You Don’t Always Have to be Academic! Tips and Tricks for Creative Writing

Myths about creative writing:

Do the words “creative writing” make you excited or fill you with existential dread? If your answer is the latter, I understand completely. But what about creative writing is so nerve-racking? If creative writing makes you nervous, you might be believing one or more of these common myths:

1. Creative writing is confined to only poetry and fiction.
2. Whatever I write has to be good, deep, exciting, and unique.
3. Creative writing is only for certain “creative” people.
4. I’m just not a talented writer.

I have definitely thought all of these things at one point, but guess what? They’re all lies! That’s right. They’re simply not true. If you want to delve in to creative writing, go for it! Don’t let these myths stop you. The only way to become a writer is to keep writing.

Genres of creative writing:

When I tell people that I like to write, they often respond with “oh, so you like to write poetry?” or “oh, can I read one of your stories?” Yes, poetry and fiction are great genres for creative writing, and I will definitely talk about them, but it is scary to limit oneself to these forms alone. There are so many ways to write creatively!

• Fiction: Fiction has so many forms! You can write short stories, novels, novellas, etc. in a variety of genres such as fantasy, romance, science-fiction, historical fiction, and many more. Let this genre help you explore worlds and get lost!
• Poetry: It is easy to assume that, when it comes to poetry, that you must write it in fourteen lines of iambic pentameter with an ABAB rhyme scheme. This is such an unfortunate assumption because the (arguably) best poets in history have broken out of strict forms. Research poets like Gwendolyn Brooks, Lucille Clifton, Allen Ginsberg, or Walt Whitman, and you will see what I mean. Poetry has much more freedom than you might think. If you want some structure to start out, it is definitely okay to write in a specific form such as sonnets or haikus, but don’t feel pressured to pour your words into a mold if you don’t want to!

• Creative nonfiction: This category might be one of the most unfamiliar. Who knew that nonfiction could be considered creative? You can write creative nonfiction in a variety of ways. For example, you can write out some of your favorite memories from childhood, or you can travel somewhere and create a narration of your experiences and observations. Through writing in this category, I have learned a lot about myself and the world around me. I highly recommend trying this genre!

• Free-journaling: Sometimes, it is important to write simply for the sake of writing. Maybe there is a lot on your mind that you need to process through, or perhaps you are feeling particularly anxious about something; journaling about it is a great way to get everything out on paper! You don’t need to consider any genre or form; you can just see where your thoughts and your pen take you. I highly recommend free-journaling to start out, as you can come up with great ideas for a specific short story, essay, or poem through it. It is also very therapeutic!

Tips for starting your creative writing journey:

• Be unfiltered: Don’t worry about what others might think when they read your first drafts. In fact, depending on your purpose for writing, you don’t have to let anyone read it at all if you don’t want to. Just get everything out on paper!
• Use prompts: There are plenty of workbooks and Pinterest posts that provide numerous writing prompts of all kinds of genres. It can be super helpful to use those for inspiration if you are having writer’s block!  Here is a great example of a writing prompt pin found on Pinterest:

• Keep a journal: Keeping a journal is a great way to start your ventures in creative writing. Try taking it with you when you go to class, work, etc. and jot down any thoughts you have. This is a great way to come up with ideas for essays and stories, and it is also a great way to preserve memories.
• Be okay with making changes: If you are writing something with the intention of sharing it or publishing it, don’t be afraid of taking others’ suggestions and making changes! As one of my writing professors has told me, “writing is rewriting.” Most of the time, your first draft is going to look very different from you last one, and that is okay! It is just part of the process.

Don’t give up: Writing is a process. The more you write, the better you get at it! Don’t lose heart if you have writer’s block or if you get stuck somewhere! Take a break and come back to it later. You got this!

 

By: Hannah D.