writing, express our own thoughts and
feelings in words. Every writer is expressing himself in a certain style. It cannot be compared to the
icing on a cake. It is not glued over the outside, it is something ingrained in writing. Emerson said:
“A man’s voice is his mind’s voice”, that is to say, a man’s way of writing will be an expression of
his personality and his way of looking at life. A good style of writing has three qualities, which may
be described as accuracy, ease, and grace.
This is exactly what we have tried to do in setting up the tasks, some of which to be
presented in this paper. We have envisaged creative exercises that should disclose and at the same
time highlight each individual personality by the links he creates to his own social, cultural, and
educational background. He is not given any patters, all he has to do is to sit down, recollect his
memories and try to put them down in as personal a style as possible. The impact on the students is
astounding, as the practise has shown.
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The portfolio we have created for the creative writing course includes exercises for all ages,
and types of character. For some of them, we took Michael C. Smith’s book, Everyday Creative
Writing as a source of inspiration. The only condition is to be willing to explore both enjoyable and
painful personal experiences. The exercises have been tested on teachers as well, for students to get
the idea of taking part in a game played by everyone alike. Because of shortage of space, we will
present here seven tasks, each followed by sample student papers.
Exercise 1 (for teachers)
 When was the last time you had a party? As we get older, we may let our birthdays slip by,
sometimes hoping they won’t be noticed, but holidays like New Year’s Eve and Easter often
remain cause for celebration.
 Think of a developmental moment (e.g. the moment you learned how to hold your head up as
infants) or a happening (e.g. a wedding, a retirement party) that can be called “an event”.
 Make a list of all the important events in your own lives that come to mind. How many have
you let slip by without celebration? (E.g. taking my first airplane trip, finding the perfect winter
coat, getting divorced, learning how to make hollandaise sauce, paying off my student loan).
What makes an event worthy of commemoration and another unworthy?
 Choose an item from your list and create an invitation to a party in its celebration. What is the
right kind of party for this event? Fill in the following blanks on your invitation in ways that suit
the seriousness or silliness of the occasion:
Occasion: Divorce Party
Date: June 22, the first anniversary of my divorce – full moon expected.
Time: Two a.m., the time of night I still sometimes miss my ex-spouse despite everything.
Place: The kitchen, where we’ll re-enact the famous plate-throwing scene that marked the last week
of the relationship.
Bring: No single men – I am tired of being set up. Shoulder to cry on optional.
Wear: A devious smile – the last smile will be on him.
Rain Date: One year later.
 Using the details you have just gathered, try beginning a story, or essay. You might think of a
real past event, a truly forthcoming one, or simply invent a serious or silly one (e.g. imagine
throwing a party to celebrate the colour purple, the end of a depression, a religious revelation,
getting out of bed, etc.)
Sample paper: I’m not a big partier. In fact, I don’t even celebrate my own birthday – nor do I
allow others to do so. There was one occasion though that I really wanted to do up in a big way,
even though my friends said I was nuts and no one BUT NO ONE understood. To understand why I
would want to celebrate this occasion, which I’ll tell you right now was the day my braces came off,
you would need to know that having straight teeth was the only obsession my parents shared and
that, ultimately, it wasn’t enough to hold them together. My braces, in fact, outlasted their marriage:
the divorce decree provided for their removal and stipulated that my father would pay for the
procedure, which took only about ten minutes … I wanted to celebrate their removal because my
braces in dozens of ways complicated the way I thought about my parents, love, sex, adolescence,
and the meaning of life.
Exercise 2
Few of us sit down with our families to eat dinner together anymore. Instead, we watch the TV
or chat on the phone while having a quick meal. While modern life may seem hectic and leave us
longing for lost traditions, many of us are privately relieved to give up the daily ritual of the family
meal. Family meals are inherently emotionally charged, even in the most reserved families. In fact,
there is a whole drama inherent in the family dinner table, despite or expectations (we long for
harmony, serious conversation, or simply a feeling of togetherness).
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
Think back to your childhood dinner, lunch or breakfast table. Freewrite for five minutes about
some of your families’ customs and table rules. You can also focus on the smells and tastes of
the foods you ate together.
 Think of your family’s table (you may write or draw). Was it round? Square? Oblong? Where
did everyone sit? Think of their places at the table. Note the conflicts that existed between
family members.
 Think of a typical meal you ate and your reactions to it (e.g. macaroni and cheese: felt loved
when my mother remembered to sprinkle breadcrumbs on top the way I liked). Consider the
table as a unifying context for describing characters and their relationships (topics for
discussion, tensions included). Write the story from your point of view, and then from another
participant that focuses on your behaviour.
