Check out some books by your tutor Fiona Veitch Smith … (click on the book covers to find out more)
Hello everyone, welcome to the first session of our free online creative writing course. Over the next eight sessions we will be looking at different aspects of creative writing and trying our hand at various forms. I’d strongly encourage you to have a go at the exercises along the way, and please feel free to leave comments or ask questions at the end. If you have arrived on this page without first reading the home page and frequently asked questions page (on tab above) please go back and do so now. If you have read them, enjoy the course!
Creativity and Art
What is creativity? The Collins dictionary defines it as ‘the ability to cause something to exist’. Without getting into too much of an existential discussion, I would say that with every thought that is expressed, something has been created. It was Descartes who said: ‘I think, therefore I am’; well I would add, ‘I think, therefore I create’ (do you feel a God complex coming on?). But how do we express our thoughts? Sometimes we do it verbally, other times by body language and still again through what is loosely termed ‘art’.
Art takes place when a thought is expressed and fixed in a way that other people may experience it on an aesthetic level – through music, writing, painting, sculpture, choreography and so on. Many artists say that their best work takes place when they ‘by-pass’ the thought and simply express the feeling. This may be true, but for writers, who use a verbal medium, a feeling must first be converted into a thought before it can be put into words. Don’t over analyse the thought before you express it, as this way you can ‘channel’ the purest interpretation of the feeling, but some cognitive process needs to take place. Some writers prefer to mull over a thought and give it form before they put pen to paper – I’m one of them – but it’s good practice to try and switch off the ‘editor’ at least for the first draft. First response trigger exercises are useful in this regard and can release some unexpected words and images.
Exercise 1:
Write down your first response to these words or phrases:
- Blue ball
- And that’s when the sadness came
- Coffee
The first task of a good writer is to convert feelings into thoughts and then into words. This is the raw material that can then be converted into something more permanent. Some writers refuse to toy with their first drafts, believing their creativity will be diluted; I disagree. Allowing your critical mind to improve a piece of writing is where the craftsman meets the artist. Something produced only by the former will lack soul and something by the latter will lack form. Good writing is a combination of art and craft.
For public consumption
Art, of course, is highly subjective and one woman’s masterpiece is another woman’s unmade bed. We all have the ability to create, but whether or not our creation is ‘art’ must be left to the eye or ear of the beholder.
In this session we will look at how you can craft those creative thoughts into creative writing to share with other people. And that’s what sets ‘public’ writing apart from ‘private’ scribblings – there’s a perceived readership in mind. When I ramble on in my journal, I am the only one who will read it (hopefully!) so my only concern is getting my thoughts down on paper. The moment I want someone else to read it I begin to consider ways to improve the presentation and craft it into something more aesthetically pleasing. I consider which words may sound more colourful, whether or not my sentence structure is grammatically correct, whether I’m using evocative imagery, and so on.
Story, feeling or image?
What is it about those creative thoughts that you think might be of interest to other people? Do they speak of an eternal truth or a common experience? Do they make you laugh or cry? Do they suggest a story that will entertain or a poem that captures a moment that must be shared?
Exercise 2: In 50 words or less write down why you want to write then list three creative thoughts that you’ve had lately (each 10 words or less). These may be an image, a musing, a ‘truth’, a story, or so on. If you haven’t had any, take yourself for a walk and look around; what grabs your imagination? Browse through a newspaper or a magazine; do any stories or pictures catch your attention? Think back over your day; did anything funny, charming, shocking or unusual happen to you or someone you know?
Poetry or prose?
Some people are more suited to writing poetry than prose and some people do well at both. Although we won’t be discussing it in this course, other people are more suited to script. I’m one of them. I’ve had relative success as a prose writer and in fact have managed to earn a living from it, but it’s taken years of hard work to get to this point. I recently branched out into scriptwriting and found that I had much more of a natural ability. (If you’re interested in finding out more about scriptwriting, check out getting started in playwrighting). You may find that you’ve been trying to make it as a poet when actually you’re more suited to prose. Now I don’t want to pigeonhole anyone, but ask yourself the following questions:
- Are you more attracted to films than stills?
- Do you enjoy telling people ‘stories’ from your life?
- Do you prefer to read stories or poems?
