Suppose you want to create something beyond the conventional realms of an academic, technical, or professional form of writing. In that case, creative writing might be the ideal option for you.
Creative writing is entirely boundless and enables you to let your mind run free, transforming your imagination into written tales, poetry and artwork that has been created entirely by you!
In this article, we aim to leave you with an understanding of what creative writing really is and provide a description of the various forms of creative writing.
Ultimately, after reading this article, we hope you are compelled to pick up a pen and begin sharpening your creative writing skills.
As you begin this adventure, you'll nurture your creativity, improve your communication abilities, explore self-discovery, and open up paths for development.
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How to Define Creative Writing
Creative writing is a way to express oneself artistically breaking free, from the confines of writing styles. It lets writers delve into their imagination, feelings and unique perspectives across genres and formats.
It's the skill of crafting personal written pieces while pushing beyond writing to delve into language, storytelling and self-expression.
In one sense, you can consider creative writing as any form of original and contemporary composition writing. It is not bound by any standards and uses a wide range of elements in its setting.
In contrast to many other writing forms that you are already familiar with, the focal point of creative writing lies in self-expression and originality.
In contrast to technical styles, you’ll find that creative writing centers around producing content that focuses primarily on entertaining the reader as opposed to merely conveying information effectively.
Given the vast array of forms that creative writing can come in, it might seem to have a vague definition, but you can typically identify creative writing because of its narrative craft, which focuses on narrative, character development, and plot elements.
Think about it this way, creative writing can be considered any writing style that expresses oneself while infusing its structure with invention, imagination, and storytelling.
Types of Creative Writing
Since creative writing often mirrors an innovative and experimental nature, it is no surprise that it comes in multiple forms.
It presents a variety of genres and styles each offering a unique platform for self-expression and storytelling.
Each also comes with a unique skill that you will need to harness if you want to get through to your readers and evoke an intended emotion or thought through your work.
Let us go through the primary manifestation of this writing form:
Poetry
Poetry is undoubtedly one of the most multidimensional forms of creative writing and is largely thought to be one of the more challenging due to its ability to evoke such emotion from a carefully constructed collection of sentences.
In the world of poetry, you have the freedom to experiment with verses, letting your words meander without rules. This introduces an entirely unique creative capacity that doesn’t exist in any other forms of writing, where much of the communication comes from poetic techniques such as rhythm, metaphors, and rhyme.
Remember, poetry is the freest format of expression in creative writing, and it breaks all the rules of formatting and punctuation.
In order to become a well-rounded poet that has a strong grasp of poetic techniques and word play, you'll need to read countless poems where this is effectively executed. The more poetry that you read the better your ability to distinguish between what is effective and what isn't.
This will give you a good gauge of what to include in your own pieces in order to further illustrate an idea that you are trying to convey to the reader.
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Short Fictions
Short fiction offers a unique storytelling experience in bite form without committing to a full-length novel.
It's recommend that if you are starting out on your creative writing journey, start off with short fiction, and work your way up to longer-length stories as your skills develop.
Shorter stories like micro-fiction and flash fiction emphasize the conciseness of this format by narrating stories in fewer words than possible.
While this might seem like it is only easier, you will find that a new difficulty is presented in that you will have to be more selective of the words that you use.
Novels
Given that novels are a longer form of writing, they can prove a more challenging endeavor due to the pace of storytelling that needs to be grappled with.
With that said, novels provide possibly the best space for creating worlds, developing characters and weaving complex storylines.
Perhaps the most famous examples studied in high schools are John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men' – a novelette, Edith Wharton's novella 'Ethan Frome,' and Angie Cruz's Dominicana – a complete novel.
These are all great examples that invite the reader into the minds of the authors, meeting the colorful characters that have been carefully constructed.
The idea of dedicating a year to writing a novel only to be told that you need to go back and improve on a list of areas doesn't sound all that appealing right?
For this reason, when you are still developing your grasp of writing novels, it is better to keep your practice short so that you are continuously learning.
Screenplays and Plays
Creating plays and screenplays requires a unique understanding of character development, dialogue and stage directions if you are going to bring stories to life through performance.
This format consists entirely of stage directions and dialogues. Therefore, scriptwriting depends a lot on its subtext.
In simpler words, this includes everything that characters say and the gaps between things they say so clearly.
Personal Essays
Personal essays encourage you to draw from your life experiences to spin narratives that convey messages or themes.
If you write a personal essay, then it should follow a narrative arc. They are usually reflective and thoughtful pieces exploring a character's feelings on a particular matter.
Instead of just listing the experiences of a writer, personal essays use a book, an artefact, or news development as a starting point from which to expand upon their story.
Moreover, these pieces don't have any limitations and can include food writing, travel, and thought pieces relying on personal standpoints.
Humor Writing
Humor is by no means confined to comedy clubs or television stations. Humor writing is another difficult craft that makes up a whole new area of creative writing.
Just like old-school political cartoons in newspapers or online memes, humor satirizes the narrative to make your audience think differently about:
- Current events
- Human behavior
- Political structure
It certainly is a skill in itself to be able to make light of a universally experienced situation in a manner that is both accessible and thought-provoking.
Today, you will find this type of writing congregating in humor sections of famous magazines like The New Yorker and humor websites.
Elements of Creative Writing
Before choosing creative writing as your career, you must first understand the various elements that make writing a creative piece great.
You cannot repair a computer without understanding and knowing the role of each part. The same is true of creative writing.
Here are some elements which embody creative writing and why they are equally important:
A Distinctive Plot
One thing that distinguishes creative writing from multiple other formats is that it always carries a plot of some kind.
