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CreativewritingWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Creativewriting
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Creativewritingisanywritingthatgoesoutsidetheboundsofnormalprofessional,journalistic,academic,
ortechnicalformsofliterature,typicallyidentifiedbyanemphasisonnarrativecraft,character
development,andtheuseofliterarytropesorwithvarioustraditionsofpoetryandpoetics.Duetothe
loosenessofthedefinition,itispossibleforwritingsuchasfeaturestoriestobeconsideredcreativewriting,
eventhoughtheyfallunderjournalism,becausethecontentoffeaturesisspecificallyfocusedonnarrative
andcharacterdevelopment.Bothfictionalandnonfictionalworksfallintothiscategory,includingsuch
formsasnovels,biographies,shortstories,andpoems.Intheacademicsetting,creativewritingistypically
separatedintofictionandpoetryclasses,withafocusonwritinginanoriginalstyle,asopposedtoimitating
preexistinggenressuchascrimeorhorror.Writingforthescreenandstagescreenwritingand
playwrightingareoftentaughtseparately,butfitunderthecreativewritingcategoryaswell.
Creativewritingcantechnicallybeconsideredanywritingoforiginalcomposition.Inthissense,creative
writingisamorecontemporaryandprocessorientednameforwhathasbeentraditionallycalledliterature,
includingthevarietyofitsgenres.Inherwork,FoundationsofCreativity,MaryLeeMarksberryreferences
PaulWittyandLouLaBrantsTeachingthePeople'sLanguagetodefinecreativewriting.Marksberry
notes:

WittyandLaBrant[saycreativewriting]isacompositionofanytypeofwritingatany
timeprimarilyintheserviceofsuchneedsas
1. theneedforkeepingrecordsofsignificantexperience,
2. theneedforsharingexperiencewithaninterestedgroup,and
3. theneedforfreeindividualexpressionwhichcontributestomentalandphysical
health.[1]

Contents
1Creativewritinginacademia
1.1Programsofstudy
1.2Intheclassroom
1.3Controversyinacademia
2Elementsofcreativewriting
3Formsofcreativewriting
4Seealso
5Furtherreading
6References
7Externallinks
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Creativewritinginacademia
Unlikeitsacademiccounterpartofwritingclassesthatteachstudentstocomposeworkbasedontherulesof
thelanguage,creativewritingisbelievedtofocusonstudentsselfexpression.[2]Whilecreativewritingas
aneducationalsubjectisoftenavailableatsomestages,ifnotthroughout,K12education,perhapsthe
mostrefinedformofcreativewritingasaneducationalfocusisinuniversities.Followingareworkingof
universityeducationinthepostwarera,creativewritinghasprogressivelygainedprominenceinthe
universitysetting.IntheUK,thefirstformalcreativewritingprogramwasestablishedasaMasterofArts
degreeattheUniversityofEastAngliain1970[3]bythenovelistsMalcolmBradburyandAngusWilson.
Withthebeginningofformalcreativewritingprograms:

Forthefirsttimeinthesadandenchantinghistoryofliterature,forthefirsttimeinthe
gloriousanddreadfulhistoryoftheworld,thewriterwaswelcomeintheacademicplace.If
themindcouldbehonoredthere,whynottheimagination?[4]

