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Chiding or Coaxing the Creative Mind?

Written by Patti Stafford from Patti Stafford

creativemind In light of recent work I’ve been doing, these questions have been weighing on my mind a great deal lately. As I was trying to decide which aspect of writing to cover this week, I decided to go with this and get your opinions on the matter.

This will seem to lean towards writers of fiction, but, non-fiction writers also need a bit of creativity too, so please voice your opinion even if you’ve never touched fiction or poetry.

Did your high school English class measure up to what you feel you needed as a writer? Did it fit the style of writing you’re doing now? As a non-fiction writer, I suppose my high school did pretty well with the curriculum, but as a fiction writer, I’m not so sure.

Was your creative mind developed in high school English?

I’m in contact with many writers and one thing I’m discovering (and thought myself) is that high school English was geared towards the mechanics of writing and the depth of intellect when it came to reading literary material and NOT about creative freedom or expression.

The mechanics, of course, are grammar, punctuation and spelling. These things are important for writers, but shouldn’t a young mind be allowed to work more on the creative writing side of English? It’s through writing that we learn the mechanics—not from writing sentences about “See spot run.”

Comprehension of literary material: That one still boggles my mind. Do I really need to understand what Poe, Hemingway or Shakespeare meant to be a good writer? The question is debatable and I’m sure we all have our own opinion. My opinion is that I don’t have to be in the mind of Poe to be a good writer. He is one of my favorite authors, and although some deemed him crazy as a loon, and he was found to suffer dementia—I think he had a brilliant mind. Maybe if I suffered dementia I might understand his works more, but I’m perfectly happy to just enjoy his work as entertainment and don’t feel the need to rip it apart for clarification.

This brings me to all those book reports required for high school English. Was there a true point to them? Did we need to condense the work of these great authors into one or two pages to show that we comprehended the material—and if so—was it really all that important?

Wouldn’t it have been more suitable to expand our creative minds more at that age, than to worry with our comprehension and make us do book reports that we didn’t like to begin with?

I’m not saying it’s not necessary to read the works of other writers, it does in fact, help you hone your own craft. I’m asking if the book reports (and bad grades you got on those reports) helped you as a writer, or did it hinder your creative mind because you didn’t grasp the exact concept the teacher believed you should grasp?

Often times when we don’t grasp what the teacher expects we are chided, scolded or given a bad grade. In many ways this hurts a student and leads to feelings of inadequacy in writing, causing many would-be great writers to fear writing.

To wrap up the questions:

Do you feel your high school English class helped or hindered your writing?
Do you feel that creative expression should be as emphasized as writing mechanics?
Did your teachers cause feelings of remorse or fear because you didn’t “measure up” to his/her expectations?

If you have any other thoughts, please share.

Written by Patti Stafford from Patti Stafford
Posted on October 21st, 2009 and filed under Writing
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4 Responses to “Chiding or Coaxing the Creative Mind?”

Author comments are in a darker gray color for you to easily identify the posts author in the comments

Mike says:

October 22, 2009 at 12:14 pm

I would have to say they hindered more than anything. I remember trying to write sci-fi in English and it was not well accepted because it was not real experiences.

It’s funny how the open minded ones try to be stifled by others, but business and success thrive off of new ideas.
Bob Bessette says:

October 22, 2009 at 12:53 pm

Hi,
I don’t necessarily think that my high school English class had much effect on my writing. I think maybe it had more of an effect on my propensity for using “good” English and using the language correctly. I am also a stickler for spelling which was also something that was emphasized in grade school and high school. Not until I get to college do I feel that my writing actually began to develop. It was there I was able to take a Journalism or Writing class that basically worked on writing and not comprehending great writers’ works.
I definitely think that creative expression should be emphasized and I think it is today. I have a daughter in high school and a daughter in college. I think there is definitely more of an emphasis on creative expression than there was when I was in school.
It’s a good topic to hash about though. Great post.

Best,
Bob
opal rings says:

October 24, 2009 at 11:21 pm

My school days doesn’t helped me in creative writings much. But today’s curriculum in many schools are excellent and that helps the children more in creative writing.
Patti Stafford says:

November 7, 2009 at 9:43 pm

Great comments! It’s nice to see the school system changing a bit and putting more emphasis on the creative process.

Thanks for the comments,
Patti