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.
So excited to be on this creative journey
Love this. I’ve always wanted to write but didnt know how to start. I’m so excited
This has really helped me to improve my writing. I currently only write to entertain myself, but this is really helping me to become more creative. I love it!
Then it’s mission accomplished!
I’ve only done your first lesson so far, but I had fun doing it. I’m looking forward to the next one. Thanks so much for taking the time to put this together and for the suggestions on further reading.
You’re welcome Debrah. Happy writing!
quite helpful for freshers…
So far so good
Thank you. I enjoyed that
very interesting
You’re welcome Robbie.
I’ve just began taking your course,however I have learned alot already. Thank You!
got me tickled…i have got racing pants on to write my first book
Really good
so i just finished the first course, and i have to say if they rest are like this, then i have finally found what i have been looking for. Though the poetry flowed easily,i was more impressed with myself when it came to writing short story of 300 words. using the words as a guideline of sorts, is something i would have never thought of doing. I don’t know if what i have written is any good, but it an amazing feeling to see one of the many thoughts haunting me on paper.
Loved this course, it reminded me of my creativity and creativity in general, how amazing it is
It’s a nice feeling to be a part of this course. I have been thinking to write something. But ‘how to start’ held me up for all these years. Now I thing I’ve got a right platform to begin at. The nature of my writing will of course be a realistic portrayal of the men and manners of the society in this modern era. I’ve habit of making company and it allowed me to peep into the heart of the other people. Just as Bacon wandered a lot and the result is Coverley Papers. In the same way Orwell in a sarcastic vain completed his masterpiece ‘Animal Farm’ mocking at the political corruption. I too want to expose the folly and the prejudices the men have now a days. They have become reckless and money minded and the relation or they are lacking in the humanitarianism which should be the base of all the activities. I do want to expose it by portraying typical behavioural tendencies of men and women in the modern era. I hope I’ve selected the right option for penning everything. thank you
I am a longtime professional writer/award winning songwriter hoping to join a class that will stimulate me just by going through the process with others. My goal is to write my amazing tv sitcom idea (I have no tv experience) in an acceptable format to pitch. It’s registered with the Writer’s Guild and I’ve written 2500 words (in story form) to demonstrate how I think my idea might play out. Can you help with any of this?
Hello Lilian, the content of the course is listed on the home page. It is basic creative writing – short stories and poetry. What you are talking about is writing a treatment for script. If you would like help with that then I can put you in touch with one of my Crafty Writer tutors. This is a fee-paying service. If you would like a quote get in touch via the contact form.
This is a very compelling course. Thanks for writing it and making it available for free! It’s down-to-earth, concise and crafted in such a way that it holds my attention and actually gets me completing the exercises that are suggested throughout. For those reasons, this is the best creative writing course I’ve ever come across. I love it! Thanks again for writing it!
You’re most very welcome, Sam. And thank you for saying it.
I really enjoyed this first lesson. I don’t know much about poetry and had to put some thought into writing the poem and after I wrote it was impressed, the short story was easier to do for me. Thanks!
You’re welcome!
I have to say I’m pretty stunned! I stumbled onto this site thinking I’d like to be able to write creatively but not truly believing I can. I did the exercises on this page and am blown away by the fact that I can actually write a 16 line poem and a 250 word short story. What is even better is that I think they are actually quite good as first drafts go, certainly not up to publication standard but what first draft is. I can see myself doing exercise 2(b) and 3 again in the future, as well as working through the rest of the course.
Thank you
I’m so happy for you Sarah! Whenever I’ve used this exercise in classes it (usually) has the same effect. May you grow from strength to strength in your writing.
I have just started the online free courses and finished releasing your creativity. I enjoyed the exercise of writing down 20 words and then turning it into a short story using all of them. Mine did not exactly have a beginning or end, it was more of a middle to use in a story but i was amazed at how fast it came out of me. I have always thought about taking a creative writing course and it is my goal to someday write non-fiction. I enjoyed this, thank you!
Thank you, I released my creativity.
It was lot’s of fun picking out the twenty words, converting them into a poem of 16 lines. I was able to convert the same words into a short story of 128 words. Thanks again for this wonderful opportunity. I am excitedly looking forward to the next section
Fun is the best reason to write. It isn’t always fun, it’s sometimes frustrating, but when it is, it’s wonderful. Happy writing Linda.
Thank you for this, I’m just getting started, but found this very helpful!! Same as the previous poster, but I’ve been thinking of taking a course for ages. I found your course and so far am loving it. Thank you!!
You’re welcome, Avon!