Posts tagged Creative writing

originalpoetry:

Remember writers, just jot down anything and everything, but do not stop! Nearly 100% of good writing happens during the revision process. So don’t worry about making it quality when it hits the paper, worry about making it quality after all of your thoughts are written down.

(via its-a-writer-thing)

stsathyre:

You think writing is easy until you remember that you have to:

• Research
• Character build
• World Build
• Outline
• Plan (yes it’s different from outlining)
• Draft
• Write
• rewrite
• rewrite
• get someone to read it
• rewrite
  
• rewrite
• Someone else reads it again
• rewrite
• give up
• cry
• start query letters
• Hope
• Pray
• Bribe agents

Lather, rinse, repeat.

From Bloomsbury publishing:

Here is our list of 5 things to look out for when reading with awareness:

1. Setting - where and when is it set? How does the author convey the setting? Which senses are being used?
2. Perspective - who is telling the story? Are they a reliable narrator? How does their relationship to the story affect the way it is presented to the reader?
3. Character - who are the key characters? What are we explicitly told about each character and what are we subtly shown? Focusing on the key characters, what are their motivations? What obstacles do they face?
4. Structure - does the story unfold linearly or does it jump about in time? How does this affect our understanding of the events? Mark the points of crises, tension, climax and the final dénouement. 
5. Style - how are the sentences constructed? Are they short and punchy or long and carefully embellished? How does this impact on the pace?

When I was writing the original draft of my First Draft, I spent painstaking amounts of time carefully choosing each word and crafting each sentence as I went along, which was satisfying when I read over my work but was frustrating in that I had this story in my head and it.was.taking.forever.to.get.out.

Now things have changed quite a bit: I just write. Even if the writing itself isn’t a masterpiece (or anything close), even if I use the word “scowl” five times on one page, even if the characters come across flat and lacklustre… I just write. Because my main priority is to get the story out - to just get the thing out. And then I will come back and rephrase sentences and flesh out the characters and find better words to express what I’m trying to say. And I can take out anything that doesn’t work and put in stuff that is needed.

It’s not an easy thing for me to do - writing haphazardly, with unfinished sentences and whole chunks of the story missing because I’ve skipped and jumped to the next thing (and will come back to fill in those missing parts later) - because I am naturally a bit of a perfectionist. But it’s what you’ve gotta do! And I am making way more progress this way too.

“Everyone is creative. Creativity is hardwired into our DNA by God himself. All of us were made to be creative people. Creative juices run hot through our veins. All of have an irresistible, divinely-inspired impulse to create, organize, and fashion.
…
But creativity is hard work. It takes work to create a poem or garden or car engine or piece of furniture. It requires killing our laziness and working faithfully over extended periods of time. It requires a willingness to receive criticism with humility. It requires sweat and elbow grease. It requires diligence and faithfulness. It’s easier to not make anything at all. To be a consumer. To suffocate the creative gifts that God has given us.
…
You have creative gifts. You are a gifted musician or mechanic or teacher or dancer or woodworker or organizer or landscaper or quilter or preacher, and God wants you to use your gifts for his glory. He doesn’t want you to waste them or hoard them. He wants you to use them to benefit those around you and to bring him honor. He wants you to steward your gifts, not waste them.”

- Stephen Altrogge, ‘Make God Look Great: Create’