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1.1: Intro to Creative Writing

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    Tweet by @yaabilyb0t from December 5, 2021 says: "So what do you have so far?" Harry asks a few minutes later, when Louis' writing comes to a halt. "My name. The introduction." "And?" "That's it."

    chapter 1: intro to creative writing:

    Creative writing\(^7\) is any writing that goes outside the bounds of “normal”\(^8\) “professional,”\(^9\) journalistic, “academic,”\(^{10}\) or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary tropes or with various traditions of poetry and poetics. Due to the looseness of the definition, it is possible for writing such as feature stories to be considered creative writing, even though they fall under journalism, because the content of features is specifically focused on narrative and character development. 

    Both fictional and nonfictional works fall into this category, including such forms as novels, biographies, short stories, and poems. In the academic setting, creative writing is typically separated into fiction and poetry classes, with a focus on writing in an original style, as opposed to imitating pre-existing genres such as crime or horror. Writing for the screen and stage—screenwriting and playwrighting—are often taught separately but fit under the creative writing category as well.

    Creative writing can technically be considered any writing of original composition. 

     

    the creative process:\(^{11}\)

    Some people can simply sit down to write and have something to write about. For others, finding something to write about can be the hardest part of creative writing. Assuming that you are not in the first group, there are several things you can do to create ideas. Not all of these will work for all people, but most are at least useful tools in the process. Also, you never know when you might have an idea. Write down any ideas you have at any time and expand on them later.

    For stories and poetry, the simplest method is to immerse yourself in the subject matter. If you want to write a short story, read a lot of short stories. If you want to write a poem, read poems. If you want to write something about love, read a lot of things about love, no matter the genre. 

    the writing process “reminder”\(^{12}\)

    Please Note: Not all writers follow these steps perfectly and with each project, but let’s review them to cover our butts:

    1. BRAINSTORMING

    2. DRAFTING

    3. REVISING

    4. EDITING

    5. PROOFREADING

    Outline\(^{13}\) your entire story so you know what to write. Start by writing a summary of your story in 1 paragraph. Use each sentence to explain the most important parts of your story. Then, take each sentence of your paragraph and expand it into greater detail. Keep working backward to add more detail to your story. This is known as the “snowflake method” of outlining.

    Different people write in different ways. Find a method that works for you and finally, the broader your knowledge of the language and the more that you have read, the better your writing will be.

     

    getting started:

    • Find a comfortable space to write: consider the view, know yourself well enough to decide what you need in that physical space (music? coffee? blanket?).

    • Have the right tools: computer, notebook, favorite pens, etc.

    • Consider having a portable version of your favorite writing tool (small notebook or use an app on your phone?).

    • Start writing and try to make a daily habit out of it, even if you only get a paragraph or page down each day.

    • Keys to creativity: curiosity, passion, determination, awareness, energy, openness, sensitivity, listening, and observing...

    getting ideas:

    Ideas are everywhere! Ideas can be found:

    • Notebook or Image journal

    • Media: Magazines, newspapers, radio, TV, movies, etc.

    • Conversations with people

    • Artistic sources like photographs, family albums, home movies, illustrations, sculptures, and paintings.

    • Daily life: Standing in line at the grocery store, going to an ATM, working at your campus job, etc.

    • Music: Song lyrics, music videos, etc.

    • Dreams

    • Beautiful or Horrible Settings

    • Favorite Objects

    • Favorite Books

    • How to generate ideas:

      • Play the game: "What if..."

      • Play the game: "I wonder..."

      • Eavesdrop.

      • Use your favorite story as a model.

      • Revise favorite stories - nonfiction or fiction - into a different genre.

    writer's block:\(^{14}\)

    Writer’s block can happen to ANYONE, so here are some ways to break the block if it happens to you:

    • Write down anything that comes to mind. 

    • Try to draw ideas from what has already been written.

    • Take a break from writing. 

    • Nap.

