Audio only
Length6h 20m
About this audiobook
In Writing Unbound, Tom Newkirk argues that as a teaching profession, we shoot ourselves in the foot when it comes to writing. We fail to take advantage of a huge opportunity that is before us. That opportunity is fiction writing.
Consider this: Our deepest wish is for students to develop a love of books— particularly a love of fiction. To discover the power of stories to transport us into worlds we never knew existed. At the same time, we want them to build a love of writing. To really love it; not just endure it.
So if these are our two primary goals, how did they become so disparate? Why is the writing we’re asking our students to do so completely opposite from the fiction they enjoy reading? “My worry,” Tom Newkirk writes, “is that we have been asked to buy a lie—or rather a series of them. That analytic writing is somehow a higher form of thinking than story, that “creativity” is for the talented few, and that fiction writing is unteachable… If we accept these lies, we lose our birthright as English teachers.”
Through 40 in-depth interviews with student writers as well as teachers of writing, Newkirk builds an argument for bringing fiction back into our writing curriculum as a way to strengthen all writing. He addresses the common obstacles and resistance to fiction and illustrates, through students and teachers’ insights, why keeping fiction writing on the outside of school walls is a missed opportunity. “If reading fiction is humanizing and valuable,” Tom writes, “the same, perhaps even stronger, case can be made for writing fiction.”
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.5 (42)
Includes Goodreads
GenreEducation and Learning, Other
Length6 hrs 20 mins
Narrated byRecorded Track
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateJul 8, 2025
LanguageEnglish
More from Thomas Newkirk
A Brief History of IntelligenceMax S. Bennett12h 18m4.6 (6.6K)$29 · $0.00
HomeschooledStefan Merrill Block7h 10m3.6 (18.5K)$28 · $0.00
Parents and Children (Annotated)Charlotte Mason9h 23m4.6 (988)$2 · $0.00
Children Under FireJohn Woodrow Cox10h 17m4.5 (1.6K)$29 · $0.00
The State Must ProvideAdam Harris7h 15m4.5 (775)$24 · $0.00
The Call of the Wild and FreeAinsley Arment9h 7m4.4 (21.2K)$29 · $0.00
The Freelance WayRobert Vlach19h 48m4.5 (528)$40 · $0.00
Race to the BottomLuke Rosiak9h 20m4.5 (600)$29 · $0.00
They Came for the SchoolsMike Hixenbaugh9h 5m4.5 (2.6K)$8 · $0.00
Find Me UnafraidKennedy Odede, Jessica Posner11h 11m4.5 (2.7K)$29 · $0.00
Asking for ItKate Harding8h 55m4.4 (5.3K)$20 · $0.00
Defining Moments in Black HistoryDick Gregory7h 37m4.4 (6K)$26 · $0.00
The Emerald Tablets of Thoth the AtlanteanMaurice Doreal3h 4m4.4 (8.8K)$6 · $0.00
Learning AmericaLuma Mufleh6h 37m4.4 (564)$24 · $0.00
Math-ishJo Boaler7h 21m4.4 (588)$24 · $0.00
It Worked For MeColin Powell7h 42m4.3 (9.8K)$26 · $0.00
Little SoldiersLenora Chu11h 30m4.3 (3.1K)$29 · $0.00
Financial FeministTori Dunlap8h 3m4.2 (22.2K)$8 · $0.00
