Writing for Animals: New Perspectives for Writers and Instructors to Educate and Inspire

by John Yunker

Overview

A unique anthology of articles and essays to inspire animal-themed creative writing

Despite all we know about the sentience of animals, society tends to view and treat nonhuman animals as lesser creatures. And for society to change its views, writers must change their views. We must look closely at how we depict animals and ask ourselves difficult questions. For example, are we using animals for our writing in a way that is authentic and fair? Or are we using them for our own purposes, leading to further misconceptions and abuses?

As our awareness awakens about animals’ intelligence, sensitivity, and social and emotional lives, literature is beginning to reflect this change in awareness. Yet little has been written about the process of writing about animals, from crafting point of view to giving animals realistic voices.

Writers face many questions and choices in their work, from how to educate without being didactic to how to develop animals as characters for an audience that still views them as ingredients. In this book, writers will find myriad voices to assist them in writing about animals, from tips about craft to understanding the responsibility of writing about animals.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940163422050
Publisher:	Ashland Creek Press
Publication date:	01/28/2019
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	649 KB

About the Author

John Yunker is a writer of plays, short stories and novels focused on human/animal relationships.

He is co-founder of Ashland Creek Press, a vegan-owned publisher devoted to environmental and animal rights literature. He is also author of the novel The Tourist Trail and the children's book Bird Words.

His full-length play Meat the Parents was a finalist at the Centre Stage New Play Festival (South Carolina) and semi-finalist in the AACT new play contest. Species of Least Concern was a finalist in the 2016 Mountain Playhouse Comedy Festival. His short play, Little Red House, was published in the literary journal Mason's Road, and produced by the Studio Players Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky. In 2017, the short play Of Mice and Marines was workshopped and given a staged reading at the ATHE (Association for Theatre in Higher Education) conference in Las Vegas.

His short stories have been published by literary journals such as Phoebe, Qu, Flyway, and Antennae.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I: The Writer as Naturalist

Do We Have the Right to Write about Animals?

Animals that Work in Stories

A Case for More Reality in Writing for Animals

Part II: The Craft of Writing about Animals

Meeting the Wild Things Where They Are

Rewilding Literature: Catalyzing Compassion for Wild Predators through Creative Nonfiction

Rabies Bites: How Stephen King Made a Dog a Compelling Main Character

Real Advocacy within Fantasy Worlds

Writing Animals Where You Are

Part III: Anthropomorphism and Literature

Other Nations

Giving Animals a Voice: Letters from an Ashland Deer

No One Mourns an Unnamed Animal: Why Naming Animals Might Help Save Them

Part IV: Writers Change the World

Are You Willing?

With a Hope to Change Things: An Exploration of the Craft of Writing about Animals with the Founders

of Zoomorphic Magazine

Resources for Writers