Forms of Creative Writing

Creative writing is a form of writing where creativity is at the forefront of its purpose through using
imagination, creativity, and innovation in order to tell a story through strong written visuals with
an emotional impact, like in poetry writing, short story writing, novel writing, and more.

It’s often seen as the opposite of journalistic or academic writing. When it comes to writing, there
are many different types. Creative writing uses senses and emotions to create a strong visual in the
reader’s mind whereas other forms of writing typically only leave the reader with facts and
information instead of emotional intrigue. It can be a book series or a single installation, the factors
that make up creative writing have more to do with how it sits with the reader artistically.

Novel
A novel is a long prose narrative that usually describes fictional characters and events in the form of
a sequential story.

Fiction is feature which is considered must in the field of creative writing. It is the fiction which differs
a novel from reality and history. A novel is a “Literary Art”. It has a personal narrative, heroes to
identify with, fictional inventions, style and suspense. In short, a novel is a story that is handled with
the rather personal ventures of creativity and artistic freedom.

Novel is probably the most popular example of creative writing out there. We can easily distinguish
novel from other forms of writing since novels are usually works of fiction that are longer in length
and follow a set of characters and plot structure.

Types of Novel:
The main concept and procedure of all novels is same. But they are differentiated by their
topics and ideas. Based on subjects, the novels are divided into the following categories.

1. Romantic Novels:
A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which
places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and
usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending."

There are numerous writers in the history and in 21st century who writes on Romantic topics.
Research shows that 90% of all novels have a Romantic touch in their story.

According to the Romance Writers of America, the main plot of a mass-market romance novel
must revolve about the two people as they develop romantic love for each other and work to
build a relationship. Both the conflict and the climax of the novel should be directly related to
that core theme of developing a romantic relationship, although the novel can also contain
subplots that do not specifically relate to the main characters' romantic love.

Romantics is a very broad field of novel. A writer can get a romantic idea from anywhere in
the society. However, the plot of the story depends on the creativity of the writer.
 The famous romantic novelists are George Lenik (George Orwell), Tuba Manic, Razia Butt,
Fardeen Shah, Munshi Prem Chand and Ashfaq Ahmad.

2. Social Novels:
The novel which is based on basic problems of society is called social novel. Social problems
include the problem in race, gender or class prejudice, status, etc. It is one of the huge and
effective fields of creative writing. In social novels, the writer uses his creativity to point out
the problems of society, its defects and give his opinion to solve these problems. But all scenes
and stories are written by the fiction and power of imagination of the writer.

“A Manchester Strike” by Harriet Martineau was regarded as either the first true social
problem novel or an influential forerunner that depicts political economy issues. Another
example of social novel was the “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens due to its critique of the
1834 New Poor Law.

The famous social novelists are Warner Stanley, Stephan Harway (Stephen King), and
Graham Smith (Graham Green).

3. Idealistic Novel:
The novel which is written on any specific idea is called idealistic novel. Such novels can be
based on any type of idea like religious, scientific, social, or hypothetical. Mainly they are
written on religious ideas such as Holocaust, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Bud mat, or any
other. Such novels are not considered very effective and fruitful in general society. Many
people take it as extremism but for Religious class such novels are of great value. Many
idealistic writers say that such novels are key to prove your idea and a way to bypass
extremist wars.

One aspect of idealism is recognizing the value of imagination. In turn, imagination plays a
large role in the creation and enjoyment of fiction. An ideal, in general, is something that one
believes in as the best possible manifestation or outcome.

The famous idealistic novelists are Michael Harts, Ronald Henry, and Joseph Bell.

4. Tragic Novels:
Tragic novels are based on human suffering that invokes an accompanying pleasure in
reading. Tragic novels are mainly written on the effects of cultural identity and historical
continuity.

“1984” by George Orwell is undoubtedly the most tragic novel, Not because its main
protagonist was tortured and losses his self-willed battle against the powerful forces and
finally surrendered himself betraying his love, but also because throughout the novel, the
author has maintained the tone of depression about how difficult it can become to even to
have thoughts.

