Arising from a research project conducted over four years, this book examines the effect of creative writing on learners, in terms of their personal development and individual sense of self. The developmental and therapeutic benefits of writing fictional autobiography are examined through case studies following a number of students from diverse backgrounds with wide ranging life histories.

This guide is ideal for students of creative writing who wish to explore the writing process and its relationship to self in order to develop as writers. Each chapter links a range of theoretical approaches to one practical aspect of writing, using illustrations from fiction, poetry and literary non-fiction, and suggesting practical exercises for pursuing the topic further. The book will enable students to develop literary, critical and psychodynamic understandings of the creative process and to explore a range of key topics.

Examining the potential of creative writing as a therapeutic tool, particularly in terms of its influence on the self and personal development, The Self on the Page is divided into two parts. In Part One representative practitioners provide an overview of current work in the field, based on their experience of conducting courses, workshops and research projects with creative writing students, and clients as diverse as people with learning disabilities or dementia and people in hospices, using various genres of creative writing from poetry to autobiography and literary fiction. This section...