Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft (Penguin Academics Series), 2nd Edition

Written by best-selling author Janet Burroway, Imaginative Writing — an introduction to creative writing — covers all four genres: creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and drama. Imaginative Writing discusses elements of craft common to all creative writing before delving into the individual genres. Each of the first five chapters investigates a specific element of craft–Image, Voice, Character, Setting, and Story–from a perspective that crosses all genres. Chapter 6 explores development and revision and serves as a bridge between the craft chapters and genre chapters. The last four chapters examine individual genres: Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. This unique organization allows students to experiment with creative techniques shared by all genres before deciding which form best suits their imagination. Unique "Try-This" exercises help students develop writing skills, while new “Working Toward a Draft” exercises encourage students to think ahead about the direction and possibilities of their work

* indicate selections new to this edition.

Preface

to the instructor

Invitation

to the writer

You…

…and writing…

…and reading…

…and this book…

…and your journal…

…and your workshop

I. THE ELEMENTS OF CRAFT

1. IMAGE

Image and Imagination

Concrete, Significant Details

Figures of Speech

READINGS

Creative Nonfiction:

“The Giant Water Bug” Annie Dillard

* “The Ring of Time”  E.B White

 

Fiction:

“The Diamond Mine” Nadine Gordimer

 

Poems:

“The Hawk in the Rain” Ted Hughes

* “Snow Day”  Billy Collins

 “Facing It”  Yusef Komunyakaa

* “Naming of Parts”  Henry Reed

 

Drama:

* Her Deer Story  Jim Quinn

2. VOICE

Your voice

Persona

Character Voice

Point of View

READINGS

Creative Nonfiction:

* “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self”  Alice Walker

* “A Note About Allen Tate”  Kelly Cherry

 

Fiction:

* “Sitting With the Dead”  William Trevor

 

Poems:

 “Black Hair” Gary Soto

* “Ginko Tree”  Tom Crawford

“Kong Looks Back on His Tryout with the Bears”  William Trowbridge

“Father”  Hilda Raz

“The Language of Bees”  Barbara Hamby

 

Drama:

French Fries  Jane Martin

3. CHARACTER

As Desire

As Image

As Voice

As Action

As Thought       

As Presented by The Author

As Conflict

Stock and Flat Characters

READINGS

Creative Nonfiction:

“The Inheritance of Tools” Scott Russell Sanders

 

Fiction:

* “Interpreter of Maladies”  Jhumpa Lahiri

 

Poems:

“I Knew a Woman”  Theodore Roethke

“Stonecarver”  Carole Simmons Oles

* “To Aunt Rose”  Allan Ginsberg

“One Flesh”  Elizabeth Jennings

* “Life Cycle of Common Man” Howard Nemerov

 

Drama:

Brother  Mary Gallagher

4. SETTING

As the World

As a Camera

As Mood and Symbol

As Action

READINGS

Creative Non-Fiction:

“At the Dam” Joan Didion

* “A Wind From the North”  Bill Capossere

 

Fiction:

“The School”  Donald Barthelme

 

Poems:

* “At Navajo Monument Valley Tribal School”  Sherman Alexie

 “Earthmoving Malediction” Heather McHugh

* “Trials of a Tourist”  Anne Tibble

“Nude Interrogation”  Yusef Komunyakaa

 

Drama:

The Philadelphia  David Ives

5. STORY 

As a Journey

As a Power Struggle

As Connection/Disconnection

READINGS

Creative Nonfiction:

“Red Sky in the Morning”  Patricia Hampl

 

Fiction:

“Missing”  Robert Olen Butler

* “The Story”  Amy Bloom

 

Poems:

“A Story About the Body”  Robert Haas

* “Columbine High School”  Albert Goldbarth

“Short Story” Ellen Bryant Voigt

“Woodchucks”  Maxine Kumin

“The Hammock”  Li-Young Lee

 

Drama:

The Battle of Bull Run Always Makes Me Cry  Carole Real

6. DEVELOPMENT AND REVISION

Developing a Draft

Structuring
Research

Revision

Editing

The Workshop

EXAMPLES

First and final drafts of "One Art"  Elizabeth Bishop
The Opening of Indian Dancer: A Revision Narrative  Janet Burroway
* Growing "Four Tangerines"  James Kimbrell

II. THE GENRES

7. CREATIVE NONFICTION

The Essay and Creative Nonfiction

Memoir and the Personal Essay

Techniques of Creative Nonfiction
Fact and Truth

READINGS

“The Female Body”  Margaret Atwood

* “Do He Have Your Number, Mr. Jeffrey?” Gayle Pemberton

* “Interlude”  William Kittredge

“The Knife”  Richard Selzer

 

Creative Nonfiction Format

8. FICTION

Story and Plot

Scene and Summary

Backstory and Flashback

Text and Subtext

READINGS

“Snow”  Charles Baxter

* “Story”  Lydia Davis

* “A Clean, Well-lighted Place”  Ernest Hemingway

* “Bigfoot Stole My Wife”  Ron Carlson

 

Fiction Format

9. POETRY

Free Verse and Formal Verse

Imagery, Connotation, and Metaphor

Density and Intensity

Prosody, Rhythm, and Rhyme

READINGS

“Stillborn” Sylvia Plath

“The Grammar Lesson” Steve Kowit

* “Annus Mirabilis”  Philip Larkin

* “Fathers”  Grace Paley

“Black Silhouettes of Shrimpers”  Dave Smith

* “The Pardon”  Richard Wilbur

“The Language of the Brag”  Sharon Olds

“Dream Song 14”  John Berryman

 

Poetry Format

10.  DRAMA

The Difference Between Drama and Fiction

Sight: Sets, Action, Costumes, Props

Sound: Nonverbal and Verbal

Some Notes on Screenwriting

READINGS

Duet for Bear and Dog  Sybil Rosen

Gas  José Rivera

* Removing the Head  Josh Ben Friedman

Eukiah  Lanford Wilson

 

Drama Format

Appendix A: Basic Prosody

Glossary

Index