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CREATIVE WRITING MASTERCLASS
Your Complete Guide to Creative Writing
What is Creative Writing?
Creative Writing
●
Any writing that goes beyond the scope of technical or academic writing
●
Fiction and Nonfiction
●
Narrative, characters, ideas, imagination
●
Communicates an idea to the reader
What will you learn in this
course?
This Course
●
Why we write
●
Medium
●
Grammar
●
Process
●
Elements of storytelling
●
Revision
●
Fiction vs Nonfiction
●
Finding a home for your work
●
Style
Meet your instructor: Brian
●
Copywriter for theatrical, TV and video game marketing campaigns
●
Studied Screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University
●
Love writing
●
Why am I teaching this course?
How will this course work?
Your personal project
●
Do you have an idea for a short story, novel, essay?
●
If so, great. You can use this course and lesson plan as a guide to help
you develop, write, revise and find a home for your project.
●
If not, no problem! We can work on something together throughout the
lessons from either your own idea or a provided prompt.
Works we will cover in this course...
●
Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling
●
Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
●
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest
●
The Martian - Andy Weir
Hemingway
●
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott
Fitzgerald
The Sun Also Rises - Ernest
Hemingway
Father Time - David Sedaris
●
Ulysses - James Joyce
●
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
●
Misery - Stephen King
●
Pride and Prejudice, Emma - Jane
Austen
●
●
EXERCISE 1
Select a prompt to work with throughout the course
(If you do not have one of your own)
EXERCISE 1 - PROMPTS
●
Autobiographical - a true or semi-true account of a personal story
●
Social Consciousness - story about a social issue that is important to you
●
Fish out of water - a story in which your main character gets in over
their head
●
Time - a story that takes place over the course of a short time frame, no
longer than one day
●
Animals - a story about, featuring, or having anything at all to do with
animals
Key Point
Make it personal
Even if your story is not about you or
anything that happened to you, how can you
write it as a story that only you could
tell?
CREATIVE WRITING
WHY DO WE WRITE?
What are we doing when we
write?
Key Elements of Good Writing
●
Express an idea
●
Communicate a message
●
Create a reflection of yourself and your world view
Reasons to practice creative writing
●
Passion and interest - both in the subject matter as well as the
act of writing itself
●
You have stories you want to tell
●
You have worldviews or experiences you want to share
Reasons NOT to practice creative writing
●
Fame or Acclaim
●
Money
●
View audience as a means to a personal end
Why do we tell stories?
●
Storytelling is part of human nature
●
Reflection of different lives, times, worldviews and perspectives
●
Connects us and helps us relate to others
●
Entertains us
●
Makes sense of the world around us
Knowing this, what kind of
stories do you want to tell?
Some rhetorical questions to
get you thinking...
Questions
What perspective can you offer that nobody else
can?
Why do you want to tell the story or stories
that you want to tell?
What is the best means of telling your story?
CREATIVE WRITING
GRAMMAR
A General Overview
And for all of our benefit, only a general overview...
●
An understanding of grammar is arguably more important than anything in any
good form of creative writing
●
Foundation of all good writing, essential for communication.
●
Seldom used properly
●
Without a grasp of the basics, you will struggle with all of your writing
Notable Rule Breakers
●
James Joyce: Punctuation
○
Ulysses - Final chapter is 24,209 words. Punctuation is used only
twice. (2 periods. 1 comma)
●
Jane Austen: Double Negative
○ From Emma - “She owned that, considering every thing, she was not
absolutely without inclination for the party.”
●
Shakespeare: End w/ preposition
○ From The Tempest - “We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our
little life is rounded with a sleep.”
Why is it okay?
●
James Joyce: Punctuation
○
●
Represent stream of consciousness
Jane Austen: Double Negative
○ Highlight the pretentiousness of her characters’ worlds by making
things overly convoluted
●
Shakespeare: End with a preposition
○ Sometimes it just sounds better
It’s not uncommon in literature...
