Memo 3a--Connections to Course Texts--Teaching Narrative Writing with Graphic Novels

In her chapter on Narrative Writing in Teaching for Joy and Justice, Linda Christensen says that “students who learn to skillfully employ the elements of fiction in their narrative writing come to the study of literature with a better understanding of how authors construct stories and use literary tools.”  It is my endeavor of the day to spend a little time peeling back the layers of this statement to examine it in pieces in terms of teaching and learning writing using comics and graphic novels. 

Narrative writing is something that seems to scare a lot of students—myself included.  It requires a certain level of creativity or general writing ability which many do not see themselves as having been born with.   It is this myth which connects creative ability to something that is innate rather than learned or constructed which makes fiction writing difficult for many students.  By breaking down the writing of fictional narratives into “elements,” as Christensen describes here, students can build a new confidence in their abilities.  I believe (as do many others who have written on the subject and about whom I have previously written) that having students study graphic novels and create their own is one vehicle through which students can explore and express their creativity through writing.

Understanding “how authors construct stories and use literary tools” is a piece of this puzzle as well.  Texts like Abel and Madden’s Drawing Words & Writing Pictures is one comic-based teaching text which breaks down the writing of graphic novels into elements as Christensen suggests.  It brings the act of writing out of the clouds and to the level of the students who can start from the bare bones and work up to the creation of their own fictional narratives.  Christensen describes the privilege placed on essay writing as well as the need to combat it.

While teaching writing through comics/graphic novels includes the creative pressure previously described to some extent, it also alleviates the pressure that comes with a student having only words (in fact, only English words) at his or her disposal.  Using a form which employs words and pictures to tell stories opens a new door, especially for English Language Learners. Placing emphasis on storytelling rather than on grammatical or mechanical crafting allows for growth in terms of creation of written work without the pressure of maintaining “correctness.”

Overall, the suggestion that more emphasis be put on narrative writing in school is a solid one, and I believe that comics/graphic novels are one avenue for developing student writing in this way.  Christensen’s stance is in support of and works well with mine in addition to complementing the specific teaching strategies used by comic writers and teachers like Jessica Abel and Matt Madden in Drawing Words & Writing Pictures.