Creative Writing Workshop

Introduction

My interest in creativity springs from a university class I attended on Creative Teaching. Before I began my study, I believed the myth that only a few exceptionally bright and gifted individuals are creative. During the next few months I learned that creativity is an innate ability regardless of IQ.

Aware that creativity is an inborn gift, I studied the creative thinking skills of elementary school educationally handicapped children. In eight weeks of instruction these boys and girls made outstanding progress in their ability to think of more ideas and more original ideas, than children without special training.

Like many new ventures, several years passed before this idea evolved into a book that focused on helping parents understand and teach their children inventive thinking skills. Since then I have continued to study and write about creativity.

I developed this workshop to help writers recognize and nurture their writing abilities. In the four lessons students will begin to understand their inventive abilities, and practice ways to think and write originally.

Each lesson includes a thinking workout including warm-up exercises. These exercises are designed to give the originative process a boost and prepare you for serious writing. Athletes warm up and stretch their muscles before they begin a workout or competition. You can have the same kind of experience with a creative thinking workout.

The primary rule during a workout is to allow the right hemisphere of your brain to take control. This means don’t edit grammar or punctuation, and forget about correct spelling at least for a while. Let the words flow.

Most of the assigned writing activities are adapted from Freeing Your Creativity by Marshall J. Cook. Although this book is out of print, new and used copies are available from Amazon.Com.

My home is in Little River California, population about 400, on California’s North Coast. When I am not writing, visiting grandchildren, or looking at the Pacific Ocean, I’m on the golf course enjoying life!

Lessons

Click here to see course syllabus