There is no shortage of creative writing manuals on the market, most of them aimed uncomfortably at a space somewhere between professional teachers of creative writing, students in creative writing classes taught by professional teachers of creative writing, and people who think that a book can teach them all they need to know about the art of fiction. It is refreshing, therefore, to find this book, the contents of which are no more and no less than what it says on the cover. As the authors state in the brief introduction, ‘This is a book of fifty-three creative writing exercises that we have chosen because we have found that they help students to develop their writing skills, extend their repertoire, experiment with genres and styles and generally produce satisfying pieces of writing.’ The exercises are grouped into seven self-explanatory sections: Starters; Story; Poetry; Dialogue; Writing from experience; Writing process; Feedback. Each exercise is described in a thorough and straightforward manner and attempts to explain why the exercise is useful and what ‘learning outcomes’ can be expected, as well as potential pitfalls. The ‘why this exercise is useful’ part often borders on the redundant and/or pedantic, but may also be useful to inexperienced teachers of creative writing.
The book is aimed solely at creative writing teachers, and focuses on the classroom experience, but without providing a prescriptive program for teaching the subject. For this it is to be commended. It presents a wide range of practical exercises and, most helpfully, often suggests ideas for variations. Many of the exercises seem to be designed for inexperienced writers, but then, inexperienced writers are most in need of instruction via useful exercises, and virtually every single exercise could be adapted, where necessary, to suit advanced classes.
Many of the exercises, however, are extremely time-consuming (90 minutes to two hours), which makes them difficult to incorporate into a 12-week course. On the other hand, for courses that run longer, or in which the focus is solely on writing (rather than on creative writing as part of a program of literary study), this may be less of a problem. Many of the exercises also focus on autobiographical starting points, which could, if proper care is not taken by tutors, lead students in overly solipsistic directions in their classroom writing.
One final qualm is that the book features a subtle product placement for Metaplan, a corporate group communication system, which is unnecessary and in somewhat bad taste.
Ultimately the aim of 53 Interesting Creative Writing Exercises is to provide blueprints for exercises as a teaching aid for tutors. As such, it is a practical and welcome addition to the creative writing manual market.
Douglas Cowie,
Royal Holloway, University of London
