A Writer's Craft: Multi-Genre Creative Writing

by Kendall Dunkelberg

This introductory creative writing text uses a unique, multi-genre approach to provide students with a broad-based knowledge of their craft, treating them as professional writers. Beginning by discussing elements common to all genres, this book underscores the importance of learning good writing habits before committing to a genre, encouraging writers to look beyond their genre expectations and learn from other forms.

The book then devotes one chapter to each of the major literary genres: fiction, poetry, drama and creative nonfiction. These style-specific sections provide depth as they compare the different genres, furnishing students with a comprehensive understanding of creative writing as a discipline and fostering creativity. The discussion concludes with a chapter on digital media and an appendix on literary citizenship and publishing. With exercises at the end of each chapter, a glossary of literary terms, and a list of resources for further study, A Writer's Craft is the ideal companion to an introductory creative writing class.

Rated as a Best Books for Writers by Poets & Writers

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing

194 pages, Paperback

Published July 10, 2017

About the author

Kendall Dunkelberg directs the low-residency MFA in creative writing and the Eudora Welty Writers' Symposium at Mississippi University for Women. His introductory creative writing textbook, A Writer's Craft: Multigenre Creative Writing, was rated as a Best Book for Writers by Poets & Writers. He has published four collections of poetry, Tree Fall with Birdsong, Barrier Island Suite, Time Capsules, and Landscapes and Architectures: Poems, as well as Hercules Richelieu and Nostradamus, translations of the Flemish poet Paul Snoek. He has published widely in literary magazines and anthologies, including The Southern Poetry Anthology, Vol. II: Mississippi, and Attached to the Living World: A New Ecopoetry Anthology

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A writer’s bible!! This book covers a variety of creative writing genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama. It also does a great job of breaking down the literary elements and even provides writing exercises at the end of each chapter. An excellent resource for any aspiring author! 10/10 would recommend!

[Alec Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the craft by the director of MUW’s Creative Writing MFA program.

[Olivia Laprade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers all the basics without a lot of fluff!

[David Jace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good bit of instruction, but I would have liked some focus on fiction genres, as in horror, romance, speculative, mystery, etc. By multi-genre, it means poetry, fiction, drama, and nonfiction.

[Sophie Carbone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful… but happy I didn’t have to buy it.

[Delaney]

Textbook for class 😌

[Matthew Andresen · Rating 3 out of 5]

good insite

[Eric Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I teach creative writing and read this book to aid in my lesson-planning at an alternative high school for students at the junior and senior level. I read it out of order due to the needs of my students, but it was great for the areas outside of concentration (poetry, creative nonfiction, and drama) as well as backup for how to introduce concepts of fiction (my concentration) to younger students. The material is well presented and the book is easy to navigate. The knowledge is valuable and similar to what I learned in my undergraduate creative writing classes and in my MFA program.