Tragic novels are the most ancient form of creative writing. It gets his birth in Renaissance
period. Almost all writings of William Shakespeare are tragic. An example of this was the play
 “Romeo and Juliet”. Romeo and Juliet is both the quintessential account of young love and the
cautionary tale of the tragedy that can occur when the forces of passion and pride are at odds.

Tragedy is most common in dramas rather than in novels. The famous tragic writers are
William Shakespeare, Sophocles, Euripides, Christopher Marlowe, and Aeschylus.

5. Fantasy:
Fantasies are those novels which are all about those things which do not exist in real, such as
fairy tale stories, mythologies, the stories of gods and goddesses and ogres or other super
natural creatures etc. It also includes the stories of magical worlds and wizards etc. Mythology
is very ancient form of creative writing. It is started by Greek and Indians. Writing such novels
requires a great power of creativity and imagination.

Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling are the bestselling fantasy novels of the century. A series
Urdu fantasy novels named “Alif -Laila” is one of the most famous books in South Asia.

Famous fantasy writers are Rosamundie Pilcher (Rosamundi Pilcher), Dick King Smith, James
Hilton, and J.K. Rowling.

6. Mysterious Novels:
Such novels are full of mysteries and suspense. Basically, mysterious novels are all about
intelligence and secret agencies. It also contains stories of aliens, police, marshals, C.I.D, and
other law and order maintenance authorities.

Nowadays, the common plot of such novels is about finding a murderer or a terrorist etc. But
there are a lot of mysterious novels which got outstanding fame among public. A few of them
are James Bond Series, Sherlock Holmes Series, Men in Black Series, Behind the Enemy Line,
Rise of Nations and Dark Cobra etc.

“And Then There were None” by Agatha Christie is widely considered the best mystery novel
ever written by many readers. The story follows ten strangers, each lured to Indian Island by
a mysterious host. Once the guests have arrived, the host accuses each of them of murder.
Trapped on the island, the guests open and share their darkest secrets—until they begin to
die. Another example is the “Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown which trails "symbologist" Robert
Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu after they become involved in a battle between the
Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene having
had a child together. All of which is tied to a murder in the Louvre Museum in Paris. This novel
is a mind-blowing thriller. It will keep your toes from the first letter to the last. The
descriptions of the history and symbols are incredible, and the mode of narration is stunning.

The famous mysterious novelists are K.K Gothic (K.K Beck), and Ramirez Bourne.

7. Historical Novels:
The historical events written in the form a novel is known as Historical Novel. A historical
novel has usually its own setting of significant period of history and that attempts to convey
the spirit, manners and a social condition of past age with realistic detail and fidelity to
 historical fact. The work may deal with actual historical personages. It may contain mixture
of fictional and historical themes and characters.

Hilary Mantel is one of the most critically acclaimed historical fiction authors today. She has
been publishing works since the mid-1980s, but she is best known for her “Thomas Cromwell
“series. The trilogy follows the rise and fall of Cromwell, advisor to King Henry VIII and
architect of the English Reformation. 2009’s “Wolf Hall”, which chronicles Cromwell’s rise to
power in Henry’s court, is the first in the series.

Both Wolf Hall and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies were awarded the Booker Prize, making
Mantel the only woman to have won the award twice. The series’ final instalment, The Mirror
& the Light, was released in 2020. Mantel’s work has been praised for its strong
characterization and its commitment to accurate historical detail. Although her works can be
long—Wolf Hall is over 650 pages—her mastery of the craft always has readers wanting
more.

Some famous historical novelists are Patrick O’ Brian (Patrick O’ Brien), Ken Follett, Neal
Stephenson, and William Boyd.

Short Stories
A short story is a work of fiction usually written in narrative prose, often depicting few characters
and concentrating a single effect or mood. The short story is expressly defined by its length, the
precise length of stories that can be considered “short” varies between critics and writes, especially
when taking account of the diversity of the form.

The short story has been considered both an apprenticeship form, collected together in books of
similar length, price and distribution as novel. A Short story tends to less complex than novels.
Usually, it is focused on one incident, has a single plot, a single setting and a small number of
characters and covers a short period of time.

