E-Methods in Literary Production: Integrating E-Learning in Creative Writing

This paper discusses the integration of e-learning in creative writing. The online approach to the teaching of creative writing takes into account today s Malaysian youth and their fascination with computer technology. It is this appeal of innovation in electronics and knowledge that leads an educator to design an on-line approach to a creative writing course. The theoretical construct used to support the discussion is Anderson s theory that on-line learning is knowledge-, community-, assessment-, and learner-centered. The writer; who is also the course developer; analyses a poetry-writing activity, which students undertake, and the e-portfolio used in the course. To analyze the processes involved in this creative writing exercise Macherey s (1978) Theory of Literary Production is adapted and utilized. This theory, which regards literary production as a process imitating that of a production line, provides the methodology and conceptual framework for analyzing the rawmaterials collected by the students and their transformation during the writing process. This paper thus addresses the benefits of e-learning in a creative writing context.