CREATIVE WRITING

LECTURE – WEEK 1 (FIRST QUARTER)

WHAT IS CREATIVE WRITING?

Creative writing is a form of writing that is based on the use of images and or experiences not
necessarily true to convey meaning. This is in contrast with academic or scientific writing that prioritizes
factual information and/or details.
Creative writing is used extensively in literary pieces like poems, novels, short stories and stage
plays, including creative non-fiction. As such, creative writing is often associated with literature.
Descriptive essays can also be considered as a form of creative writing.
Creative Writing is:
 Also known as 'the art of making things up,' creative writing is a vital part of modern society.
 Traditionally referred to as literature, creative writing is an art of sorts - the art of making things
up. It's writing done in a way that is not academic or technical but still attracts an audience.
 Though the definition is rather loose, creative writing can for the most part be considered any
writing that is original and self-expressive.

THE PURPOSE:
 The purpose of creative writing is to both entertain and share human experience, like love or loss.
 Writers attempt to get at a truth about humanity through poetics and storytelling.
 If you'd like to try your hand at creative writing, just keep in mind that whether you are trying to
express a feeling or a thought, the first step is to use your imagination.

TYPES OF CREATIVE WRITING

 Poetry  Fiction (novels,  Speeches
 Plays novellas, and short  Memoirs
 Movie and television stories)  Personal essays
scripts  Songs  And others
As you can see, some nonfiction types of writing can also be considered creative writing. Memoirs and
personal essays, for example, can be written creatively to inform your readers about your life in an
expressive way. Because these types are written in first person, it's easier for them to be creative.
Techniques used in creative writing include:
 Character development  Point of view  Figures of speech
 Plot development  Dialogue  Imaginative language
 Vivid setting  Anecdotes  Emotional appeal
 Underlying theme  Metaphors and similes  Heavy description
TECHNICAL WRITING VS. CREATIVE WRITING
Factual Fictional and imaginative
Informative, instructional, and persuasive Entertaining, provocative and captivating
Clear, precise, and straightforward Artistic, figurative, symbolic or even vague
Objective Subjective
Specialized Vocabulary Generalized Vocabulary
KEY DIFFERENCES
 Most commonly, the creative writing is for general audience or for masses, but technical writing is
for specific audience.
 The creative writing entertains people as it has poetry or some illustrations or another idea,
whereas the technical writing causes boredom as it follows the strong pattern based on facts and
is just to transfer the information to the audience.
 In technical writing the specialized vocabulary, such like scientific terms and other are used while
in creative writing, one can go with slang or evocative phrases or even something which can be
perceived well by the audience.
  Humor, satire might be the useful essences in creative writing, but such thoughts or ideas have no
link with the technical writing.

SIX TRAITS OF CREATIVE WRITING

1. Ideas. Creative writing as with other forms of writing captures the main idea through details that are
connected or relevant to the subject of the piece. In novels, for example, a chapter contains only a specific
angle or part of the main character’s story.
2. Organization. More than organizing ideas to fit to a larger theme or message, the structure of a work
especially in creative writing is important. The work needs to be able to establish connections from one
point to another. In fiction, the structure usually follows a chronological order to guide readers as events
happen in the plot.
3. Voice. As opposed to technical writing, creative writing has a voice. Through the unique writing style
of the poet, author or playwright, a reader can feel the mood, feeling or emotion found in the piece as
expressed by the characters or persona.
4. Word Choice. Because creative writers utilize figures of speech and other literary devices in their
works, they have to plan or study the words they need to use to ensure appropriateness. Word choice
also describes the effectiveness of each word in a piece of writing.
5. Sentence/Line Fluency. Whether in poetry or prose, creative writing gives importance to how smooth
the words are in either a line or a sentence. This also helps makes these literary works easy to read, and
therefore, easy to understand or comprehend.
6. Conventions. A common misconception in creative writing is that it does not care about grammar
rules. In fact, creative writers/literary artists have to make sure that their works observe established
rules in grammar including mechanics (spelling and punctuation). Following conventions or rules in
writing is also a trait of discipline and focus for the both the writer and the literary piece.