“A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.”
– Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe, the famous American author regarded to be one of the earliest writers of short
stories defined a short story as a short piece of fiction that can be read in one sitting. ‘The Fall of the
House of Usher‘ is regarded as one of Poe’s best stories. The story combines the Gothic house, the
old aristocratic family on its last legs, the idea of the dead returning to life, and various other
hallmarks of classic Gothic fiction.

The famous short story writers are Alex Gangway (Alex La Guma), Jerome K. Jerome, Gabriel Briskly
(Gabriel Garcia Marquez), and King Smith (Dick King Smith).

Novelette

Novelette is a piece of short prose fiction. The difference between a novelette and other types of
creative writing like novels and short stories is word count. It usually has a word range of between
1,000 and 7,500 words, and flash fiction, which is usually under 1,000 words. A novelette is longer
than a short story but shorter than a novel. Any piece of creative writing that is longer than a
novelette but shorter than a novel is considered a novella. However, the writing style and plot of a
novelette is mostly same to that of a novel. Usually a novel is based on social stories and science
fictions. But it can also be written on other topics. Mostly the basic concepts and themes of movies
are based on a novelette.

Writing a novelette allows the writer to create all that supporting information to back up a short
story. Whether a short story is meant as a scene in a larger story, or simply as a story by itself, it will
always be taking part in a larger world. By fleshing out the world in a novelette, it gives life,
believability and substance to the story. A short story doesn’t need to flesh out its elements
completely, but it still needs to feel like it is part of a larger world, like the characters have larger
motivations and personalities, and like the plot has a depth yet to be revealed. Where a novelette is
an exercise in concise, succinct writing for a novelist, it is the completion of a short story. It is the
background, the history, and the completion that compliments the scene.

The famous novelette writers are Erle Stanelay (Erle Stanley), Ivan Goncharov, Vasily Nemirovich,
Steinbeck (John Steinbeck), and Leslie Charteris.

Some Famous Novelettes

The Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allan Poe, 1843, James Russell Lowell | Word Count: 2093

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886, Longmans, Green & Co. |
16,740 words

The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe, 1839, Burton's Gentleman's Magazine | 11,165 words

The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka, 1915, Kurt Wolff Verlag | 16,000 words

Play or Drama
Play or Drama is specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The structure of dramatic text,
unlike other forms of creative writing is directly influenced by the collaborative production and
collective reception. Dramas are influenced by all types of novels.

It is a piece of writing, which is artistically presented with dialogues. It is attractive, impactful and
real as it presents characters along with a natural and credible aspects. It is very similar to a short
story as it also comprises characters, plot, setting as well as symbolism.

Drama as a theme is made up of several elements. It focuses on life and different aspects of it. The
thing to be noticed here is that drama on stage imitates drama in life. It has been said, “There is always
a mutual relationship between theatre and real life”.

The famous dramatists are William Shakespeare, August Strindberg, and Antonio Artaud (Antonin
Artaud).
Journalistic Articles
Journalistic article is the opinion of the writer about any event, person or thing. Mainly, such articles
are written about current affairs, politics, and basic problems of society and environment. In some
articles, the defects and abuses of someone, anything or any event are presented in a comic way.
Journalistic articles are boundless and have not any rules and regulations. Such articles are the true
expressions of the writer about the topic.

Some of the famous journalists are Alexander Wroth, Muckrakers, Daedalus, Nellie Bly, and Wallace
Parker (Wallace Stevens).

Poetry
The word “Poetry” is derived from a Greek word, “Poiesis” which means “Making”. Poetry is the form
of creative writing which is written in a specific manner of words and rhymes. In general words
poetry is Rhyming Literature. The main ingredients of poetry are movement, sound and feelings.
Poetry is about expression. It expresses the way we feel about a certain subject through imaginary
and other senses. It helps us deal with our daily life, be it good or bad.

Common Poetry Forms:

Various cultures developed many forms of poetry. Interestingly there are at least 150 forms of poetry
in 21st century. But the most common of them among all languages are as follows:

1. Free Verse
Free verse poetry is irregular poem. It is free of any rhythmic regulations and all other
traditional rules of poetry. Ricky Bell and J.J Thompson are famous Free Verse writing poets.