Programsofstudy
CreativeWritingprogramsaretypicallyavailabletowritersfromthehighschoollevelallthewaythrough
graduateschool/universityandadulteducation.Traditionallytheseprogramsareassociatedwiththe
Englishdepartmentsintherespectiveschools,butthisnotionhasbeenchallengedinrecenttimeasmore
creativewritingprogramshavespunoffintotheirowndepartment.MostCreativeWritingdegreesfor
undergraduatesincollegeareBachelorofFineArtsdegrees(BFA).SomecontinuetopursueaMasterof
FineArtsinCreativeWriting,theterminaldegreeinthefield.Atonetimerare,PhD.programsare
becomingmoreprevalentinthefield,asmorewritersattempttobridgethegapbetweenacademicstudy
andartisticpursuit.
Creativewriterstypicallydecideanemphasisineitherfictionorpoetry,andtheyusuallystartwithshort
storiesorsimplepoems.Theythenmakeaschedulebasedonthisemphasisincludingliteratureclasses,
educationclassesandworkshopclassestostrengthentheirskillsandtechniques.Thoughtheyhavetheir
ownprogramsofstudyinthefieldsoffilmandtheatre,screenwritingandplaywritinghavebecomemore
popularincreativewritingprograms,ascreativewritingprogramsattempttoworkmorecloselywithfilm
andtheatreprogramsaswellasEnglishprograms.Creativewritingstudentsareencouragedtogetinvolved
inextracurricularwritingbasedactivities,suchaspublishingclubs,schoolbasedliterarymagazinesor
newspapers,writingcontests,writingcoloniesorconventions,andextendededucationclasses.
Creativewritingalsotakesplacesoutsideofformaluniversityorschoolinstitutions.Forexample,writer
DaveEggerssetuptheinnovative826ValenciainSanFrancisco,whereyoungpeoplewritewith
professionalwriters.IntheUK,theArvonFoundationrunsweeklongresidentialcreativewritingcourses
infourhistorichouses.InNewZealand,creativewritingcoursesatNZIBSarepopularbecausetheyare
homestudytodiplomalevel.

Intheclassroom

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Creativewritingisusuallytaughtinaworkshopformatratherthanseminarstyle.Inworkshopsstudents
usuallysubmitoriginalworkforpeercritique.Studentsalsoformatawritingmethodthroughtheprocessof
writingandrewriting.Somecoursesteachthemeanstoexploitoraccesslatentcreativityormoretechnical
issuessuchasediting,structuraltechniques,genres,randomideageneratingorwriter'sblockunblocking.
Somenotedauthors,suchasMichaelChabon,KazuoIshiguro,KevinBrockmeier,IanMcEwan,Karl
Kirchwey,[5]RoseTremainandreputedscreenwriters,suchasDavidBenioff,DarrenStarandPeter
Farrelly,havegraduatedfromuniversitycreativewritingprograms.

Controversyinacademia
Creativewritingisconsideredbysomeacademics(mostlyintheUSA)tobeanextensionoftheEnglish
discipline,eventhoughitistaughtaroundtheworldinmanylanguages.TheEnglishdisciplineis
traditionallyseenasthecriticalstudyofliteraryforms,notthecreationofliteraryforms.Someacademics
seecreativewritingasachallengetothistradition.IntheUKandAustralia,aswellasincreasinglyinthe
USAandtherestoftheworld,creativewritingisconsideredadisciplineinitsownright,notanoffshootof
anyotherdiscipline.

Tosaythatthecreativehasnopartineducationistoarguethatauniversityisnot
universal.[6]

ThosewhosupportcreativewritingprogramseitheraspartorseparatefromtheEnglishdiscipline,argue
fortheacademicworthofthecreativewritingexperience.Theyarguethatcreativewritinghonesthe
studentsabilitiestoclearlyexpresstheirthoughts.Theyfurtherarguethatcreativewritingalsoentailsan
indepthstudyofliterarytermsandmechanismssotheycanbeappliedtothewritersownworktofoster
improvement.Thesecriticalanalysisskillsarefurtherusedinotherliterarystudyoutsidethecreative
writingsphere.Indeedtheprocessofcreativewriting,thecraftingofathoughtoutandoriginalpiece,is
consideredbysometobeexperienceincreativeproblemsolving.
Itisalsobelievedbysomeintheacademicspherethattheterm"creativewriting"caninclude"creative
reading"whichisthereadingofsomethingnottypicallyunderstoodtobeacreativepieceasthoughitwere
creative.Thisexpandedconceptfurtheraddressestheideaof"found"materialsbeingofliteraryvalue
underanewlyassignedmeaning.Examplesofthismightbeproductassemblydirectionsbeingconsidered
"foundpoetry."
Despitethelargenumberofacademiccreativewritingprogramsthroughouttheworld,manypeopleargue
thatcreativewritingcannotbetaught.LouisMenandexplorestheissueinanarticlefortheNewYorkerin
whichhequotesKayBoyle,thedirectorofcreativewritingprogramatSanFranciscoStateforsixteen
years,whosaid,allcreativewritingprogramsoughttobeabolishedbylaw.[7]
OneauthorarguedinaModernScholarcourseoncreativewritingthatsometimesauthorsborrowcharacter
traitsfromrealpeople,butthatinthecreativeprocess,authorstransformthesecharactersintounique
creationsbyusingtheirimaginations:
Ithinkthatwriting,likeloveandwar,isnotanentirely100%squeakycleanmoralact.Ourjob
aswritersistocapturethetruthaboutlife.Werefractitthroughafictionallensandputiton
thepagesothatitbecomestruthonthepage.
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JennaBluminTheAuthoratWork,2013[8]

