Discusses 10 books as resources for teachers and educators--books that focus on the creative processes of authors and illustrators (providing insights into literature), and books that offer readers a behind-the-scenes look at how some well-loved books originated. (SR)

Interviews Newbery Medal winning author of children's books Karen Cushman about her personal writing process and history. Discusses her early writing experiences, changes at age 50 through which she became an author of children's books, her inner journey as she brings a story to life, and her special writing place and time to muse and do careful…

Notes that the process of electronic conferencing can result in activity not readily apparent as leading to productive writing behaviors, which reintroduces the tension between process and product into composition studies. Argues for a broader notion of writing and urges attention to the transformative power of electronic conferencing to enable…

Examines one aspect of elaboration in student writing as a product of the encounter between writers and readers. Studies a stratified random sample of student placement tests. Finds patterns that correlate significantly with readers' evaluations of texts. Concludes these patterns are two strategies for managing discursive conflict in this…

Considers the problems associated with writing historical fiction for young adults. Discusses problems of definition, "truth," balance between historical details and fictional elements, accuracy, and provenance. Discusses how such writing negotiates the fine line between contemporary sensibilities and historical accuracy, offering a lens…

Discusses both the need for guides to women authors and their preparation, from the point of view of an author of a guide to books by women writers and a guide to books with major female characters. (RS)

Uses the technique of collage to analyze and illustrate Francesca Lia Block's use of that technique within and across her books. (RS)

Presents the author's (she is a well known poet, essayist, and fiction writer) 10 commandments of writing that portray writing as a moral force, an ethical practice, and also mundane plain and simple hard work. The commandments are in the form of quotes from famous writers. (SR)

Draws on the complementary processes of writing and photography. Suggests a theory and method of instruction employing visual and metacognitive strategies to aid students in discovering unseen details and meaning when writing descriptive prose. (RS)

Presents a discussion among a group of 12 doctoral students, recent PhDs and dissertation advisors. Considers why dissertation committees are not encouraging composition and rhetoric students to write innovative, tradition-challenging dissertations. Notes that educators should pay attention to tensions among styles and identities. (SG)

Describes how the author's life has been one long adventure with language, and how the distinction between reading and writing blurs into a continuum of words, images, and ideas. Describes his first ventures towards reading, which began by engaging in the spoken word with his mother. Describes his writing processes, and the six-part story form he…

Explains how a teacher used tape--pieces hanging from her hair, her desk, and student desks--to help students remember some of the principles of writing represented in the acronym TAPE: topic, audience, purpose, and elaboration. (TB)

Describes a procedure that encourages both earnest participation in the reviewing process (the production of detailed responses) and revision that actually takes student responses into consideration. Concludes that by requiring students to tell the teacher what they chose to leave alone and what they chose to change, the teacher is able to get…

Explores the nature of new story ideas coming from stories in progress, focusing particularly on the author's two recent nativity stories: "Hallelujah: A Christmas Celebration" and "To Hear the Angels Sing." Discusses challenges of writing outside of one's culture, i.e., the issue of authenticity and accuracy as a European-American writer writing…

Provides the example of writing as a subject in which an educator might design instruction so that students think their way through the logic of the subject rather than memorize bits and pieces of someone else's thought (never grasping its logic). Presents four instructional steps: prethinking the course, student orientation, initial practice, and…