I don’t teach a creative writing class anymore, but I write in my spare time. For me, it’s one act plays. When students ask me why I write plays, I tell them that I have many reasons for it, but ultimately it’s good for my brain. I believe that creative writing improves writing, opens avenues in literary analysis, and allows students to approach literature from different angles.
Here are 10 creative writing activities you can use in literature classes to encourage growth in your ELA students.
Write a Missing Chapter
Assign students to write a “missing” scene or chapter that fits seamlessly into the narrative of a novel or play.
Examples:
- Add a Kite Runner scene from Hassan’s perspective during a key moment, revealing his inner thoughts and motivations.
- Write what happens during Elizabeth Bennet’s journey to Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice.
- Create a missing chapter from Things Fall Apart showing Okonkwo’s time in exile, focusing on his private struggles to reconcile his ambition with his perceived failure.
Modernize the Setting
Ask students to rewrite a scene in a contemporary setting, including updated language and cultural references.
Examples:
- Transform Romeo and Juliet’s balcony scene into a FaceTime call or a text exchange.
- Imagine Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter in a contemporary setting, advocating for women’s rights and becoming a public speaker about overcoming social stigmas.
- Relate the drama of Messina through a Twitter/X exchange, like I do when I teach Much Ado About Nothing.
Rewrite from Another Character’s Perspective
Have students retell a significant event through the eyes of a secondary or minor character.
Examples:
- Retell the scene of Janie and Tea Cake fleeing the hurricane from the perspective of Motor Boat from Their Eyes Were Watching God. Explore his thoughts as he chooses to stay behind and how he views their struggle.
- Tell Of Mice and Men from Curley’s wife’s point of view.
- Recount Hamlet’s dilemma from Ophelia’s perspective.
Create a Literary Spin-Off
Encourage students to create short stories that follow the future lives of characters after the book’s ending.
Examples:
- Explore what might happen in 1984 if Winston and Julia had left a hidden resistance journal. Future generations in Oceania discover it, igniting a rebellion decades later.
- Explain what happens to the Younger family in A Raisin in the Sun 1-2 years after their move.
Write an Alternative Ending
Let students explore the “what-ifs” by rewriting the ending of a story.
Examples:
- Rewrite the ending of Lord of the Flies where the boys are not rescued, or where Simon survives and becomes a leader.
- Imagine a scenario where the animals from Animal Farm unite against Napoleon and the pigs, overthrowing their rule and establishing a truly equal society. Explore the struggles of building this new community.
- What if Friar Laurence’s message about the sleeping potion reached Romeo in time? Write a new ending where the star-crossed lovers survive and face the challenges of uniting their families.
Create Found Poetry
Students create a poem using words and phrases from a literary text, reshaping them into a new meaning or theme.
Examples:
- Use passages from 1984 to craft a poem about surveillance or freedom.
- Use words and phrases from a short story to create a poem that vividly captures the mood or theme. (see my example below from Daphne du Maurier’s “The Birds!”)
Compose Letters or Diary Entries
Assign students to write diary entries or letters from a character’s point of view that reveal internal conflicts or events “off the page.”
Examples:
- Write diary entries for Victor Frankenstein as he debates creating a mate for the creature.
- Compose a diary entry from Lady Macbeth after the murder of Duncan, revealing her guilt and unraveling mental state, while foreshadowing her eventual breakdown.
- Write a diary entry from Jane Eyre’s perspective the night before her wedding to Mr. Rochester, where she reflects on her doubts, fears, and love for him.
Write a Prequel or Origin Story
Have students imagine and write about events that happened before the story began.
Examples:
- Develop the backstory for To Kill a Mockingbird’s Boo Radley living in Maycomb as a child.
- Explain how Captain Beatty learned—and rejected—all his literary knowledge before becoming a fire captain in Fahrenheit 451.
Practice Voice Lessons
Transform the same narrative numerous times, modeling a selected author’s voice and writing strategies. I do this each week with my AP Lit students!
Examples:
- Recreate a narrative using a strong narrative voice, such as the narrators in The Book Thief or A Christmas Carol.
- Approach a story from the end of the narrative and looking back, such as in Fredrik Backman’s Beartown.