Elementsofcreativewriting
Character
PointofView
Plot
Setting
Dialogue(fiction)
Style(fiction)
ThemeandMotif

Formsofcreativewriting
Autobiography/Memoir
Collaborativewriting
Creativenonfiction(Personal&JournalisticEssays)
Epic
Flashfiction
Novel
Novella
Playwriting/Dramaticwriting
Poetry
Screenwriting
Shortstory
Songwriting
Bibliography
Streamofconsciousness(narrativemode)

Seealso
Asemicwriting
Author
Bookreport
Creativity
Electronicliterature
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Expositorywriting
Fanfiction
Fictionwriting
HighSchoolforWritingandCommunicationArts(inNewYorkCity)
IowaWriters'Workshop
Literature
Show,don'ttell
Writer'sblock
Writing
Writingcircle
Writingprocess
Writingstyle
WritingWorkshop

Furtherreading
Brewer,R.L.(ed.).2014Writer'sMarket.Cincinnati:Writer'sDigestBooks,2013.
Everett,Nick.2005."CreativeWritingandEnglish."TheCambridgeQuarterly.34(3):231242.
McGurl,Mark.TheProgramEra:PostwarFictionandtheRiseofCreativeWriting(Harvard
UniversityPress,2009).[9]
Myers,D.G.TheElephantsTeach:CreativeWritingsince1880.Chicago:UniversityofChicago
Press,2006.
Palmer,A.J."WritingandImageryHowtoDeepenYourCreativityandImproveYourWriting."
[AberBooks]2010.RepublishedasWritingandImageryHowtoAvoidWritersBlock(Howto
BecomeanAuthor).[AberBooks2013]
Roy,Pinaki.ReflectionsontheArtofProducingTravelogues.ImagesofLife:CreativeandOther
FormsofWriting(ed.Mullick,S.),Kolkata:TheBookWorld,2014(ISBN9789381231036),pp.
11129.

References
1. ^Marksberry,MaryLee.FoundationofCreativity.Harper'sSeriesonTeaching.(NewYorkLondon:Harper&
Row,1963),39.
2. ^Johnson,BurgesandSyracuseUniversity."CreativeWriting",3.
3. ^https://www.uea.ac.uk/literature/creativewriting
4. ^Engle,Paul."TheWriterandthePlace."InACommunityofWriters:PaulEngleandtheIowaWriters'
Workshop,editedbyRobertDana,2(IowaCity:UniversityofIowaPress,1999).
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5. ^JOHNSWANSBURG(April29,2001)."AtYale,LessonsinWritingandinLife"
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/29/nyregion/atyalelessonsinwritingandinlife.html).TheNewYorkTimes.
Retrieved20101015."KarlKirchwey,whograduatedfromYalein1979,recentlybecamethedirectorof
creativewritingatBrynMawrCollege,afterhavingruntheUnterbergPoetryCenteratthe92ndStreetYfor
overadecade."
6. ^Engle,Paul."TheWriterandthePlace,"3.
7. ^"ShoworTellShouldCreativeWritingbeTaught?"byLouisMenandTheNewYorker,June8,2009,
Newyorker.com(http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2009/06/08/090608crat_atlarge_menand)
8. ^JennaBlum,2013,TheModernScholarpublishedbyRecordedBooks,TheAuthoratWork:TheArtof
WritingFiction,Disk1,Track6,ISBN9781470384371,...jobaswritersistocapturethetruthaboutlife...
9. ^TheProgramEra:PostwarFictionandtheRiseofCreativeWriting(http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?
isbn=9780674033191)fromHarvardUniversityPress

Externallinks
Retrievedfrom"http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Creative_writing&oldid=647066817"

Wikiversityhaslearning
materialsabout
Collaborative_play_writing

Categories: Writing Communicationdesign Creativity

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