An Introduction
One thing that I have always enjoyed doing is telling stories and hearing the stories of others. Whether it was me as a little kid making up stories to go along with my action figures or me sitting around the table at hunting camp and hearing all sorts of woodland experiences, I have always had an affinity for stories and storytelling. In high school I discovered the fascinating outlet of creative writing. Sure, I had read books as a kid and even written the occasional story (usually revolving around Godzilla) but I had never honestly considered it before high school. I’m not sure what it was, but I know it was my sophomore year of high school that I started writing stories. I went on to take Creative Writing my junior year and Creative Writing II my senior year. The two classes proved to be my favorite classes in high school.
And not only were they my favorite classes, but I believe they were essential to my writing in all of its forms. Before I got into creative writing, I never really appreciated English any more than history or biology. Literature was another matter as I always loved to read stories. But through writing short stories I was able to find the joy in writing. It helped me to find my voice and my style when I wrote, which I now incorporate into all of my academic papers. I’m not sure if any of this would have happened without me getting into creative writing.
Yet, Creative Writing isn’t a popular course in most high schools. And I fear it is often over-looked and neglected. So in this blog I hope to explore Creative Writing courses in secondary education. In order to help me do so I have created a Google Reader account where I have subscribed to the education section of both the New York Times and the Washington Post, a “Creative Writing High School” search query through Google News, the blog RIS High School Creative Writing, and a “Creative Writing” search through the Ebsco database Academic Search Premier. I hope that through these subscriptions I will be able to read through a good deal of articles on the subject and further be able to discuss my opinions on the matters that I read about.
Dustin,
I am very intrigued by your topic. I too am a big fan of telling stories and writing creatively. Whether I am writing a personal tale or creating poetry I feel in my element when I am given the chance to show my creativity. Like you, I feel as though I was unable to build upon this passion throughout my schooling due to the lack of courses offered in this subject. Therefore, I think that your topic will offer some great insight to all people who share this passion and feel that it is in the shadow.
When I was reading your opening post, I began thinking about the discussion that we had in class about the writing process and how it sometimes hinders creativity. From personal experience I can say that the 5 paragraph essay was drilled into my mind all throughout my schooling. I was told never to use the word I in papers and to stick to the facts. Now as much as I enjoyed creative writing, the more I practiced this technique the farther my creativity slipped from me. Do you think that this is the case in a lot of situations? And if so, do you think English classes can be structured in a way where creative writing and traditional writing can co-exists? These are two questions that I have always pondered.
I am very excited to learn more about this topic and read your future postings! Good luck with the topic and I can’t wait to see what your find:)