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Creative & Personal Writing

Creative & Personal Writing

  1. Video: A Steelworker's Story

    A newly-minted writer tells vivid stories of being a female steelworker.

  2. Video: Def Poetry Jam

    Broadway performers from Russell Simmon's "Def Poetry Jam" show how writing poetry can be hot and cool.

  3. Video: Family English

    An El Paso woman learns English and uses reading and writing to express her love for her family.

  4. Video: Frank McCourt

    Adult learners discuss this best-selling memoir and meet its author, Frank McCourt.

  5. Video: Getting Started

    Poet Jimmy Baca helps a group of writers come up with ideas.

  6. Video: Greeting Cards

    Laverne (Liz Torres) helps a young man draft and revise a card to his girlfriend.

  7. Video: Hazel Dickens

    Bluegrass singer/songwriter Hazel Dickens talks about her writing process and shows examples of her work.

  8. Video: Images and Details

    Poet Jimmy Baca helps a group of writers fine-tune their work.

  9. Video: Journals

    Poet Jimmy Baca and a group of adults discuss why and how they keep a journal and share some of their journal entries.

  10. Video: Letters and Memories

    Poet Jimmy Baca teaches a group how to use memories to make their writing more powerful.

  11. Video: Mystery Writer

    Best-selling novelist, Elizabeth Daniels Squire, who was dyslexic, explains her writing strategies.

  12. Video: Poet Jimmy Baca

    A well-known poet tells how he discovered the power of language while he was in prison.

  13. Video: Read Aloud

    Professional actors in New York City read adult learners' writings on stage.

  14. Video: Setting the Tone

    A young man who is about to be married writes a letter to his long-lost father asking for the family pocket watch.

  15. Video: Steelworkers Write

    Poet Jimmy Baca conducts a dynamic writing workshop with Indiana steelworkers.

  16. Video: The Freedom Writers

    Four Long Beach, California, students use pen and paper to fight prejudice and intolerence.

  17. Video: Toshi Reagon

    Singer/songwriter Toshi Reagon writes a song on the spot especially for TV411 and shares her writing process.

  18. Video: Writers' Room

    TV411 goes behind the scenes of the Bernie Mac Show for a peek at a professional brainstorming session.

Web Lessons

  1. Writing a Complaint Letter

  2. Write Your Autobiography

  3. Personal Letter: Setting the Tone

  4. How to Write a Poem

  5. Editing Checklist

Print Downloads

  1. Writing Ideas

  2. Personal Story

  3. Frequently Misspelled Words

  4. Editing Checklist

  5. Be Specific