creative writing examples

creative writing examples

The Power of Creative Writing

1. Introduction

The development of critical thinking and creativity is essential in today’s society. It is then necessary to educate the young to gain a love for language. In order to critically analyze, a person must be able to express their thoughts; creative and critical expression often involves making new connections, seeing things from a different angle, breaking rules and pushing boundaries, and embodying one’s ideas in an artifact. It is clear that the essence of writing extends far beyond the ability to construct grammatically correct sentences. Unfortunately, language arts courses in schools place too much emphasis on merely having students produce written documents. These activities limit students to expressing existing ideas in a simplistic manner. Few activities are provided that require a student to generate new ideas and think critically. By perpetuating the above methods, the full potential of writing as a vehicle for creative expression is stripped from the students. What is left is a chore; writing has become something to be completed as quickly as possible. And the product is all form and no substance. This is a writing saturated with what the student thinks the teacher wants to hear.

2. Benefits of Creative Writing

Writing creatively has many psychological and emotional benefits. It can help people feel better about themselves, which can make and improve a person’s mental health. An example of this is that creative writing can help to make a person more self-confident and self-expressive. It can also help a person to set free and understand their own feelings, and is beneficial to health in a number of ways. Expressing oneself through writing is a positive way to work out one’s problems, and it is much healthier to express oneself through writing than through taking part in destructive behaviors that can have negative psychological or physiological effects. Specialist rehabilitation teams have long used writing as therapy, there are innumerable self-help books based on writing, and there is an increase in interest in the use of writing within a number of health service areas. This includes writing to aid cognitive behavioral therapy, reminiscence and life work, enhance emotional intelligence and foster resilience, and facilitate recovery from severe and enduring mental health problems. Some people write because it produces a sense of personal satisfaction, it can be a great personal achievement or because they want to leave a written legacy. Others want to use their writing to contribute to public discourse and influence culture. Public figures often write so that their views and opinions can reach a wider audience. The act of writing itself can be the way the writer arrives at a deeper understanding of a topic he or she wants to communicate. This is explored in more detail in Thinking and Learning.

3. Techniques for Effective Creative Writing

You can employ these techniques, inspired by Julie Brickman: – Evoke emotion. Use specific words that show action and elicit emotional responses. – Choose words with care. Take the time to find the perfect word for every occasion. Avoid cliches. Coming up with fresh similes is a good exercise. – Choose effective verbs. “Verbs are the action of the sentence,” Brickman reminds us. Employing more specific verbs makes the sentence come alive. – Keep it simple. Avoid using adverbs, and use adjectives sparingly. Let the nouns and verbs do the work. “Symbolism occurs when a thing is itself, yet stands for something else,” says Brickman. Don’t hit the reader over the head; when using symbolism or allegory, be subtle. – Show, don’t tell. Effective dialogue and well-chosen details can move the story without explanation. Brickman describes a story as “a series of events, feelings, and reactions by characters in conflict,” and effective use of ‘showing’ can bring this to life. – Revision. With each draft of what you write, more of your total vision will show. Don’t worry if every word is perfect in the first draft. As Brickman points out, “you can ruin the flow of a poem fixing small things.” Different writers find different times best for revision, but as Constance Hale advocates, “Spend time on it, let it sit, don’t be impatient.” Coming back to a piece with fresh eyes can help you refine it. And as Geoff Hargreaves points out, “the best writers aren’t the ones who write the best sentences, they’re the ones who edit the best sentences.”

4. Examples of Creative Writing

The varying scopes and forms of creative writing are displayed extensively. There’s much more than the pen to paper folklore. The great benefit of creative writing is that it has the power to express the feelings and thoughts of a writer, making it a uniquely personal and intimate endeavor. This is why it is best to use examples of creative writing activities that can visibly display your work’s relevancy to a particular audience. For example, imagine making a diary about a child who has been diagnosed with ADHD with the entry and the child’s modern reaction to it being written from two separate perspectives. This would be considered a memoir, yet the exercise would prove that it was also an example of creative writing for both parties, as it aims to help show understanding of the event from the perspective of the child.

Examples of creative writing include: – Fiction: novels, novellas, short stories, and flash fiction – Poetry: a personal favorite – Scripts: for film, stage, radio – Playwriting: creating a script for dialogue or puppet speaking performance – Songs – Speeches – Memoirs: reflective essays about a particular time period or event in one’s life – Journals: an “in the moment” self-expression in book form, often thought of as the “best exercise” for aspiring writers.

5. Conclusion

Despite this, creative writing still works with a purpose. By exploring different themes such as death, loneliness, loss, love, betrayal, madness, and redemption, one can better understand themselves (Hacht). The pin is representing the person writing, and how they feel. Only when they are able to make their true emotions into words can they take the pin out and show what they have done. Even if the person decides to write a short story, it will most likely turn into an adventure where they are the main character. Using creative writing, a person can express or let go of intense feelings in a safe and healthy way. Another purpose for creative writing is to express ideas and thoughts creatively rather than just presenting an answer to a question. This type of writing can involve making up a character or even an entire world that doesn’t exist, but can allow the writer to explain their view on certain things indirectly using a story. This is common in the fantasy type writing where people use events in the story as a parallel to a real event that effectively describes the original event in a non-confrontational way. The writer can use fiction as a means of revealing truth. From this, we can see that creative writing is a necessary step needed in the writing process. Any university or career requiring good communicative skills will find creative writing a major asset. This type of writing can refine necessary skills such as concise and clear communication, persuasion, and use of evidence to support a conclusion. Even though creative writing is taking a world of ideas and translating it to a page, this same process is done in everyday life when someone is trying to explain an event, idea, or belief. Last and foremost, creative writing is a way for an individual to express themselves and better understand who they are and what they believe.