Writing on writing

It is uncommon to find a behavior analytic or scientific analysis of creativity or of creative behaviors of people in the arts. This article looks at the use of direct instruction to teach writing to elementary through high school students. It also includes analyses of the author's writing behaviors across three years while writing works of creative nonfiction, behavior analysis articles, and poetry. The analyses include frequency, celeration, and variability of behavioral and environmental events. The project shows that the processes of writing (generating new ideas, thinking about writing) and the products (words written, edits made) can be analyzed behaviorally.