Grammar-land; Or, Grammar in Fun for the Children of Schoolroom-shireM. L. Nesbitt2h 36m4.4 (487)$1 · $0.00
DarkwaterWilliam Edward Burghardt Du Bois6h 40m4.3 (1.4K)$11 · $0.00
Mere ChristianityC. S. Lewis7h 7m4.4 (519.7K)$24 · $0.00
Her Daily BreadKate Wood12h 57m4.6 (153)$33 · $0.00
The Holy Bible - 1 SamuelKing James2h 13m4.8 (1.6K)$3 · $0.00
The American Standard Bible — The Gospel of MatthewMatthew3h 56m4.7 (3K)$2 · $0.00
Bad Fat Black GirlSesali Bowen6h 32m4.7 (2.8K)$24 · $0.00
The King James Audio Bible New Testament CompleteChristopher Glyn20h 2m4.7 (2.6K)$12 · $0.00
Faiths CheckbookCharles Spurgeon12h 44m4.7 (3.2K)$11 · $0.00
Ten Things I Wish You Knew About Your Child's Mental HealthDr. Billy Garvey4h 53m4.7 (2.4K)$20 · $0.00
Designing Terry Pratchett’s DiscworldPaul Kidby3h 52m4.7 (343)$20 · $0.00
The Chosen Book OneAmanda Jenkins, Kristen Hendricks, Dallas Jenkins3h 8m4.6 (4.9K)$10 · $0.00
The Lives of BrianBrian Johnson9h 45m4.6 (3.5K)$29 · $0.00
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of LukeJ.C. Ryle27h 13m4.7 (536)$18 · $0.00
CrossroadsKaleb Dahlgren7h 56m4.6 (4.9K)$26 · $0.00
Across the RiverKent Babb11h 40m4.6 (927)$29 · $0.00
Brain Training for RidersAndrea Monsarrat Waldo5h 56m4.7 (550)$19 · $0.00
My Effin' LifeGeddy Lee17h 11m4.6 (13.1K)$40 · $0.00
Kings and PawnsHoward Bryant10h 9m4.6 (678)$29 · $0.00
The Elementia Chronicles #2: The New OrderSean Fay Wolfe11h 17m4.6 (841)$29 · $0.00
The ActsLuke2h 55m4.6 (19.7K)$12 · $0.00
New Testament - Easy NavigationWorld English Bible19h 35m4.6 (1.3K)$1.30 · $0.00
You may also like
As a Man ThinkethJames Allen52m4.2 (132.8K)$2.30 · $0.00
Self Mastery Through Conscious AutosuggestionÉmile Coué2h 28m4.1 (2.2K)$2 · $0.00
Unf*ck Your AdultingFaith G. Harper PhD1h 50m4.1 (3.4K)$15
The Power of the OtherHenry Cloud5h 52m4.2 (3.5K)$24 · $0.00
Good AuthorityJonathan Raymond4h 23m4.3 (1.8K)$20
The Way of ExcellenceBrad Stulberg6h 46m4.2 (1.1K)$24 · $0.00
The Body Fat SolutionTom Venuto10h 5m4.2 (1.4K)$26
Above Life's TurmoilJames Allen2h 11m4.2 (871)$1.20 · $0.00
MIND FREQUENCYKenneth C. Spears4h 48m$6
Laugh and LiveDouglas Fairbanks3h 7m3.5 (60)$2 · $0.00
Zen: A Beginner's Guide to Mindfulness and the Art of Living in the Present Moment (A Daily One-page Guide to Buddhist Philosophy for Mindfulness, Compassion, and Inner Peace)Alexander Bailey1h 13m$3.50 · $0.00
SOLID MAGMADave Uwaifo2h 6m$11
The Confidence to WriteLiz Prather5h 39m4.6 (61)$20
31 Days of Single on PurposeJohn Kim1h 31m4.1 (104)$16 · $0.00
Mindsets: Growing Your Brain - A Conversation with Carol DweckHoward Burton1h 26m$3 · $0.00
The Way OutJoseph Benner1h 29m4.6 (45)$1.99 · $0.00
Be relaxed - Subliminal-HypnoseMichael Bauer1h$35 · $0.00
People Magnet: The Secrets of How to Never Be Overseen and Be the Center of Any Party (Practical Steps to Cultivate Charisma and Leave a Lasting Impact on Everyone You Meet)James Soule50m$3.50 · $0.00
The Mirror of CourageSara Melo3h 20m$1.80 · $0.00
Perlen Der Weisheit: Das Wahre SeinUnknown Author1h$11 · $0.00