Describes an activity in which students must invent graffiti that might have been written by one of the characters studied in the class's literature assignments. (HTH)

Describes a freshman composition assignment in which students create fictional figures and approach a final biography about the figure through a series of shorter essays. (HTH)

Suggests teaching characterization in literature classes by having students write an advertisement similar to the Dewar's scotch advertisement, based on each of the characters in the novel "Ordinary People." Examples are included. (HTH)

Suggests a prewriting exercise in characterization using the legend genre as framework. (HTH)

Offers a method for teaching English using biographies in conjunction with creative writing assignments, for example, writing a short biography of another student in the class. (SRT)

Intended for teachers, students, and writers, this guide provides exercises for improving writing techniques and using literary devices. Following an introduction, the six chapters deal with the following techniques: (1) describing place, including observation and exaggeration; (2) describing people, including "inside/outside" portraits and…

Providing a mix of theoretical and practical suggestions, the articles in this focused journal issue present strategies for teaching various aspects of creative writing. The articles included and their authors are as follows: (1) "What Are We Up To?" (K. Stein); (2) "And Now a Word from Molly and Ned" (M. Martone); (3) "Student Fiction Writers and…