Creative Writing

 Over the next several weeks we will be

learning how to write fictional stories.
Contrary to what some of you may believe,
there are standards that you can learn and
correct ways to write good fiction.
Why Do People Write Fiction?
 They grew up around storytellers. It is part of
their family culture (Smith 128).

 Writing haunts them—the art of the craft provokes

them (Wallace 140-141).

 It is fun (Wallace 142).

 Works Cited
 Blythe, Will. Ed. Why I Write Fiction: Thoughts on the Craft of Fiction. New York:
– Little, Brown and Co., 1998.
Why Write?
 “To satisfy a basic, fundamental need.” The
same reason kids draw pictures. (Gaitskill 155).
 “To give form to the things we can sense but not
see” (Gaitskill 156).
 “To feel important, in the simplest egotistical
sense” (Gaitskill 158).
 Works Cited
 Blythe, Will. Ed. Why I Write Fiction: Thoughts on the Craft of Fiction. New York:
– Little, Brown and Co., 1998.
Why Write?
 “To reveal and to restore things that I feel
might be ignored or disregarded” (Gaitskill
159).

 “To communicate” (Gaitskill 160).

 Works Cited
 Blythe, Will. Ed. Why I Write Fiction: Thoughts on the Craft of Fiction. New York:
– Little, Brown and Co., 1998.
Why Write?
 Much of what I write “is sad. But because
of that tender sadness, I also feel humility
and joy and love. It’s strange because much
of what I write about does not seem loving.
But to write makes me feel love” (Gaitskill
163).
 Works Cited
 Blythe, Will. Ed. Why I Write Fiction: Thoughts on the Craft of Fiction. New York:
– Little, Brown and Co., 1998.
Why Write?
 “I can’t do much of anything, except write.
I have no jump shot. I can’t balance my
checkbooks. Small machinery puzzles me.
I have no nose for news. Cooking bores
me” (Chiarella 182).
 Works Cited
 Blythe, Will. Ed. Why I Write Fiction: Thoughts on the Craft of Fiction. New York:
– Little, Brown and Co., 1998.
Descriptive Language
 To write effective fiction, you must use descriptive
language. The more concrete you can be in
describing, the better your fiction. BE SPECIFIC!
Compare the following:
 She sat down to breakfast.
 She plopped down on the hard wooden chair; she
looked down at her breakfast: grayish eggs, burned
toast, and water.
Characters
 You need to try to create interesting
characters. In order to do this, you must
know them very well. In fact, if you don’t
know the color of their toothbrush, what
they do when they get mad, or what they
think of their grandmother, you probably
don’t have a fully developed character.
Characters
 You have a few things to consider when
selecting a name for your characters.
 Don’t pick a long name.
 Pick a name that fits your character.
 Don’t pick a name because it is your
favorite.
Characters
 Characters can be classified as flat or round.
 The deeper qualities in round characters are
those that make the character more realistic,
and meaningful. These characters come
ALIVE!
 Every thing a character does is motivated by
something. You (the writer) must know the
character’s motivation!
Characters
 Characters should be developed with
enough depth and logic to make them
believable.
 To be an effective writer, you need to
convince your readers that your fictional
characters could exist! A character’s
actions also must be believable.
Plot
 You will also need to think about creating
an interesting plot. Your story must have a
beginning, a middle and an end. You need
to have a problem as well as a solution.
This is often talked about in terms of
conflict, rising action, climax, falling action
and resolution.
Plot
 “A dull story is like a dull meal at a restaurant.
Patrons don’t complain, but they don’t come
back” (Minot 28).
 You need to create tension. Do this by
creating conflict.
 You need to make your reader curious about
what will happen next!.
 You need to create suspense.
Plot
 BE SUBTLE WHEN CREATING CONFLICT!
 Don’t be overly dramatic. Don’t try to shock your
reader by creating a sad or tragic event. Sad and
tragic events usually come across as not
believable!
 Dealing with a tragic car crash, a serious illness,
family problems and going to jail are too major for
an effective short story. Subtle is better!!!
Plot
 Your character must change in some way
before the end of your story. If your
character doesn’t change, there is no point
to writing their story.
 Your character’s change can be subtle--they
might have a new sense of hope, a new
respect for their mom, etc.
Conflict
 Conflict refers to whatever causes the
central tension in a story.
 People verses people
 People verses society
 People verses nature
 People verses themselves
Resolution
 The resolution must fit the plot.
 You can’t drop a completely random ending
on your reader.
 You must have a conflict, believable
characters, a series of events that go
together with dramatic effect, and then a
realistic resolution. (Piece of cake!)
Dialogue
 Dialogue is essential to a fiction story.
 Dialogue tags are used to help the reader know
who is talking. (he said/she said)
 Descriptive dialogue tags help the reader know
who is talking and add description. (“Excellent
work,” Mrs. Garrison said, flipping through the
student’s stories.)
Dialogue
 Don’t use - she hissed - she laughed - he
groaned. It calls to much attention to you as
the creator of the fiction, and it slows down
your dialogue.
 You may use - he yelled - she whispered - I
screamed. These are fine, because they can
be performed with words. But, descriptive
dialogue tags are really the best!
Dialogue
 It is also important to vary your dialogue.
Try to use a combination of tagless
dialogue, descriptive tags and simple tags
 Don’t use a long tag if you already have
long dialogue.
Getting Started
 I have found that an excellent way to get started
on a story is to develop a fictional character.
Think a lot about what the character likes and
dislikes. What is their greatest fear? Often times,
a story will develop from there.
 You may have an issue that you feel strongly
about. Sometime this can develop into a story or
plot.
Creative Writing
 Start thinking about your character/conflict.