If yes, to these, then you may be more suited to prose than poetry. If no, then the opposite may be true. If it’s ‘sometimes yes, sometimes no’ then perhaps you are suited to both. We shall be looking at how to write poems in more detail in session 7, but suffice to say, a poem is like a snapshot of a moment. If you can’t rest until you know what happened before and after, then prose may be your genre.
Exercise 3: Take one of the three creative thoughts you wrote down in Exercise 2, then list 20 separate words that communicate or describe that thought. Do not, at this stage, link the words into sentences. Once you have your 20 words use them in a poem of 16 lines or less. Then, take the same 20 words and work them into a short story of under 300 words. Which exercise came more easily? Which form has best communicated your creative thought?
Further Resources:
There are some excellent resources out there for creative writers. To get quick ‘starter’ images when your own well is dry I recommend The Writer’s Block by Jason Rekulak. I’m currently working through The Creative Writing Coursebook by Julia Bell and Paul Magrs and finding it very useful.
The next creative writing course session is how to write a short story. But before you move on to that, please feel free to leave a comment or ask a question in the box below.
Welcome to The Crafty Writer's free online creative writing course, presented by Fiona Veitch Smith, a freelance journalist, editor, author, playwright, screenwriter and writing teacher. I hope that you'll see a dramatic improvement in the quality of your writing as you work through this course.
Dear Fiona, first of all I would like to thank you for all the hard work you have put into this online course for all of us to be able to learn so much from. I am very interested in everything you have explained to us so far, and am at present doing the exercises re The Blue Ball, the Sadness, and the Coffee etc, which I enjoyed immensely, but found to my surprise that my creativity and imagination began to come out in leaps and bounds, making each of the three subjects into much more than just a few words. i.e.
1. I saw children playing happily with a large `blue ball` on the beach in the breeze, completely oblivious to the fact that a few minutes earlier their lovely `blue ball` had been just a little bundle of thin inflatable rubber, awaiting only to be blown up and the air retained therein by just a little plastic stopper to create their wonderful object of pastime.
2. The sadness came when I looked at my darling lifeless mother on the lounge carpet where I discovered her, having passed, with sign or warning, her last breath, and feeling the very soon awaited new baby withing myself, `and the sadness came` when I realised that this wonderful and caring mother who had always been and who now no longer was, would never herself have the joy of seeing and holding her first grandchild from the daughter whom she herself loved so much, and
3. I wrote about the bronzed Brazilians working in the heat of the sun in the isles of the coffee plantations, never complaining, their sparkling white teeth showing so clearly as they smiled and chatted as they worked, and I became aware that both due to, and thanks to, their hard work and perseverance in the gruelling and underpaid lifestyle they probably were accustomed to I, myself, had the luxury of quietly being able to sit and read my morning paper, savouring with relish and taking utterly for granted the aroma and taste of my “wake-up” call of each morning – my `life saving` first of the day `cup of coffee`.
There, I said my imagination had run away with me, and am not sure if this is a good sign or a bad sign. Do you have any ideas or comments? Thank you so much again Fiona, and now on to the rest of the First Chapter exercies, which I am really looking forward to. With warmest regards, Katy
Hello Katy, I’m very glad the exercises helped to release something from you. However, I can’t comment on your work. Please read the introduction page to this course again for my reasons. However, if you would like to develop one of these ideas into a story I can critique it when it is done but I will of course charge you for that. Perhaps one of the other students can comment on your work if they choose.
Happy writing
Fiona
thank you for this free course, just what I was looking for. I have a story to tell, based on a real event. I believe this will help me transform my collection of facts into a form that other people can laugh and cry with. I found it easier to write the short story, putting on paper a daydream I have had for a while about relocating and having a totally different life. The words flowed easily, I could see myself living this alternative life. Looking forward to doing the rest of the course and then getting on with writing my book.
Thank you
You’re welcome, Carole.
This is what I have been looking for(a writing course) all this while.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Tonye.
I’ve already started writing. Short stories, some poetry but prose suits me better. I’ve turned into a natural story teller. I’m working on a semi-fictional autobiography/memoir in the first person using a pseudonym for me and other characters.
You’re on a roll!
The exercises I just did helped me through a rough situation. It made me realize the things that I know I will now never forget. Writing about this helped in ways I cannot describe and hope writing will continue to help me. I guess i just figured out that writing about things that happen to you make you feel a little less pain every time you read it and write about it. Thank you.
