As library and information science scholars, we know that context matters in research because we study how various populations look for information. The information-seeking behaviors of creative people, however, are something of a blank spot in our scholarly literature. Studies of creative writers are especially rare. This study used writers'…

Reports on what one writer went through to produce a short story. Notes the patience and perseverance that writers must have in order to create their works. (RL)

Presents an interview with Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, a prolific author of books for children, young adults, and adults. Her writing process, how reading influences her writing, and ideas for settings and characters are some of the topics covered. A selected list of 32 of her books is included. (EAM)

Describes a series of exercises in which students discover and work with a character, then place that character into the context of a short story. (MM)

Discusses the author's novels in relation to her life, and how her childhood and adult memories found their way into her writing. Maintains that writing out of her experience means writing as a woman, to understand her connections to the women in her life and to explore through fiction the human condition. (SR)

The fiction writer uses language to create the illusion of reality. A work of fiction is an illusion of life in which characters attempt to transform basic reality by casting their desires and views upon it, thus creating internal conflict between elements of the real and the unreal. Characters must sort out through experiences that enable them to…

Based on the idea that no piece of fiction will work without a strong infrastructure, this book explores how writers do what they do. The book uses anecdotes, helpful examples, and imaginative exercises to build a step-by-step approach to the structure of the short story and novel, always keeping in mind beginning and improving writers. Following…

An award-winning author of children's books discusses her own writing. Among the most important considerations for her are: (1) self-expression; (2) letting the story speak from its own world; and (3) having children who read the book claim it for their own. (PP)

This book is designed to be a how-to-write-fiction guide that is long on specifics and short on theoretical material. Each section of the book deals with a separate element of fiction--characterization, dialogue, point of view, plot, etc. Every exercise in the book is introduced in an opening paragraph, followed by instructions for completing the…

Describes one teacher's experience teaching writing as she gets involved in writing along with her students. Discusses how she uses her own writing as examples of the writing process for the students. Explores experiences teaching and writing fiction. (SG)

Describes a program of creative writing and describes student objectives and teacher objectives that allow the experience to aid students in producing critical essays. (CRH)

The phenomenon of a "secondary world"--the world of imagination created by writers of fiction in which writers and readers mentally participate--is described. Theories on the subject are discussed, and a three-dimensional model of the psychological structure of this world is presented. (PP)

Presents a transcript of an interview with successful young adult author Jerry Spinelli. Describes the techniques and writing strategies used by Spinelli. Discusses ways of generating stories, and the author's concept of his audience. (HB)

Describes a fiction writing workshop with Sir Angus Wilson, an inspiring teacher and author, who showed other teachers how to shift class attention from product to process to person. (MM)

Reviews the major elements of short fiction to suggest the primacy of voice in creative writing, and recommends approaches for helping students develop voice in their writing. (NKA)