Writing can be a most challenging exercise for students who struggle with academic learning and creativity.  And a blank piece of paper can often become overwhelming if words are not flowing freely from the mind, as well as a discouraged student thinking they are not clever enough to create a story of original design.  Creative Freewriting Adventure, written by Stacy Farrell, is a writing resource that encourages students to ponder some very unique situations, interpret the questions using their own words, and with uniqueness create a story all their own.  This single unit book is compiled of ten exercises to help your student become a creative writing critical thinker using a different adventure each time.  With two ways to purchase this book either digitally for $18.95 or printed for $21.95, as well as the instructions being very concise, one can easily begin the creative writing adventure.  In this philosophy adventure students create one writing assignment over the course of several days or weeks.  With clear instructions of what is expected and a seven writing checklist, writing stories will be easier for students to stay on task.  Even the most reluctant writer can easily formulate words using this free writing method.

I recommend this product to be used with students who are capable of writing their own sentences and understand sentence structure, which may be adequate for upper elementary, middle school or high school.  Although it can be easily adapted for younger students with writing support.  My 5th grade student was able to understand what was expected, answer the questions, as well as use the writing prompt to begin story telling through words.  This book works well for a home education setting; however a regular or private school setting would also work incorporating it into the curriculum.  

One of the reasons I like this writing style is that my student does not feel overwhelmed when producing a story from his imagination.  Each exercise is two pages in length and can easily be read within ten minutes or less.  I also like that this book expands my student’s knowledge of different subjects such as Greek and mythology yet approached from a Biblical worldview.  Each exercise is well thought out with style, approach, wording, topic and critical thinking.   I would have liked this writing book to have included lined pages for the fifteen minutes of free writing.  It is difficult for younger students to write in a font that is small enough to fit the page, as they run out of room fairly quickly.  With lined pages it gives them a format and lets them focus on just writing.  Some of the questions are almost too open-ended with some students who over-think their answers, causing delayed writing time.  Yet there are enough questions to invite the student into a critical thinking mode.

It is not enough to just educate a person, but the teacher must find the student’s creative potential, unleashing one of their greatest gifts, which is imagining, capturing and sharing a Creative Freewriting Adventure journey.  As the words begin to fill the paper forming an original story the student begins to understand that they have tapped into a powerful way to express themselves through writing.

-Product review by Pam Havens, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, May, 2018