Poems written in free verse are characterized by generally not using meter or rhyme, but that
doesn’t mean that they can never include meter or rhyme. In fact, poets writing in free verse
often do include a bit of meter or rhyme in their poetry. Saying that a poem is “free verse” just
means that the use of meter or rhyme is not extensive or consistent in the poem.

For instance, TS Elliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a famous free verse poem in
which many lines end in rhyme, but those rhymes don't follow any particular pattern (or
rhyme scheme) and the poem follows no particular meter. Similarly, Walt Whitman was
known to occasionally lapse in and out of using meter in his unrhymed poetry—but for the
most part his poems don’t make use of meter, so they’re still considered free verse.

2. Blank Verse
It is probably the most common and influential form of English poetry. It is written in
unrhythmic iambic pentameter. (Iambic Pentameter is a particular rhythm of five metrical
lines that the words establish in that line.)

Blank verse is a type of poetry written in a regular meter that does not contain rhyme. It is
most commonly found in the form of iambic pentameter. Many famous English writers have
used blank verse in their works, such as William Shakespeare, John Milton, and William
Wordsworth.
 While blank verse only applies to poetry, there are examples of blank verse in other art forms,
such as in Gilbert and Sullivan’s 1884 opera Princess Ida. Here is an excerpt from a dialogue
spoken by Princess Ida that is written in iambic pentameter without rhyme:

Women of Adamant, fair neophytes—

Who thirst for such instruction as we give,
Attend, while I unfold a parable.
The elephant is mightier than Man,
Yet Man subdues him. Why? The elephant
Is elephantine everywhere but here (tapping her forehead)
And Man, whose brain is to the elephant’s
As Woman’s brain to Man’s—(that’s rule of three),—
Conquers the foolish giant of the woods,
As Woman, in her turn, shall conquer Man

3. Sonnet
Sonnet is the most common form of poetry in many languages. Sonnet is particularly
associated with love poetry and often use a poetic diction heavily based on the imagination
and creativity power of the poet. It has generally fourteen couplets. But it is not necessary.
Now a days various lengthy sonnets are written contain up to 50 couplets.

It originated in Italy in the thirteenth century, and though it has generally kept some of the
original rules, such as the number of lines and having a specific rhyme scheme and meter, the
conventions of sonnets have changed over the centuries to some degree. There are two
primary branches of the sonnet form—the Italian or Petrarchan sonnet and the English or
Shakespearean sonnet.

William Shakespeare’s sonnets is most famous in poetic history. Recently David Richard for
sonnets is famous.

Shakespearean Sonnet

Two households, both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From
ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where
civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents’ strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark’d love,
And the continuance of their parents’ rage,
Which, but their children’s end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage; The
which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
4. Sestina
The sestina has six stanzas each comprising six unrhymed lines, in which the words at the end
of the first stanza’s line reappear in a rolling pattern in other stanzas. The poem ends with a
three-line stanza in which the words again appear two on each line. Sestina is the most
common form used for songs in various languages.

Examples of Sestina:

Elizabeth Bishop's "A Miracle for Breakfast" was published in 1972.

At six o'clock we were waiting for coffee,
waiting for coffee and the charitable crumb
that was going to be served from a certain
balcony
--like kings of old, or like a miracle. It was
still dark. One foot of the sun steadied
itself on a long ripple in the river.
The first ferry of the day had just crossed the
river.
It was so cold we hoped that the coffee would
be very hot, seeing that the sun was not going
to warm us; and that the crumb would be a
loaf each, buttered, by a miracle. At seven a
man stepped out on the balcony.
Was the man crazy? What under the sun
was he trying to do, up there on his
balcony! Each man received one rather
hard crumb, which some flicked scornfully
into the river, and, in a cup, one drop of the
coffee. Some of us stood around, waiting for
the miracle.
I can tell what I saw next; it was not a miracle.
A beautiful villa stood in the sun and from its
doors came the smell of hot coffee. In front, a
baroque white plaster balcony added by birds,
who nest along the river, --I saw it with one
eye close to the crumb--

