Dense Worlds, Deep Characters

The institutional space provided for creative writing can provide students with life skills beyond the production of a literary short story. Jenkins (2009) identifies eleven skills that will be required for citizens in the 21st century: play, performance, simulation, appropriation, multitasking, distributed cognition, collective intelligence, judgment, transmedia navigation, networking and negotiation. Rather than focusing entirely on literary aesthetics, creative writing classrooms can be reimagined as experimental spaces that encourage students to work on projects that require collaboration and teamwork while also honing their skills with digital tools.