Activity D: Author for a Day

Creative Writing Project

I. Instructors will select a specific theme such love, the search for identity, or betrayal.

II. Instructors will divide the class into five groups. Each group will be assigned two authors from the ten American women fiction writers. The students will discuss the authors' writing styles. Each group will select one member who will go to the board, identify the authors, and then list the elements of their writing styles.

III. After all the authors have been presented, the class will evaluate the listings and change them if necessary.

IV. Students will take notes on the authors' writing styles to be used for the creative writing assignment.

V. Students will write an opening paragraph for a short story. They are not required to complete the short story, but they may write more than one paragraph if they wish. Their writing style will be modeled after one of the ten American women writers. For this part of the activity, students may use their notes from the group project.

VI. Suggestions for publishing the students' writing:

A. Students' work may be posted to a conferencing link on the course's web site.

B. Each group of students may select one paragraph which will represent the group. The five selected paragraphs may be duplicated for the class by the instructor.

C. Students may e-mail their opening paragraphs to other members of their group. The groups then can select the best work and e-mail the winning paragraph to the instructor.

D. All of the students' creative work may be duplicated for a class book. Students may create a cover, compile a table of contents, and write an introduction. In addition, they may organize the students' work by subject matter.

E. Students' work can be posted on a classroom bulletin board.