About John Warner and The Writer's Practice

John Warner is a McSweeney's editor, college writing instructor, and author of a number of books, including Why They Can't Write: Killing the Five-Paragraph Essay and Other Necessities, More Than Words: Writing in the Age of AI, and The Writer's Practice. He's also part of the Frankenfam!

His approach to teaching writing emerges from a deep understanding that writing is not just about following rules or formulas, but about developing authentic voices and engaging in genuine communication.

The Writer's Practice

In The Writer's Practice, John emphasises that becoming a better writer involves developing both skills and attitudes—the technical ability to write effectively alongside the confidence and mindset to approach writing tasks with curiosity and purpose.

The book is organised around real-world writing scenarios that students might encounter in their academic, professional, and personal lives. Each experience is carefully designed to help students discover their own processes while building practical writing skills.

The principles underlying The Writer's Practice align with Frankenstories' values and approach to learning, so we thought it'd be fun to provide a range or preset prompts based on Writer's Practice experiences.

Both The Writer's Practice and Frankenstories believe in the power of authentic writing experiences in which students engage with real genres and purposes—whether writing reviews, analysing arguments, or crafting personal narratives.

The game format of Frankenstories adds an element of play while maintaining the authenticity that makes these experiences meaningful.

John's approach emphasises the joy of writing and discovery, sidestepping the anxiety many students associate with writing instruction.

Frankenstories' gameplay creates a safe space where students can experiment and take risks with their writing. The round-based structure allows for iteration and refinement without the pressure of immediate perfection.

The Writer's Practice recognises that writing is inherently social—we write to build relationships with ourselves and others.

Frankenstories builds on this by creating a collaborative environment where students share their writing, learn from each other, and build confidence through peer interaction.

Both approaches focus on developing not just skills, but the attitudes and habits of mind that characterise successful writers:

Curiosity about the world and others' perspectives
Willingness to experiment and take risks
Appreciation for an iterative process
Understanding of writing as a process of discovery
Recognition that all writing is situational and purpose-driven

The prompts adapted from The Writer's Practice maintain the book's focus on building practical writing skills through continuous practice rather than abstract instruction.

Frankenstories' quick-game format naturally supports this approach, allowing students to build complexity gradually and see their progress over time.

Using the Frankenstories game prompts

These prompts can serve multiple purposes in your classroom:

As standalone writing experiences that bring joy and engagement to specific writing tasks
As supplements to a writing curriculum based on The Writer's Practice
As ways to build community and confidence among student writers

These prompts are designed to be adaptable. Feel free to modify them to better suit your students' needs while maintaining the core principles of authentic writing experiences and joyful discovery that both The Writer's Practice and Frankenstories embody.

Most importantly, you can play with group sizes to create group or individual writing experiences.

Frakenstories & The Writer's Practice

About John Warner and The Writer's Practice