Sample paper: My father sat at the head of a large rectangular table, which overwhelmed the living
and dining space in our home. At the other end of the table, my maternal grandmother made her
nightly disapprovals clear with her stony silences and her expressionless mouth. To my fathers’
right, my mother juggled dishes and serving utensils furiously, because, as I recall, the woman was
consistently furious day and night. Between my parents was wedged the small, fat protoplasm with
lungs that became my brother … I always sat at my father’s left, torturing my older sister who was
perfect. Perfectly neat. Perfectly attired. Perfectly coifed. Far cannier than even Madonna, she
created a myth of her own perfection at the age of seven.
Exercise 3
People leave all kinds of notes for each other (or to ourselves to help us remember deadlines,
appointments, and phone calls we need to return). The abbreviated language can also serve as
creative inspiration.
 Write several different short notes that you might actually leave for a person you live with or for
yourself if you live alone (e.g. informational: I’ll be home late tonight; emotional: I’m sorry I
yelled this morning; absurd: You’ll never win at Scrabble).
 Gather the notes; place the collection of notes in a bag; each student draws one note from the
bag and tries to answer the questions: What does your note tell us about him / her /you?; About
the person he / she / you wrote it to?; About the life he / she / you is / are leaving/ ?
 Use the short note form to tell someone you live with something honest and surprising about
him or yourself – for example, “I have always hated the way you make eggs”, “I love your
phone accent”, “You look handsome when you forget to shave”, etc. Try writing a few lines that
explore this confession.
Sample paper: “Nothing to do with love” I would call this all a dream, but the note she left
perched for me on the nightstand beside my bed was real. I gave it to the officer at the Bureau of
Missing Persons. He took it in his hand and acknowledged its substance.
Mom,
I don’t expect you to understand. This has nothing to do with love, but I’m leaving. I just
had to get out of this house. Some time soon I’ll get in touch.
Adina
She is right. I do not understand. But she is wrong: this has everything to do with love.
Exercise 4
The first time we do anything of significance we are usually nervous, anxious, and awkward;
we are like children in a sense. Some first times are easy to remember (my first love, my first poem,
my first date, my first job interview, my first pet) while others are not, maybe because we are not
aware that they are first times (The first time I heard mother cry, my first time left home alone, my
first gin and tonic, my first taste of Italian food, my first time living away from home, my first time
drinking too much, the first cake I made, the first time I understood what hate was).
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
Make your own list of first times. Try to include both actual events and more abstract first
times.
 Try to remember memories, concrete details and feelings experienced.
Sample paper: “The story of an Hour” (Kate Chopin) There was something coming to her and
she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to
name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents,
the colour that filled the air.
Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that
was approaching her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will – as powerless as her two
white slender hands would have been.
When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted slips. She
said it over and over under her breath: “free, free, free!”
Exercise 5
Everyone takes a briefcase, a bag, a purse, a wallet, etc. with him / her when he / she leaves the
house. Although much of what we take with us out into the world every day is practical and
necessary, hidden among calculators, notebooks, pens, etc. are less functional possessions,
curiosities that represent the more complex realities of our daily lives.
 Empty the contents of your bag, wallet, or purse in front of you. By looking at your colleagues’
belongings you can draw conclusions about that person. What do these items tell you about this
person? (e.g. several little mirrors, a narcissistic person; several gum wrappers might suggest a
nervous person; several kinds of pills, a hypochondriac).
 Look at your belongings? What one item among all the possessions in front of you are you most
surprised to discover? (Why have you held on to that lottery ticket so long?) Write a story that
explores the significance of the item that most surprised you. Often we carry things with us
when we aren’t sure where else to keep them or when we aren’t ready to get rid of them (a
lottery ticket, a business card, a bill, a receipt, etc. that might subconsciously remind us about a
much-enjoyed event in the past or about something we might wish to be kept a secret, e.g. a
spare pacifier, maybe as a sign of being a mother)
Sample paper: Why I hate holidays
We all invest a lot (emotionally and financially) in holidays. However, they rarely completely
live up to our expectations. No matter how “successful” they are, they are never enough. Still, each
year, vacations loom large in our fantasies.
 Try to recall your vacation history by making a list of four or five vacations that you remember
taking. What was the most expensive / the least expensive / the most exotic / dull / dangerous /
safe, etc?
 For each vacation you listed write for five minutes about ‘things I expected’, ‘things I got’.
