2.1: Classroom Lecture and Activity

MYTHS OF CREATIVE WRITING

Most beginning writers or those not in the field think that creative writing has no rules because it is art. Well, this is absolutely not true. There are certain criteria that define certain genres, but most of the rules are created by the artist, so people confuse this as having no rules.

Here is an example:

The criteria for literary fiction is that it be character-driven. Having a character-driven story means that the main character must be a round-character. A round character is one in which the character changes significantly throughout the story. Right away you see there are very specific definitions within this explanation. It can get trickier. The personality of the character is created by you-the writer, but if the character does something that goes against their character that doesn't push the story forward, you have broken the rules that you created.

Pro Tip: In other words, just because it is made up doesn't automatically mean you can do whatever. All good writing makes sense.

Another myth is that if it is fiction, it means it is not true and is meaningless. Without being too philosophical, I will explain it in this way. Stories are told by humans and have been this way for a long time. So the real question we should asking ourselves is why do we feel the need to tell stories and hear stories? Fiction at its best is an interpretation of our lives, and it gives us a chance to take a step back, to look at ourselves and our surroundings. Stories have been used as warnings, hopes, and lessons. If I tell a story of the Tortoise and the Hare, it is not that it is just made up, but the lesson that the story tells is a truth that many live by. Stories also have many purposes within society, and we will learn more about how that works; thus, showing how important they can be.

Common Pitfalls

Some pitfalls that you might come across as a beginner writer is first not embracing the process. Creative Writing takes many drafts to get it just right. If you like the way a poem came out during the first draft then that is great, but you should open to revising it if it is not coming across to a reader as you intended. If your readers have more questions than you expected, it is time to revise. Yes, it is true that your art could just be misunderstood, but when given the chance to explain it, in the reader ( the purpose for writing poetry for an audience in theirs place) doesn’t get it, it may be time to revise. If you are writing for yourself, then you obviously don’t need to worry about any of this, but since this course is not focused on writing just for writing sake, you need to be aware of your reader.

On the opposite side, many writers, not just beginning writers, feel that their piece is never quite finished, so they don’t ever take the step to share it more broadly. At some point, you have to stop and consider a piece finished.

One more common pitfall is to tell the story without showing what is happening and really putting the reader into the scene. Narratives demand details. You should always be thinking of way to describe what is happening, who is there, and what they are feeling. As writer, you should practice describing all sorts of things all the time. Think about questions like how does that feel in the body? How could I describe this to someone that has never seen it or has no reference?

Practicing this small exercises in your writer’s notebook can help you brainstorm ideas or help you when you feel like you are stuck.

Getting Ideas Down on the Page

There are many ways to start the writing process. I like to start with the characters because even in stories that are heavily plot driven, I want my characters to stand out.

Creating character profiles, observing people, and practicing writing descriptions of people will help you with writing characters. You also want to consider thinking about motivations. What do people usually want? What is stopping them from achieving that goal? What makes people complex?

Another way to get ideas down on the pages is by making a list of places and thinking of things that would specifically happen in that place. This could be anywhere from a kitchen, a school, a street, a bus, a town, a city, or a whole new world.

For poetry, consider practicing mimicking several types of poetry styles. Practicing at least 20 will help you not only start to think about tone, rhythm, and meter, but it will force you search for words that maybe you haven’t used. I will help look at new ways to express a certain feeling. For instance, you can choose a topic like biscuits and a feeling like sadness, then try to write a few poems in different styles about that. Poetry is a great way to try new things and really challenge yourself. A great example of an unexpected topic matched with a poetry style is Ghazal for White Hen Pantry by Jamila Woods. Read it here on the poetry foundation website. poetry foundation ghazal for white hen pantry [www.poetryfoundation.org]

For playwriting, practice writing down conversations. What do you notice about how people actually talk to each other? How does a story change when it is told specifically through conversation and gestures? In other words, you can’t really get in the character’s mind except through monologue.

Journal and Discussion \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Reflect on why you are interesting in creative writing. What draws you to write fiction, poems or plays? When you think of story ideas, what type of forms do you see yourself writing? Why?

Do not delete this text first.