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
My name is Christina. Thank you for this course. I have just done all the above exercises (releasing your creativity). I guess poetry comes easiest yet it is the prose that I like best. My worry is that I am not clear as to what I want to write about. I just know that I have to write, like a deep, deep need. Will that come to me???? do you deal with this later on??? thank you
Hello Christina, inspiration – knowing what to write – is not something you can really teach. It comes in many ways: a picture, a dream, and idea that just won’t let you go, a funny story you heard, a title, a character. The course will give you some prompts to hopefully spark your imagination but I cannot put those creative thoughts in your head. Sometimes brainstorming helps. Write down every possible story or poem idea you have, no matter how silly you think, and see what comes out. Then go back and choose one of them. Don’t worry about it being the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ idea, just choose one. Sometimes the act of writing something – anything – will trigger a creative thought in your mind. If you say you have a deep need to write then I can guarantee that the ideas are in there too. You just need to trust yourself and not self-censor before you’ve even tried them. Good luck.
Thank you very much Fiona for having all this help
available online. It is already really fun and helpful going through the course, and I look forward to see the rest of it! Thanks
Emilie
You’re most welcome, Emilie. I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Happy writing!
I liked these exercises. I am currently working on a book, and feel like my mind has reached a standstill. Am hoping this class will awaken me, get me working again.
I hope so too, Elaine. Sometimes leaving our work and doing something else for a while is the best way to refresh us.
I adore writing but I am not sure in my skills. I would appreciate so much yuour help and support.
Thank you.
Well hopefully this course will help build your confidence. I would suggest though that you find a writers’ group to join. There are lots of groups online. Just search – ‘online writers groups’. They are the best place to get support from other writers.
Dear Fiona Veitch Smith,
Few days back I had this thought that I enjoy writing and was interested in doing some online course.
I read your inputs and did the exercises it is very helpful for a person who has just started to learn creative writing.
Thank You
dhanraj
You’re welcome, Dhanraj. Hope you enjoy the rest of the course.
Once upon a time I wrote speeches and policy statements for a United States Congressperson. I am retired and wish to write fiction. My resume contains unique work history I.e. 9/11 survivor. I have no formal literary training. Is there any hope for me?
thank you
Ralph
Hello Ralph, the desire to write and to learn the basic techniques of creative writing is all you need to do this course. I’m sure you’ll get a lot out of it. So if you hope to grow as a writer and to be enriched creatively, then this is the course for you! I certainly can’t tell you if you will ever get published. But if that is your initial goal in doing the course I think you are putting the cart before the horse. If you would like a professional assessment of your writing in terms of its publishability, then contact me via my critiquing service. These are my rates and the type of writing I can assess http://www.thecraftywriter.com/services/#critiquing However, I would advise you to do the free course before you do so as you may approach your writing differently afterwards and want to send something in that you have developed in light of your new skills.
Is it a good idea to write about your personal life?
Hi Rohan, I don’t think it’s a good idea for fiction. But for non-fiction writing it can be done. I suggest you have a look at my other free course if you want to go down this route http://non-fiction-writing-course.thecraftywriter.com/
I always have thoughts of writing my family history for my children and grandchildren. These exercises have made me realize I don’t have to be a perfect writer, just detailed thoughts to make, what might be a boring story, a memoir worth reading.
Hello Linda, like Rohan (above) I would suggest you also have a look at http://non-fiction-writing-course.thecraftywriter.com/ if you want to write your own life story or family history.
I just want to thank you for this course it really is very helpful lisa
You’re most welcome, Lisa.
Very useful exercises that allow you to start small and build. Thank you for offering this!
You’re welcome Victoria. I’m glad you found it useful.
I used to be really good at writing poems but I find that it I’d harder to do when I’m challenged to do it. My story writing went well I had a little over 300 words which was an easy fix.
Thank you for sharing the valuable inputs.
Hey,
just started on the exercises….after months of on wondering ans procrastination finally decided that i needed to do a course. i needed guidance because even though i wrote a few years ago, i haven’t been able to write even a word in the past few years.
I am very pleased to contact with you, I am not a native one, But I want to learn how to write academic essay. is it possible or not
Hello Mona, I’m afraid this course will not teach you how to write academic essays. That is a very different skill to creative writing. This is about making up stories and poems.
I am very impressed with this writing course. I have used it well. And, I hope to visit back to this web site by tomorrow!
Thank you.
Thank you for offering this course on line. I am really wanting to learn how to put my thoughts to paper and be able to communicate ideas to others in a blog.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and wisdom on creative writing.
I like this creative writing. Thanks.
Greetings, Ms. Smith,
Many thanks for your online presentations. I have written newspaper features and online columns and have currently been studying and writing memoir essays. I’ve been curious about what makes various short stories “work” and found your online courses.
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
best,
Rena
You’re welcome, Rena. The outline for the short story that I have included in this course is just one way of writing them. But it is a pattern that works and can be found in many books, short stories, plays and films. Happy writing!
Fiona
Thanks for taking the time to help us open up. Great resource.
Thanks just started, so far so good, have been slack to put my mind to paper but this may actually motivate me to do what I should. Thanks again