    • Read other peoples' writing to get ideas.

    • Talk to people. Ask others if they have any ideas.

    • Don't be afraid of writing awkwardly. Write it down and edit it later.

    • Set deadlines and keep them.

    • Work on multiple projects at a time; this way if you need to procrastinate on one project, you can work on another!

    • If you are jammed where you are, stop and write somewhere else, where it is comfortable.

    • Go somewhere where people are. Then people-watch. Who are these people? What do they do? Can you deduce\(^{15}\) anything based on what they are wearing or doing or saying? Make up random backstories for them, as if they were characters in your story.

     

    peer workshops and feedback acronyms:\(^{16}\)

    Having other humans give you feedback will help you improve misunderstandings within your work. Sometimes it takes another pair of eyes to see what you “missed” in your own writing. Please try not to get upset by the feedback; some people give creative criticism and others give negative criticism, but you will eventually learn by your own mistakes to improve your writing and that requires peer review and feedback from others. 

    If you are comfortable having your friends and family read your work, you could have them\(^{17}\) peer review your work. Have a nerdy friend who corrects your grammar? Pay them in pizza perhaps to read over your stuff!? If you are in college, you can use college tutors to review your work.

    Peer Workshop activities can help create a “writing group vibe” to any course, so hopefully, that is a part of the creative writing class you are taking.

     

    WWW and TAG

    The acronyms involved with feedback – at least according to the educators of Twitter – are WWW and TAG. Here’s what they stand for, so feel free to use these strategies in your creative writing courses OR when giving feedback to ANYONE.

    WWW

    TAG

    Examples

    WOW.

    T – Tell the classmate something that WOW’d you about their draft.

    Your introduction is very controversial; this will shock readers. I think that’s a good thing!

    What If…

    A – Ask a question about the content in the draft.

    Why did you leave out the history of how you met this weird person? That may be valuable information for your readers.

    I Wonder…

    G – Give a suggestion to your classmate about their draft.

    I would add in more details about the situation that lead you to deciding that adoption was the route you were going to take.

     

    questions:

    • Are you open to the kinds of feedback you’ll get using that table above with the WWW/TAG pieces?

    • What do you typically want feedback on when it comes to projects? Why?

    • What do you feel comfortable giving feedback to classmates on? Why?

    \(^7\)"Creative Writing." Wikipedia. 13 Nov 2016. 21 Nov 2016, 19:39 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_writing>. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.

    \(^8\)Whoa, what is normal anyway?

    \(^9\)What IS the definition of “professionalism”?

    \(^{10}\)Can’t academic writing be creative?

    \(^{11}\)"Creative Writing/Introduction." Wikibooks, The Free Textbook Project. 10 May 2009, 04:14 UTC. 9 Nov 2016, 19:39

    <https://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php...&oldid=1495539>. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.

    \(^{12}\)It doesn’t really matter who created it; all you need to know is that you don’t HAVE to follow it perfectly. Not many people do.

    \(^{13}\)Wikihow contributors. "How to Write Science Fiction." Wikihow. 29 May 2019. Web. 22 June 2019. http://www.wikihow.com/Write-Science-Fiction. Text available under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

    \(^{14}\)"Creative Writing/Fiction technique." Wikibooks, The Free Textbook Project. 28 Jun 2016, 13:38 UTC. 9 Nov 2016, 20:36

    <https://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php...&oldid=3093632>. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.

    \(^{15}\)Deduce = to reach a conclusion.

    \(^{16}\)"Creative Writing/Peer Review." Wikibooks, The Free Textbook Project. 16 Aug 2016, 22:07 UTC. 9 Nov 2016, 20:12

    <https://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php...&oldid=3107005>. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.

    \(^{17}\)This textbook we’ll try to use they/them pronouns throughout to be inclusive of all humans.

    This page titled 1.1: Intro to Creative Writing is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Sybil Priebe (Independent Published) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.