Providing Feedback on Creative Writing

Through our research on Writing Center pedagogy and creative writing tutoring, we established five main focuses that can help prepare and enable tutors to provide the best possible feedback. Creative writing tutoring stems from a comprehensive knowledge of genre conventions, understanding one’s role as a tutor, training, and tutoring strategies, and the utilization of multiliteracies. With insight into each of these five foundations of tutoring, we at the Writing Center can help fully support the writer and their intentions. 

Genre Conventions

In her 1999 article Addressing Genre in the Writing Center, Irene Clark discusses the evolving definition of “genre.” Historically, the genre has been associated with concepts of form and text classifications. In creative writing, this can be seen with the misconception that all fiction must include long paragraphs of intricate details or that all poetry must be full of figurative language. However, these are examples of styles rather than genres. Recently, the genre has been seen as a writer’s response to a situation, and their response has a specific motivation or intention they’re trying to achieve. With creative works, this could be a message they want to send, a way for the writer to vent, or simply a result of a passion project! Tutors need to be aware of the vast styles and intentions that could be used when giving feedback on a creative piece. To be fair towards all writers and provide genuine, helpful feedback, tutors should remember that style isn’t indicative of genre and there are no set “rules” when writing fiction or poetry. Comparing one piece to another isn’t constructive, rather treat each writer as responding to their own situation.

Role of Tutor

When conducting an appointment, there are four attitudes a tutor should hold to provide the most holistic and helpful feedback on writing projects. These attitudes take into account that standard grammar and syntax rules may not apply depending on the writer’s intention. The first of these is the role of “facilitator,” as explained by Adams & Adams (1994), in which the tutor guides the writer through the writing process, instead of taking control. In other words, the tutor makes it easier for the writer to achieve their intention by using their personal artistic choices. Unlike academic writing, the tutor’s job isn’t to refer to a set of rules and whether information is presented clearly. Rather than stopping at basic comprehension, a tutor should also enact the role of a “reader” and take note of how they respond to the work. Based on this, a tutor should be “responsive” by offering their reactions to the writer’s work. This will inform the writer if their artistic choices communicate their intention. Finally, a tutor should be “engaged” by taking notes of the writer’s choices and how they’re affecting readers. Suggestions can then be based on these notes. Simply put, tutors are a “receiver of information” (Boquet, 2002), and by responding to a writer’s work truthfully, the tutor will help clarify and enhance the writer’s intention.

Training Strategies

DePaul Writing Center tutors gain tutoring skills through experiences both within the Writing Center and in their WRD 395 courses. According to Adams & Adams (1994), Writing Centers must adopt a new form of pedagogy and training built on Writing Workshops. They argue that “…the centers should adopt the empowering pedagogy of writing workshops, changing the tutor’s primary role from authority in one-on-one conferences to facilitator in informal group sessions.” While also highlighting the role of a tutor, Adams claims that training in writing workshops may facilitate more conversation and create a more comfortable environment for writers in tutoring sessions. We believe that DePaul’s Writing Center displays Adams’ theory by introducing writing workshops after the Writing Center’s main hours of operation. To add to the already existing training strategies, Stegner (2008) recommends including training in literature and genre studies, such as poetry. He claims that contact with other forms of writing or environments that uphold the expression of creativity may awaken greater writing talents and enable curiosity.  

Tutoring Strategies

Combining our sources, we’ve established 3 main focuses tutors should have for creative writing appointments. The first is upholding the writer’s intention. It’s not the tutor’s job to control a writer’s goal, but rather to help guide them as they create it. As Stegner (2008) emphasizes, the writer is the only one who knows their true intention. Asking questions like “How is the intention coming across in the piece?” or “How can it be made clearer?” can be great ways to address the writer’s intention. The second focus is word choice. This can be a concrete agenda item since the effectiveness of any piece can be analyzed through the writer’s word choice. Some questions could be “How clear are the writer’s ideas?” or “What purposes do the phrases serve?” Finally, there’s the importance of group collaboration. The Writing Center offers this setting through writing groups such as the Writer’s Guild or the Screenwriting group. Directing writers towards these groups can provide them with multiple viewpoints and strategies from others that can then motivate them through the continuing writing or revision process. The writer is already participating in this collaborative environment by making an appointment, so encouraging them to continue seeking out feedback provides them with further resources to help them realize their intention.

Role of Language

While there are many “rules” that have been created to regulate language within writing fields, often these rules are utilized to ignore a multi-linguistic society. At the Writing Center, we believe it is our job to uphold all forms of written language; additionally, we believe that tutors should have the skills to address writer’s multiliteracies, which can be defined as multiple languages, multiple Englishes, or multiple medias (Vacek, 2012). Comparing Young’s work Should Writers Use They Own English and Vacek’s (2012) study on EAL poetry writers, we can see an intersection between two forms of written works (academic and poetry writing) with multiple Englishes. As tutors, we should uphold these multiple Englishes to sustain linguistic justice. Adams & Adams (1994) suggest we can increase our own multiliteracies by incorporating poetry writing into a tutor training course, such as our WRD 395 class. They state that “for those writing centers without tutor training courses, reading and discussing poetry about language and literacy can easily be added to staff development sessions.” Not only can access and training on poetry be effective for tutors, but also access to creative writing and poetry focused on language and literacy can provide tutors with a more comprehensive linguistic understanding of writing as a whole. 

Like any Writing Center appointment, the exact methods and strategies a tutor uses vary depending on the writer and their project. We hope that with our findings, tutors feel more prepared to give feedback on creative writing pieces and look at creative genres in a different way.

References

Adams, K. H., & Adams, J. L. (1994). The creative writing workshop and the writing center. Intersections: Theory-Practice in the Writing Center. Ed. Joan A. Mullin and Ray Wallace. Urbana: NCTE, 19-24.

Boquet, E. H. (2002). Introduction: Making a Joyful Noise. In Noise From The Writing Center (pp. 1–6). University Press of Colorado. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt46nwjt.5

Clark, I. L. (1999). Addressing Genre in the Writing Center. The Writing Center Journal, 20(1), 7–32. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43442082

Stegner, W. (2008). On the Teaching of Creative Writing: Responses to a Series of Questions. Writing on the Edge, 19(1), 6–27. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43157372

Stegner, W. (2002). Creative Writing. New England Review (1990-), 23(3), 100–110. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40244153

Vacek, K. (2012). Developing tutors’ meta-multiliteracies through poetry.

Young, V. A. (2010). Should Writers Use They Own English? Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies, 12(1), 110–117. https://doi.org/10.17077/2168-569X.1095