Creative writing can be a tricky subject to teach. You can introduce skills and guide output, but inspiring a class to be creative when writing a paper is another matter. Here are some handy writing tips for firing up imagination and setting pens rolling for custom classes in university.
Choose an attractive theme
Set an attractive, wide-open theme for your class to write their papers about, such as space, jungles or oceans. But before you ask, take whatever time may be necessary to stimulate their interest in the subject and explore the possibilities for story or poem content. The most effective way to do this is through a mix of entertaining approaches that will draw the students in. Here are some suggestions:
Ways to bring your theme alive
You could start off with a discussion, letting the students share some stories and facts with the class and offering a few thoughts yourself. Ask if anyone has seen a film or read a book related to your topic, or visited a relevant place of interest. For example, if your topic is space and you have a planetarium in the vicinity, ask who’s been there and what their favorite feature was.
Next, you might watch an exciting video clip or show some colorful photos of the subject, selected beforehand to begin the assignment. Talk about the colors and shapes, the mystery and history, the atmosphere and the dangers, or whatever features are likely to appeal to young minds.
Now, how about letting the class draw a topic-based scene, to sharpen up their ideas even more before they put pen to paper? Play some atmospheric music while they sketch before starting. As they hold up their artwork for you to admire, encourage them to provide some sound effects and gestures. If they’ve been sketching a wavy sea, for example, they could make some splashy sounds and sweeping movements. Perhaps there’s a sea monster on the horizon. What noise would he make?
Present the task with a light touch
Introduce your creative writing activity as informally as possible, maintaining the sense of adventure you’ve generated. Keeping your instructions simple, let them make a start while ideas are fresh.
Let creativity flow
Let ideas fly, whatever the blunders on the page. Refrain from pointing out spelling or grammatical errors at this stage, as distractions such as these could inhibit creative expression for your work. Criticism during this rather personal input may also undermine self-confidence.
Encourage
Encouragement will spur enthusiasm and increase productivity. If a student’s ideas is dull, prompt for more vibrant words while commending their efforts. Offer a few mind-stretching adjectives in passing and leave them to it. Your subtle approach will prove rewarding.
Listen and applaud
Let every student read an excerpt from their work. They’ll be proud to read their paper, and your praise and applause will nurture their new zest for the art form.
Creative writing may be hard to teach, but the results can be awesome. Who would think such young people could produce such dazzling custom concepts? They didn’t even know it themselves. Now they’ll want to write more!