Write a short essay about one of them, focusing on both the high and low points; explore any
tensions that developed in the relationships if you were with somebody else.
 Take vacation (leave behind) certain customs, behaviours, and attitudes (e.g. pessimism, sense
of responsibility, signalling before we turn, smiling when we are introduced to strangers,
brushing your teeth daily, etc.). Try imagining life without one of them and write a short essay
about the effects on your life style, behaviour, or attitude.
Exercise 6
Sometimes what we say to people is not exactly what we mean. We may get a telephone call
from your best friend who wants to pay you a visit. You are not in the mood to speak to anyone,
you have just had a fight with your husband; still, your reply comes immediately: “oh, I was just
thinking of calling you; I was so desperately bored and eager to chat with somebody”.
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
Recall a situation where you said one thing to someone, e.g. a boss, a relative, or a friend, but
felt or thought something entirely different. Write a short dialogue in which you include what
you actually said, while in parentheses you write what you actually thought.
 Write the same story from the other character’s point of view.
Sample paper:
Mother: Honey, I’ve got something important to tell you.
Daughter: Oh, yeah? (Oh, no. This doesn’t sound good.)
Mother: Dan and I have finally decided to make it official.
Daughter: Official? (Oh, God, I hope this isn’t what it sounds like).
Mother: That’s right. We’re getting married. Tying the knot.
Daughter: That’s terrific, Mom. I’m so happy for you. (When can I throw up? I hope you don’t
expect me to participate in this farce).
Mother: And guess who I want to be my bridesmaid? What do you think, honey? I’d be proud.
Daughter: Of course, Mom. Thanks for asking me. (Thanks for putting me on the spot here. You
just knew I couldn’t say no).
Mother: Oh, I’m so excited. I know I must sound like a silly teenager, but I swear, honey, I feel
like I’m eighteen all over again.
Daughter: You don’t sound silly at all. You just sound happy. (You sound like an idiot. Why does
getting married reduce women’s IQs this way?).
Exercise 7
Most of us have days when the world outside our bedroom seems too difficult to face. We
skip school, put off our errands until tomorrow, and spend the rest of the day feeling at once guilty
and relieved as life generally goes on quite well without us.
Many view the decision to spend the day in bed as a passive choice, something we give in to
when we lack the necessary physical or emotional energy to do much else. We may have trouble
getting out of bed when someone we care about has moved away or died or when an emotion we
have come to count on to make our life feel complete has faded. This exercise asks you to explore
the reasons for making such a choice, to examine the forces that make you wish you could stay in
bed certain mornings.
 Brainstorm all the reasons you can think of for not getting out of bed. What is it about your day
that you don’t want to face?
 Begin a poem, story, or essay in which you explore an emotional reason for not getting out of
bed. Read Patty Seaton’s poem, Why I Will Not Get Out Of Bed for a model.
I can’t go down the hall
Yet on the battle grounds
To see if she’s survived
I cannot fight for her,
Another night,
Only watch
To see if her will is stronger
Each time she falters.
Than her cells.
Uncover my soul and see
The battle of the white and red
If there is a smile I can offer.
Rages.
I have no bravery.
There is no neutrality
Multiply, divide, and conquer.
Where there are no feelings.
I cannot bear who wins.
As the sample papers have tried to illustrate, the students taking the course of creative
writing and using their life experiences as basic material, have applied the following guidelines
about style:
 Make your statements clean, short, simple, human and pointed.
 Avoid vague introductions, avoid roundabout expressions, and be concrete and definite.
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


Use plain words instead of euphemisms.
Do not mix styles. Prefer the plain style to the extravagant.
Use a clean language. A clean language means a language that easily conveys meaning to the
reader; words do not blur thoughts that are presented sharply and cleanly; there are no readymade phrases which roll on the to the page, only obscuring issues.
Man needs language for the control of his environment and the cleaner his language the better
his control. Words are the tools of thought. If thoughts become rusty and dirty, the whole thinking
becomes inefficient, too.
Bibliography
[1] Burke, Carol & Molly Best Tinsley. The Creative Process. New York: St. Martins, 1993.
[2] Gardner, J. The Art of Fiction. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991.
[3] Levin, G. Short Essays. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers: 1989.
[4] Smith, Michael C. Everyday Creative Writing. Long Beach: NTC Publishing Group, 2000.
[5] Warner, A. Creative Writing. A Short Guide to English Style. London: OUP, 1961.
[6] White, R.V. Teaching Written English. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1990.
[7] Willis, Meredith Sue. Personal Fiction Writing. New York: Teachers & Writers Collaborative,
1993.
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