You can't expect to get this nailed down on your first try, instead, it should be something that is molded and adapted as your understanding of the characters deepens.
The true essence of creative writing often emerges in the revision process. Be open to rethinking your plot, deepening your characters, and refining your dialogue. Each revision is an opportunity to see your work with fresh eyes!
Indeed, remakes are considered creative writing; nevertheless, many writers form their own plots by threading their ideas into a unique shape. Just look at it like this, without a plot, no story can continue.
And if you do not have a story, you are only scribbling facts on a sheet, an everyday journalist's work. It would help if you did a lot more to succeed as a creative writer in the US.
Therefore, you should learn how to plot your novel, and a wide array of possibilities will open up for you. This will also keep you from dwelling that much on finding your story.
Character Development
Any creative writing piece needs characters. So even though you can write entire books creatively via the second person's point-of-view, you still must develop your characters to make your story interesting.
It can be described simply as unraveling your character and how they navigate through a journey of change throughout the story.
This is because readers must be able to understand your main characters on a personal level, from start to finish.
Underlying Theme
Every story you read should have a fundamental message or theme, even if it were not the author's original intention.
However, it is a must; it requires that message or theme to become whole. This is also what makes this form of expression unique.
Therefore, when you tell a story, you can also effectively teach lessons.
Sensory Descriptions
When you read a newspaper, you usually do not read paragraph upon paragraph of the descriptions portraying the surrounding areas of the event.
Typically, visual descriptions are specific to creative writing. Therefore, you must include them to help your readers understand the character's surroundings.
Becoming a better creative writer often comes down to the ability to appeal to the senses, narrowing the limitations of the written medium.
By harnessing these skills you will find yourself capable of transporting your reader to wherever you want them to be, seeing what you want them so see and hearing what you want them to hear.
Developing your descriptive writing skills will help you write better fiction, and you will find that this skill translates to the other mediums that make up creative writing.
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Emotional Appeal
All forms of writing can offer an emotional appeal element. However, in creative writing, it is the primary goal.
As a writer, your job is to make people feel what your character is feeling and how you want them to feel by telling the story immersively.
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A Career in Creative Writing
Creative writing encompasses a wide range of styles, and most of what you read has some element of creative writing in itself. This is especially true if you love books and magazines.
If you are contemplating choosing creative writing as a career, you would need to find the right speciality for yourself, and that can only happen when you start to write and understand which form suits you the best.
If you feel like you have a real passion for expressing yourself through writing, then you might want to investigate the potential careers that you could pursue with your creative writing skills.
Many educational institutions offer both graduate programs focusing on writing equipped with structured coursework and guidance from seasoned faculty members.
This is a great avenue for you to narrow the gap between your skills and what is required for creative writing roles. However, this also presents opportunities for work for experienced writers to pass the torch to the next generation, becoming creative writing or English teachers.
Plenty of exciting careers await aspiring writers outside academia. Whatever your preferred mode of writing is, you could choose to write pieces either independently or with a publisher.
| Career Path | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Copywriter | Craft persuasive marketing and advertising content for various media platforms to promote products and services. |
| Content Writer | Produce engaging and informative content for websites, blogs, and social media to attract and retain audiences. |
| Screenwriter | Write scripts for movies, television shows, and web series, developing characters, dialogue, and plots. |
| Author | Create written content, such as novels, short stories, and poetry, often exploring complex themes and narratives. |
| Editor | Review and revise content for publication, ensuring clarity, coherence, and adherence to style guides. |
| Social Media Manager | Develop content strategies, produce posts, and engage with audiences across social media platforms. |
| Playwright | Craft scripts for theatrical productions, conveying stories through dialogue and stage directions. |
In recent years, the realm of content creation has also surfaced a whole new avenue for creative writers, such as copywriters, bloggers, and social media influencers, who use these storytelling skills to captivate audiences.
You can also put your creative writing skills to practice through more avenues than you may have formally considered. You could also become a social media manager and use your creativity to craft meaningful stories, crafting a community across several digital touchpoints.
If you are looking for more career paths that you may suited to with your advanced writing skills, you might want to consider becoming an editor.
This is one area that always has a demand for skilled writers, as you will need to adopt your keen eye for mechanical errors while being able to make amendments to the respective plot that you are editing.
But why struggle on your own when you can connect with Superprof tutors near you to help your career in creative writing?
Improve your Creative Writing with Superprof
As you can see from the various forms of creative writing that I have introduced throughout this article, there are plenty of avenues for you to express yourself as a writer.
Each avenue comes with its own unique set of skills that you will need to sharpen in order to become a well-rounded creative writer or a master of one.
Creative writing can be uncharted waters if you have never practiced it before. Instead of spending countless hours on unnecessary trial and error, you should invest in a private creative writing tutor and accelerate your learning by adopting best practices.
Superprof has emerged as a favorite option amongst creative writing students looking to specialize in a particular avenue of writing or improve their grades in English.
Your creative writing tutor from Superprof will be able to assist you in honing your voice, experimenting with genres and mastering the essential techniques for engaging storytelling.
One of the more difficult skills that creative writing students grapple with is familiarizing themselves with the process of crafting characters and plots and creating dialogue. Thankfully the vetted creative writing tutors over on Supeprof will be able to collaborate closely with you to address your areas of weakness for targeted growth.
A significant benefit of learning with Superprof lies in the flexibility provided by an array of tutoring formats. You have the choice of one-on-one sessions, group workshops or online lessons enabling you to learn at a pace that suits you best.
So whatever your chosen creative outlet is, with Superprof you can get started on your journey towards your writing goals as soon as today!
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