Glad it’s helped, Dustie. Enjoy the rest of the course.
I always love writting, cos it is one of †?? easiest way I can express myself, but thanks to d lec, I think I ???? now able to make better constructions of ideas.
Hi Fiona. Its great to start writing, be it poetry or prose and be able to bring the piece to a conclusion just because of the word limitation. Brings a nice conciseness to it, rather than rambling on. Regards, Jo.
Glad it helped, Jo. Yes sometimes setting limitations can be liberating. Happy writing.
This was very helpful and fun, looking forward to more. Seemed fairly easy and want to get in to more writing.
Thank you for setting up this website so that I can pursue my writing career.
You’re welcome, essence.
Having been a technical writer, I find it hard to switch to fiction. This course is exactly what I need to find out whether I have it in me or not. Thank you for doing this for free, which makes the choice of ‘should I pursue this or not’ a little less scary.
I’m so glad I’ve been able to make the world a little less scary for you, Pleun. I hope you find the creative spark you’re looking for.
All the best
Fiona
Just trying to figure out if I have a talent for writing!! Hope this course will answer that question!
I don’t know if it will answer that particular question conclusively Jessie, but it will certainly give you confidence to develop whatever talent you already have.
Oh wow,
I just read through the comments, which go all the way back to 2007; that is amazing. My biggest challenge has been and still is, finding the voice that is unique to me. I hope I can gain some insight through your classes. Thank you.
Hello Wisdom. What I find amazing is that you’ve read all the comments! Wow! Hope you find your voice through this course.
Happy writing,
Fiona
The problem I have the most with creative writing is, having only had writing courses geared toward academic writing, I find myself only writing summaries or outlines of my ideas, or over-analyzing my ideas, and not actually being able to work through the story or poem that I would like to write. I only have the ability to summarize the events of a plot, and I have trouble connecting them in a natural way. Are there any tips that you might have to help me break this habit?
This course should help you Alex. Particularly the session on bringing your writing to life.
I am very excited to be taking this free course. I do not know if the visions in my head will be good enough for publication but I will enjoy letting my characters come our to play.
A lot of my stories start out as dreams. But it does require some ‘adapting’ when it’s down on paper. But I’m sure you can do it! At least you’ve got some story ideas already. Happy playing!
Where can i submit my work for your perusal?
priya
Check out the services and rates page Priya http://www.thecraftywriter.com/services/
I David Mendy want to be a writer,because of the following reasons. First and foremost it will enrich my vocabulary as i will know a lot of new words and their meanings,my communication skills will also increase due to the fact that i will always read what i write by so doing i will be building my grammar in a way that i my self will not notice.”their is this common saying which says with practice one becomes perfect” there was this friend of mine called Lamin who was chasing this girl called Fatou.Lamin is a boy i just can’t discribe the nature of his hands, i mean hard they are, his hands are so hard that he feels shy to t
In exercise two you ask for three creative thoughts – i.e., an image, thought, musing, etc. Do you mean like image of my dog, thought about someone I miss, musing on what it would be like to whatever? None of this seems creative to me. Am I on the right track and do these creative thoughts have to congruous with the first part “Why do I want to write”. In my case, to share feelings with someone.
There is no right or wrong with this Barbara. These exercises are designed to help you get what’s inside out. Whether or not they are connected to part 1 is up to you. If it will be helpful to you to have it so, then go ahead, if not, don’t. Regarding creativity, that again is subjective. For me a creative thought is something that could spur me to write something in response to it. I could easily write about my dog or someone I miss. Those would be creative thoughts for me if they result in something creative. But if they’re not creative for you, think about something else that will illicit a creative response in you.
Thank you for these exercises. This is a good start to engage myself into writing again.
You’re welcome Nina. Happy writing.
Thanks for sharing your experience freely. I have wanted to write for a long time and I am excited about unleashing the burst of creativity I feel bubbling inside of me with just the first few exercises.
I love it when the bubbles start
I have just started on your free on line course and now I am so excited to continue though each topic and grow as a writer… I have been writing poetry or maybe I should now call it a lyric because I often write how i feel. I love words and believe I have a fairly creative mind and wil be loking forward to see what kind of writing form best suits me. Thank you so much for giving of your time to developing others in your field of expertise.
YOu’re welcome, Juine. Enjoy the course.