Why Do Some Students Fail Creative Writing?

[hotnicey]

I teach High school and elementary students English Composition(in Africa) . I noticed they have difficulty in creative writing. Why is that or is there a better method I can use?

Thanks

[LivetoErr]

I'm not sure how you teach them but there are many resources online that might help you. If you Google, 'teaching creative writing' you'll find lots of websites that provide worksheets, lesson plans, etc.

I think creative writing is hard because you need to express thoughts and not information. Perhaps, you are asking your students to write about things they're not comfortable with? If they're just learning, have them write about things they know, like, perhaps, the city they live in or their families.

[pahagwl]

In my opinion, creative writing is an art and as we all know, an art can only be mastered with practice. Students do not take out the time to write some stuff on their own which is the essence of excelling at creative writing. Poor grammar and command of the English language is also attributable to some extent for this failure.

[yurithebest1]

Well i can almost assure you that if you entice them to start reading books at home that will improve their writing level in a magical way, by the way i still remember what an English teacher used to told us quoted "reading is magic" but it's not instant because it takes some time and the good thing is that it works. Giving them the same books to read will make them excited to compete against each other, and they should make you a written summary after reading each book, you will notice how their levels are improving.

[angelicagapit]

I honestly think it takes practice to write creatively. People have to strengthen their imagination and creativity because that's very important when it comes to writing.

A lack of creativity can make your writing seem mediocre and not unique at all.

The ability to write creatively doesn't come overnight, but my opinion is that it just takes practice.

[Emmanuel]

Well some people simply aren't very creative. It's possible this is a language issue, but I wouldn't know how it affects their creative writing. Perhaps they haven't yet built a vast enough dictionary with which to describe their thoughts?

[erikao1o]

I think that it can definitely be dangerous to tell students to be "creative". A lot of the time, students are forced to think "inside of the box" for most of their time at school, and they can find it difficult to switch gears and go over to thinking creatively. There's also the aspect of putting a time limit on the amount of time that they're allowed to be creative for, maybe they need a warm-up period or maybe right after lunch isn't the time when they're the most creative. Overall, I think creative writing is great for students to do, although it doesn't work for everyone!

[skywatcher]

Achieving creativity isn't always easy for students, especially through writing. Art students could also have a dilemma when it comes to pouring out creativity through their works, and I'm sure students can also have a hard time pouring their creative juice through the medium.

And considering that not everyone can use the English language that efficiently, another difficulty of students might be utilizing the language as efficiently as an artist uses his pen to draw. I think the best way to help students more in creative writing is to help them through practice.

[Miya]

In my opinion, you can't really fail creative writing when you're actually being graded on "creativity". Everyone is different and something that I write and find interesting might not be something you enjoy reading. But that doesn't mean that what I'm writing is wrong... it just means we have different interests. You can't really judge one's creativity, in my opinion.

I think most people fail creative writing because of grammar/sentence structure problems. It's not a problem with their creativity, but with the way they actually write. 

[Nicholls]

Each person have distinct ideas, but some are really not the expressive type. Some fail in creative writing because they have trouble relaying the stories in their minds to other people. I agree with you, guys. It's not about the level of creativity, but how it is written.

[Trellum]

I blame it on TV and video games... kids and adults in general are becoming more and more dependent on their gadgets.  So much they no longer seem to be able to be creative or really think for themselves.  It's really scary if you ask me, because back in the day we had to actually use our own imagination if we wanted to have fun playing outside.  Nowadays everything is already laid out... no need to think or be creative. 

Of course, the environmental factors are also present nowadays... so in certain zones in the world they might not have access to all the gadgets most people do, but they might have other things in their mind that don't allow them to express themselves properly.

[Lasonax]

Sometimes creative writing can be really tough, simply because the people trying to write has no clue what to write. It's not that they don't know how to express themselves in words/lacking language skills, it's rather that they're not very creative thinking, or they just don't know what to write overall.

A good idea to make them write would of course be to try to give them very easy questions to answer, and maybe several options. A question that one person would find easy to answer and write a lot about, might not work as well for another person. So if the focus is to get them to write something completely on their own, give them a few options as of what to write.

[Dora M]

To put it bluntly, I would say that some students simply lack imagination. They probably wouldn't be able to write a creative story in their native language either. So why should it be any different in a foreign one?