He stood for a minute alone on the
balcony looking over our heads toward
the river. A servant handed him the
makings of a miracle,
consisting of one lone cup of coffee and one
roll, which he proceeded to crumb, his head,
so to speak, in the clouds--along with the sun.
and galleries and marble chambers. My
crumb my mansion, made for me by a miracle,
through ages, by insects, birds, and the river
working the stone. Every day, in the sun, at
breakfast time I sit on my balcony with my
feet up, and drink gallons of coffee
We licked up the crumb and swallowed the
coffee.
A window across the river caught the sun as
if the miracle were working, on the wrong
balcony

.
5. Didactic Poetry
Didactic poetry are those poems that are written to instruct or teach. In such poems there is
always an advice on a specific topic. William Blake is a famous didactic poet.

If it is True, What the Prophets Write

by William Blake (1757-1827)

If it is true, what the Prophets gods?

write,
That the heathen gods are all They stole them from the temple
stocks and stones, of the Lord
Shall we, for the sake of being And worshipp'd them that they
polite, might make inspirèd art
Feed them with the juice of our marrow- abhorred;
bones? The wood and stone were call'd
the holy things,
And if Bezaleel and Aholiab drew And their sublime intent given to
What the finger of God pointed to their kings.
their view,
Shall we suffer the Roman and ll the atonements of Jehovah
Grecian rods spurned,
To compel us to worship them as And criminals to sacrifices turn'd.

6. Ode
Ode is all about celebration and reverence and accompanied by music and dance, odes were
performed in public with a chorus during ancient Greek times and were often composed to
celebrate athletic victories. While modern odes are not often written to be performed in such
a way, their aim is still to describe or report using celebratory language and grand metaphors.

Some of the most famous historical odes describe traditionally romantic things and ideas:
William Wordsworth's "Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early
Childhood" is an ode to the Platonic doctrine of "recollection"; John Keats's "Ode on a
Grecian Urn" describes the timelessness of art; and Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Ode to the West
Wind" addresses the strength of nature.

Contemporary odes, however, draw their power from unexpected celebration. Pablo
Neruda's Elemental Odes, including poems like "Ode to My Socks," were written in
celebration of common objects; Lucille Clifton's "homage to my hips," Bernadette Mayer's
"Ode on Periods," and Sharon Olds's "Ode to the Hymen" sing praise for traditionally unsung
aspects of the female body.

The ode is form of poetry which has generally three parts; a strophe, an antistrophe, and an
epode. The antistrophe of the ode possesses similar metrical and rhythmic structures, while
the epode is written in a different scheme and structure. Odes have a formal poetic diction
generally deals with a serious subject.
7. Epic
Epic is a long and narrative poem. It talks about the adventures of a hero. Epic usually deals
with history and traditions of a nation or country. Sometimes it is also about social problems.
Epics are grand, long compositions about the heroic deeds of men and women. They include
stories about gods as well.

Example -Mahabharata and Ramayana. Another example is the epic of “Biag ni Lam-ang” by
Pedro Bukaneg who was considered “the father of Ilocano literature”.

Henry Wordsworth Longfellow is famous for his Epical poetry. He was known for his poem
“Paul Revere's Ride".

8. Epigram
Epigrams are short poems that possess satire. This type of poetry ends with stinging
punchline or a humorous retort. Commonly epigrams are written in couplets. An epigram has
not any specific topic. It can be written on any subject.

Robert Frost and Ben Johnson (Ben Jonson) are popular for their epigrams.

Example of Epigram:
“I can resists everything but temptation”
By: Oscar Wilde
9. Elegy
Elegy is sad and thoughtful poetry. Basically, it is written on someone’s death or any sad event.
Lord Tennyson is a famous elegiac poet.

Generally, elegies serve to mourn the loss of a loved one. But, they can sometimes be about
different types of feelings of sadness, a general sense of loss, or even praise or celebration of
life, as opposed to solely focusing on death. While elegy poems are not the most joyful type of
literature, they are certainly worth knowing about since they provide details to the reader
about someone else's life. Studying, deciphering and analyzing the text of elegy poems is the
most effective way to understand the form and the emotional effect of such literature.

Example of one of the Famous Elegy:

O Captain! My Captain! by

Walt Whitman

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,

The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead."