Category Archives: Creativity

Teaching and assessing creativity

Are Writers Born or Made?

Start any discussions on the art of writing fiction and you will quickly find the group divided. On one side people claim it is an innate trait that people are either born with or without. But, when the authors that … Continue reading →

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Artificial or Average

Recently I took a hiatus from writing poetry or fiction for over an hour almost every day. It wasn’t really intentional. Originally, I saw the two weeks’ work shut down at the end of the year as a gleaming opportunity … Continue reading →

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The Monstrous Part of Writing

The introduction of writing into the state educational achievement tests resulted in a plethora of writing models. One teacher supported the “Six Plus One Trait” writing model with a kind of fanaticism. Others plugged a device called the “freeze frame” … Continue reading →

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Adventures in Forbidden POVs

Currently I am reading a novella by Virginia Woolf called To the Lighthouse. It intrigues me because it broaches the problem of flat female characters found in many early twentieth century novels. Woolf reveals what’s going on in their heads. … Continue reading →

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Elusive Elaboration

My friend bubbled over with excitement about her new concept for a river adventure story. She had all the characters, the settings and the basic ideas in her mind. However, as she began writing out scenes, some of the escapades … Continue reading →

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In My Head

As a child I made up stories in my head, mostly about people’s pets. The majority of them were entirely descriptions such as fur color, number of spots, eye color and size. When I bemoaned the fact that these just … Continue reading →

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The Real Adventure

My parents sometimes claimed that I spent my entire childhood with my nose in a book. But, I didn’t learn how to read until I was five. Before that time I chose books with intriguing pictures in them so that … Continue reading →

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Asking for Ideas

Writing a well-crafted novel is hard labor, like going through a struggle harder than childbirth. Some authors want to seek out a short-cut, a sure thing, or a fully fleshed-out plot that has been used successfully in the past. However … Continue reading →

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The Artist’s Hierarchy of Needs

Have you ever seen the “Artist’s hierarchy of needs?” It is based on Maslow’ structure; however, the basic need for a self-actualization, or achieving one’s full potential including creative activities, is the point at the bottom on which the whole … Continue reading →

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A Likable Villain?

Authors sometimes seek villains that their audience can identify with because they want the readers invested in the villain. This helps to propel a person to finish a book if they really don’t know what is going to happen to … Continue reading →

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