[martindrox]

They need to read, that's the most effective way that they can start learning how to write. Of course you can't just give them a book and the very next day they show up professional, they need time but finally they will get it and will have the capability to do so, let them write something about every book they've checked out.

[Rosa]

Creative writing is really an art and so it is not easily taught. However, I believe that if children are exposed to the topic at an early age it would prove to be less of a challenge. Small children need to be taught to be expressive in their writing and that could make the task more successful.

[Pesto]

I think a huge component of it is that whatever topics or prompts students are given to work with are not relevant to them in some form.  It's already a tricky enough of a task to write creatively on your own volition or regarding a topic that you like; it's tedious and down-right difficult when you don't care about the topic at hand.  I also think that there isn't enough emphasis on writing for enjoyment's sake and socialization.  A lot of people don't seem to quite understand that writing can be used as an emotional release and can as validly communicate concepts as speaking.  Having students keep journals is often a suggestion that has been made in my classes that I'm taking for my MA in TESOL.

Though, I do agree that some people simply aren't creative.  I mean, I think it's like athleticism in that a lot of people can develop it, but some people seem to struggle no matter what help or accommodations are made.  I'll admit that lacking creativity is hard for me to get because I've never had problems with this, but, seriously, I can empathize with anyone who is terrible at sports!

[johnnear]

Well the way I see it, it goes like this. Either the students aren't interested in writing something creative, or they're not creative enough to write something or they're not really inclined to do so. If somebody is really willing to learn a new language they would really make an effort to learn  it.

[chigreyofthenorns]

Creative writing is very difficult. For instance, I am a Journalism graduate, but I am really bad at creative writing. I excel more in news stories, editorials, etc. For someone to be able to write creatively, he or she should be able to express his or her thoughts well. It's basically an art. Just like how people can draw while others cannot. I believe that there is no right or wrong way to teach this class. It would be best to appreciate the efforts of your students individually. If they see failing marks, this might just dissuade them more.

[Baburra]

Maybe it's because it needs more than just the right grammar. There is a certain flow to creative writing that is not very technical so it is hard to define the rules and adhere to it. The most effective way of learning it is to study other good ones, which should be very easy to find nowadays, fortunately.

[xTinx]

As you may know, creative writing isn't just about forming a sentence as if sharing an idea. Most students do not consider writing as a way of expressing themselves. A good way to help students improve their creative writing skills is to imagine themselves talking. Whatever words come out of their heads, they should immediately write them down. Also, encourage students to read books that stimulate their imagination and flair for words.

[DancingLady]

Maybe you can try presenting it to them a storytelling on paper.  It doesn't have to be perfect form, or even perfect sentence structure all the time if something different tells the story better.  Help them by reading portions of works you feel are well written, good examples so they can get a general understanding of what creative writing is about.  Everyone's work will be different because it's an art, not a formal paper.

[TheJamal]

Creative writing is also a subjective subject matter, so it can be difficult to reach students to get them to understand what exactly you expect from them. It's not like 1+1=2 in math where there are no other answers. With creative writing, students could each approach a different topic from an entirely different perspective from each other.

So I would stay open minded with what answers you expect and not just have "one right answer" in your mind when grading their work. That might help your expectations of the class a little more.

[xTinx]

Because creative writing is an altogether different level. You can write the language after learning how to speak it but to write it creatively and in a way that stirs the imagination, the person must be highly proficient with the language he's using. It's not ideal to set up creative writing classes for people who have just learned the basics of a language. It's okay at the intermediate and advanced stages. But never for beginners.

[Traveler]

Because not everyone is creative? (I know it's not PC.)

Most students lack interest. Can't blame them for that. If school and classes were about only learning what you cared about, it wouldn't be a problem. But that isn't the paradigm of education in our age.

When it has come to having students do things that require creativity, I tried to avoid ¨perfection¨ and just hit as close as possible to their interest. Something like creative writing could be broken up into smaller, more manageable pieces.

[Krrizal]

The success of creative writing comes from imagination. Some people are more in tune with the creative aspects that make up imagination, while others struggle with dealing with theoretical/fictional concepts. When teaching a class, trying encouraging students to read or draw as much as possible to stimulate their creative thinking caps.