Rip the Page
Adventures in Creative Writing
Karen Benke

Book lists Trumpter; Amazon lists Roost Books
July 2010 / ISBN: 978-1590308127
Nonfiction / Writing / children
Amazon

Reviewed by Willie Elliott

A little book filled with all kinds of writing ideas with one thing in mind: creativity. The book is Rip the Page by Karen Benke.

The book seems to be targeted toward young writers but adults could use it to loosen up their imagination and snap out of writer's block. The assignments include word play, open-ended writing assignments, encouragement from writers and poets plus other ideas that open the mind to creativity.

None of the activities stifle the writer (whether young or old) with rules about spelling, grammar, usage and other formalities that stand in the way of creativity. This is not to say that these are not important-but not at this stage.

An interesting activity is "What You've Never Told Anyone." I jotted down a couple in my journal and found it liberating. One example: I never told anyone that in my youth I was convinced that I was going to be bitten by a rabid dog and die.

Many of the ideas for writing are a little zany but most entertaining. This book should be on the desk of all teachers who teach creative writing. Wish I had had one when I was teaching.