But grammar rule breakers can only do so because they know
the rules. They purposefully bend them to accentuate
different points, ideas or messages in their writing.
When is it not okay?
●
Some mistakes simply mark a lack of understanding and result in bad
writing.
●
Common examples:
○ Apostrophes
■ Its vs It’s
○
Their, They’re, There
Your, You’re
Then, Than
○
Misplaced Modifiers
■ Adjectives & Adverbs
■ Bob came home and made a sandwich exhausted.
CREATIVE WRITING
STORYTELLING
Elements of Story
(Regardless of genre or medium)
●
Character
●
Conflict
●
Plot
●
Setting
●
Theme
Character
Character
●
What makes a strong character?
○
Desire
○
Need
○
Weakness
○
Arc
○
Three-dimensionality
■ Physical
■ Psychological
■ Sociological
Character
●
Why these qualities?
○
Human Nature
○
Qualities we resonate with and possess
○
Essential in crafting strong characters in fiction and nonfiction
alike
Character
●
Protagonist
○
Main character of your story
○
Drives your story forward
○
Story follows your protagonist in the effort to reach a goal
○
Your protagonist will have the most significant character arc
○
Source of other critical story elements
Character
●
Antagonist
○
The primary opponent your protagonist faces
○
Stands in the way of your protagonist reaching their goal
○
Brings out the best and worst qualities of your protagonist
○
Drives the conflict of your story
○
Is a fully realized character
Character
●
Supporting Characters
○
Characters who support your protagonist or antagonist
○
Must serve a role in the story
○
Must help your protagonist or antagonist grow
○
Should have an arc, desire and need of their own
Character - Harry Potter
●
Desire
○ To go to Hogwarts and learn how to become a wizard
●
Need
○ To become a hero and defeat Voldemort
●
Weakness
○ Youth / inexperience
○ Loss of parents
●
Arc
○ Young apprentice to master wizard and hero
●
Three-dimensionality
Character
●
Conclusion
●
Make sure your characters…
○
○
○
○
○
●
Struggle
Learn
Grow
Change
Are necessary to your story
Characters carry your story
Conflict
Conflict
●
Without conflict there is no drama. Without drama there is no
story.
●
Great stories increase drama throughout the story.
●
This makes it more challenging for your protagonist to achieve
their goals.
●
If your characters easily get what they want, the story will
fall flat.
Conflict
●
Use conflict to build your story.
●
Don’t reveal everything your character will be up against all at
once.
●
Let it unfold naturally to keep your reader engaged.
●
Let it push your protagonist to their limits.
Sources of Conflict
●
Person vs Person
○
●
Person vs Nature
○
●
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Person vs Self
○
Ulysses by James Joyce
Key Point
Sources of Conflict
A good story can contain some or all sources of
conflict, but cannot contain none
Plot
Plot
●
Character and Conflict are ESSENTIAL in plot
●
A plot is NOT simply a storyline
●
PLOT is a sequence of events driven by cause and effect
●
The sequence will drive your story, characters and conflict
forward
Plot = Structure
●
Consider PLOT as the STRUCTURE of your story.
○ Story is comprised of the beats within your story
●
Consisting of POINTS in a story that build the conflict and
progress your character along in their journey
●
Beginning, middle and end
Plot
Beginning, Middle and End
●
BEGINNING (or, ACT ONE)
○ Establish:
■ Characters
■ Story
■ Setting
○ End with a PLOT POINT
●
MIDDLE (or, ACT TWO)
○ Rising Action
■ Plot builds
■ Conflict increases
○ End with a NEW PLOT POINT
●
END (or, ACT THREE)
○ Climax and Resolution
Setting
Setting
●
Place
●
Time
●
Backdrop for your story
●
Major implications on the mood, tone and overall feel of the
story you’re telling
Setting Examples
●
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - Fictional world and real world
●
Misery by Stephen King - Contained environment
●
Pride and Prejudice - 19th century, high society England
●
Ulysses by James Joyce - Real world Dublin, 1904
●
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - Mississippi River
Theme
Theme
●
In simplest sense, the central idea or points of the story.
