LESSON 1 Imaginative Writing vs.

Technical/ Academic/
Target:
Other Forms of Writing
At the end of this
lesson, you
Inquiry vs.should be A Re
Research:
able to:
Let us check your prior knowledge about the characteristics of
 differentiate imaginative Technical Writing and Creative writing. Write at least three short
writing from among other descriptions about each type.
forms of writing; Technical Writing Creative Writing
 define creative writing; 1. 1.
and _______________ _______________
 list the basic elements of
2. _______________ 2. _______________
creative writing.
3. _______________ 3. _______________

Research the following samples of creative writing and technical

writing:
1. Ballad of a Mother’s Heart by Jose La Villa Tierra
2. NWCI Position Paper on Abortion
Check their differences and put additional knowledge that you
have gained using the examples.
Technical Writing Creative Writing
1. 1.
_______________ _______________

2. _______________ 2. _______________

4. _______________ 3. _______________

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What is the difference between creative writing and technical writing?

Technical writing is not written to entertain. It has its own set of rules,
conventions, do’s and don’ts, masterpieces and pieces of rubbish. There is a
whole art to mastering technical writing, although it too is branched: online
technical writing and offline technical writing. Personally, I think that if you
want to master technical writing, you should first master concise and
magnetic writing that draws the reader in, regardless of whether it’s creative
or technical.
The main difference between creative writing and technical writing is the
fact that when you do creative writing, this means that you are writing
something that is meant to be entertaining to the people who will read it. A
lot of fictional books are examples of creative writing. The stories are meant
to entertain those who love to read. Technical writing is usually done in
order to provide facts about a certain subject. For example, if an item needs
to be described so that you can determine if it should be purchased or not,
you can look at the technical article that is written about it—the more that
you know, the better that you can decide.

What are the features of creative writing?

It is highly subjective. Even though it describes real events, real people and real
issues of human life, its interpretation (how you see them, what you feel about
them will be unique to the writer).
A creative writers perception is always unique. The same event, issue is looked
upon by ordinary people in mundane ways but a creative writer’s perception will
transcend it into something else. For example, a flower will be looked upon by
majority of people as a beautiful thing but a creative writer might ‘visualize’ it as
God’s signature.
Creative writer has power to transform the readers into an entirely different
world (fictitious or make-believe it may be but so powerful that one can become
a part of it)
The world or universe created by the creative writer is so powerful that often
reader identifies with one or more characters.
There are such great creative writers that after reading their books/Poems you
are transformed as higher beings. You are not the same person what you were
before you read it.

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 The creative writer is much ahead than a scientist because what s/he visualizes
becomes a reality after many centuries. For example, all poets since antiquity
wrote about Moon, being on the moon etc. Rationalists made fun pf them but
late it became a reality.
Creative writing uses the same words from the dictionary and same grammar
but the language is used in such a way that it conveys unique meaning and evokes
specific emotions in the readers. For example in eone of the Shakespeare’s plays
a man who repairs shoes on the road says, ‘I mend broken soles.’ Here for the
listener ‘sole’ has two meanings, ‘sole’ and ‘souls.’ He is using this word
deliberately to imply dual meanings.

What are the basic elements needed in creative writing?

In order to get better at creative writing, you have to understand the elements of what
makes writing a book great.

You can’t build a car engine without understanding how each part plays a role, right…?
That’s the same case with writing. Here are the elements that make up creative writing
and why each is just as important as the other.
Unique Plot
What differentiates creative writing and other forms of writing the most is the fact that
the former always has a plot of some sort – and a unique one.

Yes, remakes are also considered creative writing, however, most creative writers create
their own plot formed by their own unique ideas. Without having a plot, there’s no story.

And without a story, you’re really just writing facts on paper, much like a journalist.

Character development
Characters are necessary for creative writing. While you can certainly write a
book creatively using the second person point of view you still have to develop the
character in order to tell the story.

Character development can be defined as the uncovering of who a character is and

how they change throughout the duration of your story. From start to end, readers should
be able to understand your main characters deeply.

Underlying theme
Almost every story out there has an underlying theme or message – even if the author
didn’t necessarily intend for it to. But creative writing needs that theme or message in
order to be complete. That’s part of the beauty of this form of art. By telling a story, you
can also teach lessons.

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Visual descriptions
When you’re reading a newspaper, you don’t often read paragraphs of descriptions
depicting the surrounding areas of where the events took place. Visual descriptions are
largely saved for creative writing.

You need them in order to help the reader understand what the surroundings of the
characters look like.

This pulls readers in and allows them to imagine themselves in the characters’
shoes – which is the reason people read.

Point of view
There are a few points of views you can write in. That being said, the two that are most
common in creative writing are first person and third person.

 First Person – In this point of view, the narrator is actually the main character.
This means that you will read passages including, “I” and understand that it is the
main character narrating the story.

 Second Person – Most often, this point of view isn’t used in creative writing, but
rather instructional writing – like this blog post. When you see the word “you” and
the narrator is speaking directly to you, it’s second person point of view.

 Third Person – Within this point of view are a few different variations. You have
third person limited, third person multiple, and third person omniscient. The first
is what you typically find.

 Third person limited’s narrator uses “he/she/they” when speaking about

the character you’re following. They know that character’s inner thoughts
and feelings but nobody else’s. It’s much like first person, but instead of the
character telling the story, a narrator takes their place.

 Third person multiple is the same as limited except that the narrator now
knows the inner thoughts and feelings of several characters.

 The last, third person omniscient, is when the narrator still uses
“he/she/they” but has all of the knowledge. They know everything about
everyone.

Dialogue
While non-creative writing can have dialogue (like in interviews), that dialogue is not
used in the same way as it is in creative writing. Creative writing (aside from silent films)
requires dialogue to support the story.

Your characters should interact with one another in order to further the plot and
development each other more.
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Imaginative language
Part of what makes creative writing creative is the way you choose to craft the vision in
your mind.

And that means creative writing uses more anecdotes, metaphors, similes, figures of
speech, and other comparisons in order to paint a vivid image in the reader’s mind.

Emotional appeal
All writing can have emotional appeal. However, it’s the entire goal of creative writing.
Your job as a writer is to make people feel how you want them to by telling them a story.

Let us elaborate your understanding. Write down important points that you
have learned about the similarities and differences between creative and
technical writing through a venn diagram.

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Let us test your knowledge! Express your answers in two to three sentences only.

1. According to your own understanding, write the definition of creative

writing.

____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________

2. According to your own understanding, write the definition of technical

writing

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Going back to the samples given to you at the beginning of the lesson, write down
the basic requirements to be a successful writer of both types ( creative and
technical writing).

TECHNICAL
CREATIVE
( NWCI Position Paper on
( Ballad of a Mother's Heart)
Abortion)

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Read the excuse letter below. Write your own version using the basic elements of
creative writing. In short, transform this technical writing product into a creative
one.

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 CREATIVE WRITING VERSION

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