Creative writing is the art of creating original works of self-expression that entertain and give voice to the human experience. Unlike technical or academic writing, the purpose of creative writing is not to present facts but to give rein to the writer’s imagination through poetics and storytelling. A creative writer invites the reader to step out of reality and enter a fantasy realm created by the writer’s own imagination.
Some of the techniques used by creative writers include plot and character development, underlying themes, vivid settings, point of view, dialogue, anecdotes, grammar checks and figures of speech, and emotional appeal.
Types of Creative Writing
1. Poetry
One of the most popular and artistic types of creative writing, poetry uses the aesthetic and rhythmic characteristics of language, along with other linguistic and poetic devices (phonesthetics, meter, alliteration, assonance, rhythm, ambiguity, irony, symbolism, among others) to evoke an emotional response, suggest a variety of interpretations to words, or to achieve musical effects.
Below is an example of a lyric poem by the Romantic poet John Keats:
“O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,-that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”
2. Plays
A play is a work of literature that is performed on stage in a theater or on television, or heard on the radio. Plays have a dialogue between actors/characters and are watched/listened to rather than read by an audience. There are 6 major kinds of plays: tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy, melodrama, domestic drama, and symbolic.
Below is a soliloquy from Macbeth, a Shakespearean tragedy, when Macbeth learns of the queen’s death:
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
3. Fiction
A work of fiction is a piece of creative writing that portrays characters, events, or places in ways that are strictly imaginary rather than based on facts or history. A fictional narrative might be inspired by reality or contain some emotional truth, but the writer always seeks to take the reader to an imaginary place. Works of fiction generally use poetic and descriptive language. The term fiction is commonly used for written prose narratives such as novels, novellas, and short stories.
Below is an excerpt from J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:
October arrived, spreading a damp chill over the grounds and into the castle. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was kept busy by a sudden spate of colds among the staff and students. Her Pepperup potion worked instantly, though it left the drinker smoking at the ears for several hours afterward. Ginny Weasley, who had been looking pale, was bullied into taking some by Percy. The steam pouring from under her vivid hair gave the impression that her whole head was on fire.
4. Memoirs
A memoir is a personal narrative written about an important part of the author’s life. Unlike an autobiography, with which it is often confused, a memoir spans a specific period of time rather than the author’s entire life. Memoirists choose a critical period in their lives and narrate it from their perspective. Their thoughts and feelings are central to the narrative.
Famous memoirs (and memoirists) include:
- The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
- Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
5. Personal Essays
The personal essay (also known as a narrative essay) is a piece of non-fiction writing that narrates an interesting, entertaining, humorous, or thought-provoking story based on the writer’s personal (or second-hand) experiences. The story in a personal essay must, in essence, be based in fact, even if the writer has modified conversations, condensed timelines, or changed names/descriptions to make the story more interesting or to protect identities.
Famous personal essays (and essayists) include:
- Goodbye to All That by Joan Didion
- Once More to the Lake by E. B. White
- Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
- The Death of a Moth by Virginia Woolf
- Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell
6. Screenplays
Screenwriters or script writers write screenplays for movies, television shows, or video games. They need to carry out research for the story, develop the narrative, write the script, screenplay and dialogues, and deliver the whole package in the requisite format to development executives. The creative direction and emotional impact of the screenplay and of the finished product largely depend on how well the screenwriter has done their job.
7. Songs
Songwriting is the process of creating a song. A songwriter is an artist who creates musical compositions and writes lyrics for songs. The 6 elements of songwriting are lyrics, melody, harmony, tempo, meter, and rhythm.
The list of most iconic songs of all time includes:
- Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
- Imagine by John Lennon
- Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
- Like a Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan
- Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin
No matter what the genre, all types of creative writing allow writers to express themselves in unique, imaginative ways. Each of these employs a variety of techniques, serving to grip readers and keep them hooked throughout.
