Help me be a creative feature writing teacher!

January 9, 2008 7:27 PM

I'm teaching a college-level feature writing class this spring, and while I've taught the class before, I'm looking for new ideas for in-class writing exercises and short assignments.

I've done stuff before like show a movie scene and have them write a descriptive paragraph about it, interview each other about a stupid/embarrassing thing that happened during their childhood and write a little story about it, bring in cookies and have them come up with descriptive phrases and then use those phrases in a "radio commercial" for the cookies, etc.

So I'm looking for more stuff like that -- not necessarily "creative writing" exercises, more like exercises that help them write real stuff (like feature stories) creatively.

Thanks!

posted by printchick to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

You could have them apply past or current product campaigns to create new film campaigns. One of the most obnoxious things about the business of entertainment writing is creating the log line, the mini-treatment, the treatment, the package, the pitch, blah blah blah.

Having your students think about what makes X ad campaign successful for X could help them hone in on highlighting what is most saleable about a feature, which they can translate to all those different pieces of business writing (and performance, in the case of pitch.)

It's also a sneaky way to teach them about theme and plot. It will force them to focus on the core of the work, instead of meandering around in the details. Helping them clarify their focus can only make them better writers. Getting young writers to answer the question, "What is your movie about?" in one sentence is a challenge. I think using ad campaigns could be a fun way to help them think about it in those terms: Speed 2: Think Outside the Bus.
posted by headspace at 8:09 PM on January 9, 2008

I'm not sure this will work in your class, but a communications professor in my department used to teach a speechwriting class. Each student would write for a business CEO for the first half and a political candidate the second half. At the end of the semester, each student received a phone call at an awkward time -- something like 7 at night -- and was told that his or her candidate was just taped using a racial slur, for example, and the candidate needed a rehabilitation speech for a TV appearance the next morning. It was a completely different game writing a speech under a time constraint like that.
posted by lockestockbarrel at 8:40 PM on January 9, 2008

My three favorite exercises from teaching writing:

Bring in your favorite song. Analyze it as to what the main message is, who they're speaking to (primary audience and secondary audience), what's the tone, the support points, etc. (I did it as the first class exercise to get a sense where they were coming from intellectually, their critical thinking skills and just a way to know something more about them than their student ID number.)

What's your favorite swear word? Why? (This is everyone's favorite. It's a nice way to get them to talk about emotion and difficult to talk about issues.)

Convince me of something, anything, in less than three pages. Now, using the word count feature on your word processor, cut that down to 300 words. Now cut that down to 100 words. Now 50. Now 25. Now 10. Now 5. Each rewrite must stand on its own. (This is the one that students years later have told me was most valuable.)
posted by Gucky at 9:10 PM on January 9, 2008

A few of my favorites, especially for reluctant or new writers:

1. Toss Ins:
Begin by asking students to name a character. Then ask them to name a location. Then ask them to name another character or item. You should end up with a story beginning like this:

Mark is at the grocery store with his mom's purse.

Then, ask them to begin writing a story with that premise. After they've been writing for a few minutes, add a toss in (a suggestion for them to add to their story). Continue adding toss-ins every few minutes until the writing session is over.

Toss in examples:
* Add a color
* Add a sound
* Add a line of dialogue
* Add an emotion
* Add a question
* End with a sentence that begins, "If only...."

Ask a few (or all) students to read their stories...it's amazing how DIFFERENT they are. This exercise really gets writers out of the 'I can't do it' rut because it's easy to keep thinking of ways to incorporate those toss-ins.

2. Genre Change.

For more advanced writers, the same idea as toss-ins, but change the genre. You can begin as an editorial, then change to science fiction, to a musical, to an advertisement, etc.


3. Writing Tips.

Especially good for 'stuck' writers.

Imagine a young person comes up to you and wants to write a story by they don't know what to do. You must offer suggestions to this person. Please explain your top three (or five) writing tips.

You'd be surprised at how often having to 'fix' someone else's work helps writers improve their OWN work.
posted by batcrazy at 10:58 PM on January 9, 2008