1 - What Is Creative Writing?

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What Is Creative Writing?

Creative writing is a literary format designed to communicate and express human or non-human imagery, thoughts, emotions, and beliefs through fictional characters as they encompass their reality. It is born from a writer's unique perspective, imagination, and personal experiences. It is, generally, an original work of fiction that combines human expression, imagination, world-building, and communication to capture a realistic but fictional environment. 

What is the purpose of creative writing?

The purpose of creative writing differs for each writer. Some writers want to share their stories with a like-minded community for people to enjoy, while others write to encourage change and positively impact people's lives and their environment. Some write to give their story a breath and have fun with the active expression of creative writing itself, regardless of who sees it. On the other hand, some people write with intentions as stated above but write for themselves and do not intend to publish. 

Regardless of why people write, it is a common practice to write for the sake of the characters and to ensure they are given a voice in an ever-changing world, much like our reality.

How is creative writing different from nonfiction writing?

The main difference between creative writing and nonfiction writing is that creative writing is based on fiction rather than facts. Creative writing implies the plot, the narrative, the environment, the characters, and the events are imaginative and derived from an artistic point of view. Nonfiction writing relies on the accuracy of factual documentation and information. If a documented account is not one hundred percent truthful, it is fictional.

Another difference is that creative writing is viewed as entertainment rather than to document, inform, or persuade an audience about an issue or event that happened in our reality. Nonfiction writers use the literary medium to illustrate why their information is worth remembering as it applies to human connection, education, inspiration and exploration of one's life or research of a topic. Below are a few nonfiction genres:

Autobiography

Biography

Memoir

Self-help

Journalism 

The third difference is that nonfiction writing adheres to an organizational structure that regulates paragraph arrangement, strict word choice, objectiveness, research, facts, and sometimes annotations and footnotes. Creative writing emphasizes creative and imaginative narrative pursuits, creative dialogue, intricate world-building, and character designs. Word choice is important, but it does not abide by the same organizational structure that can read academic or technical, lacking artistic narrative.

Fourthly, emotions and self-expressions are used differently in nonfiction writing, particularly in autobiographies, biographies, and memoirs. To ensure that the writer stays within the lines of nonfiction, the character's emotions and self-expressions must stick close to expressing their own life and outcomes rather than bleed it into the rest of the story to keep agency and factual accuracy (i.e., other characters and environment). In creative writing, emotions and self-expressions are illustrated using artistic word choices integrated with symbolisms and metaphors to show the intentions and feelings of the environment, as well as the characters. Emotions and self-expressions are conveyed beyond a single character's life experiences. 

Creative writing and nonfiction writing often coincide, bridging their gap of differences to create something unique. Fiction and fact can make a compelling and strong narrative if used correctly. Combining the literary genres allows writers to use a wide arrangement of creative and informative storytelling techniques, producing a narrative that can reach many audiences, demographics, and age groups. Within the creative writing genre are many literary forms that use fact and fiction. Some of these genres are: 

Creative nonfiction

Fictionalized memoir

Speculative nonfiction

Historical fiction

(this will be discussed further in another blog post).

Creative writing is an umbrella term

Creative writing is an umbrella term for literary art. Underneath this large, cascading umbrella are some of the following literary genres:

Novels 

Poetry

Short stories

Playwrights

Screenplays

Song lyrics

(this will be discussed further in another blog post).

What is literary art?

Literary art and creative writing coincide to create uniquely expressive, vivid, and thought-provoking art. It is a collection of words written in a creative format to invoke emotion and meaning. It emphasizes the artistry of language by paying attention to word choice, rhythm, pacing, metaphors, and symbolisms to create a compelling narrative. A strong narrative structure and word placement also dramatize or evoke importance to a character's emotions, feelings, dialogue, and thoughts. It is how the character views the world.

In other words, a narrative is a writer or the character's voice or thought process. Every character has a unique voice, differentiating their individuality and personality from another. The voice combines the narrative's point of view, tone, vocabulary, and reliability, shaping the audience's experience and understanding of the story. Literary art expresses the human condition and personal experiences portrayed in fictional characters and their unique environment.

Literary art is in all forms of creative writing, such as novels, poetry, playwrights, and song lyrics. As long as creative writing steps into the nonfiction genre, literary art is there, too.

Is creative writing an art form?

Yes, creative writing is an art form -- at least in the literary sense. Think of creative writing as digital or physical artwork; it paints a vivid and emotional experience through words, creating a picture and a narrative.

Creative writing implies similar functions to other art forms, such as originality, human expression and emotion, thought-provoking ideas and images, and storytelling. Creative writers are literary artists.

(this will be discussed further in another blog post).

In What Is Creative Writing? We reviewed what creative writing is and how creative writing is different from nonfiction writing. We also looked at the literary mediums under the umbrella of creative writing, what literary art is, and why creative writing is an art. We know that creative writing is an art form designed to communicate and express human imagination and storytelling through literary genres like poetry and short stories. We also know that creative writers compose words to express one's thoughts and emotions and tell a riveting narrative through storytelling, much like an artist does with their unique craft. 

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"No need to force yourself to do something the "right way" if it's not your right way. Your job is to honor your process." -- Andi Cumbo

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What does creative writing mean to you? Write your response in a literary format of your choice (poetry, short story, playwright, song lyrics, etc.)