INTRODUCTION TO
CREATIVE WRITING
. WHAT IS WRITING?
It is viewed by many young writers as a
complicated process.
It involves the writers innermost
thoughts, feelings, and ideas.
• Beginning writer must be familiar with
the writing process and know by heart
the basic grammar rules.
• Most writers begin by listing down their
ideas and thoughts. This is followed by
organizing the ideas.
DEFINITION AND NATURE
What does the word “creative” mean
to the writers?
Is there a huge difference between
regular writing and creative writing?
• According to expert writers, there is
always creativity in writing. “Creativity
writing is writing that expresses the
writers thoughts and feelings in an
imaginative, often unique way.” (Sil.
org,What is Creative Writing? )
• It is geared towards presenting one’s
ideas and feelings rather than just
conveying information.
• Writer is an artist who explores his/her
writing capability by being adventurous
and fearless in dealing with stumbling
blocks of writing.
• In most references, creative writing is
defined as “the process of writing stories
or narrations that focus more on
entertaining and telling a story than
simply relating facts. It is a form of
fiction or created work” (Cavallari,
August 2014).
REASONS FOR WRITING CREATIVELY
Write to be entertained
- This requires choosing a topic that aligns
with one’s interest.
- Writing will even spice up one’s life as
one tries to explore one’s inner self and
everything around the writer.
Write to share your ideas and emotions
- Writing can be a venue for individuals to
present their views freely and be appreciated by
all kind of readers.
Write to be the person you wish to be
- Writing inspires us to become what we
intend to be, and enables us to use our
imagination.
- We can be a superhero, a celebrity, a
politician, or anyone we dream of
becoming.
Write to touch people’s lives
- If you have the gift of writing , you should
make good use of it in order to influence
others.
- Your writing might even be an instrument
to touch people’s hearts and enable them to
renew their ways of living.
PRINCIPLES OF CREATIVE WRITING
Read before writing
- Writers must be familiar with the fundamental
techniques of fiction and non-fiction writing.
- This is achieved through extensive reading and
examining literary materials such as books
magazines, journals, and all other forms of
literature.
Learn to make revisions
- A writer should practice editing or
proofreading one’s work. It is also ideal to ask
other readers to evaluate one’s work to ensure
good flow of words and presentation of ideas.
Know the true nature of creative writing
- Every writer must learn that creative writing is
not only about using one’s imagination, but
also presents ideas, themes, arguments, and
questions.
- It provides valuable insights about the
human mind and the world.
KINDS OF CREATIVE WRITING
- Creative writing involves a wide range of literary
forms. This includes fiction and non-fiction works.
Adapted from an article written by Linda
St. Cyr, the following are some forms of
creative writing:
1. Poetry, Song, and Limerick
Poetry- It is one of the common kinds of
creative writing. It can be lyrical or narrative
form, rhythmical or non-rhythmical, metrical or
free forms.
Songs- It appear like poems through the
verses, but it has chorus and repeated stanzas
that are presented with an upbeat or melodic
tune.
Limerick- It is similar to poem, but it is more
complex as it follows certain conventions in
writing. It is a poem consisting of five lines,
which contains a whimsical and suggestive
thought.
2. Free form writing and journals
Free form writing
- It usually has time limit of fifteen minutes or
more, and the writer must finish within the
given time.
- One avoids self-critique or censoring to allow
free flow of thoughts and feelings.
Journal writing
- It is also common form of creative writing
similar to free form, but this one deals with
the personal thoughts, views, and memories
of the writer.
- It is written to record personal experiences
without looking into the writing structure
consisting of beginning, middle, and end
3. Short stories, novels, novellas, and flash
fiction
Short stories
- It utilize the basic elements of fiction. This
literary form is commonly read and written. It is
different from a novel through word count.
Novels
- It is similar to short stories in that they also
make use of elements of fiction and follow the
structure of stories that have a beginning,
middle, and end.
- However, a novel has chapters and more
characters and a plot that is more complicated
than the plot of a story.
Novellas
- It similar to novels, but are shorter, while still
being longer than short stories.
Flash fiction
- It is a form of creative writing used by
renowned authors in classic and
contemporary literature, also referred to as
micro-fiction.
- In terms of length, it is shorter than the short
story.
- It may be condensed story with minimal words,
but it provides the reader a whole image of the
story.
The following are the famous writers who
introduced flash fiction:
Charles Baudelaire
Ernest Hemingway,
Yasunari Kawabata
Lydia Davis
4. Scripts and plays
- Theater, radio, and television are involve in
creative writing.
a. Play is highly dependent on its script since all
the details in it reflect how it should be performed
on stage.
b. Advertisement is also a form of creative
writing, since it lures the target consumers
to avail of a product.
THE WRITING PROCESS
Writing can be made more enjoyable and
thrilling by observing the following steps:
1. Pre-writing
- This is the stage when writers choose a topic,
generate ideas, gather information, and create an
outline through the use charts and diagrams.
2. Writing the draft
- In this stage, the work must be organized in order
to present a clear and specific idea.
- Unity and coherence is achieved by checking the
topic along with its supporting details.
3. Revising
- This stage involves evaluating, rewriting, and
modifying the written work.
4. Editing
- Writers look for errors in spelling, grammar, and
structure.
- It is the proofreading stage in the writing process.
5. Publishing
- A well-written composition may be published in
print or through online or digital publishing.
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING, CLASS!