●
Think of theme as one word: love, grief, betrayal, identity,
etc.
●
Related to but separate from from your story’s PREMISE, or
worldview.
●
Major implications on the mood, tone and overall feel of the
story you’re telling
Theme
●
A story can have multiple themes that are explored, but all
should be connected to the premise.
●
Considerations for theme:
○ Common and cross-cultural ideas or points-of-view.
○ Should explore from different perspectives.
○ Never stated explicitly.
Key Point
Point of View
Amongst all of the story elements, as the author
you must have a point of view.
How do all of these work together?
Let’s examine how...
○
○
○
○
○
○
Character
Conflict
Plot
Setting
Point of view
and Theme
Work together to form a cohesive story in...
The Great Gatsby
By
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Some Background
●
Published in 1926
●
Depiction of America and the American Dream in the jazz age
●
Received positive critical reviews
●
Did not sell well
●
Re-examined after his death
●
Became a success
The Great Gatsby
CHARACTERS
●
Nick Carraway
○
First person narrator
○
Gatsby’s neighbor
○
Optimistic at story’s beginning
○
Optimism fades as story progresses
The Great Gatsby
CHARACTERS
●
Jay Gatsby
○
Millionaire
○
Mysterious
○
In love with Daisy. Throws large parties in hopes she will
attend
The Great Gatsby
CHARACTERS
●
Daisy Buchanan
○
Socialite from Kentucky
○
Married to Tom Buchanan
○
Had a previous relationship with Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
CHARACTERS
●
Tom Buchanan
○
Daisy’s husband from Chicago
○
Former football star
○
Strong, imposing, arrogant
The Great Gatsby
●
CONFLICT
○
Nick befriends Gatsby
○
Gatsby loves Daisy
○
Daisy is married to Tom
The Great Gatsby
PLOT
●
BEGINNING
○
Nick moves to West Egg next to Gatsby’s house.
○
Meets with Daisy in East Egg.
○
Gets invited to one of Gatsby’s parties.
○
Meets Gatsby.
The Great Gatsby
PLOT
●
MIDDLE
○
Nick learns about Gatsby’s past.
○
Gatsby uses Nick to meet with Daisy.
○
Tom confronts Gatsby.
○
Gatsby demands Daisy admits she never loved Tom.
The Great Gatsby
PLOT
●
MIDDLE
○
Tom reveals that Gatsby is a bootlegger.
○
Gatsby drives Daisy home.
○
Their car strikes and kills a woman.
The Great Gatsby
PLOT
●
END
○
Gatsby reveals to Nick that Daisy was driving but he will
take the fall.
○
Tom tells the woman’s husband about Gatsby.
○
The man kills Gatsby and then himself.
The Great Gatsby
PLOT
●
END
○
Very few people attend Gatsby’s funeral.
○
Nick returns to the midwest, but not before returning to
Gatsby’s mansion to look at the light across the bay at
Daisy’s.
The Great Gatsby
SETTING
●
East and West Egg
●
New York City
●
High Society
●
Valley of ashes
The Great Gatsby
PRIMARY THEMES
●
American Dream
○ Disillusionment
○ Falsehoods
●
Class Disparities
○ Gatsby’s achievement of wealth and success
●
Gender Roles and Expectations
●
Love and Loss
EXERCISE 2
Why are you telling the story you wish to tell?
Why now?
What kind of characters will inhabit your story?
What kind of themes or ideas will your story explore?
What is the best means of having your story told?
CREATIVE WRITING
FICTION VS NONFICTION
FICTION VS NONFICTION
●
Fiction: Writing not based on true stories, people and/or
events.
●
Nonfiction: Writing based on true stories, people and/or
events.
●
Wide array of writing falls under each category.
FICTION
●
Novels
●
Novellas
●
Short Stories
●
Playwriting
●
Screenwriting
●
Poetry
●
Podcast
GENRE VS LITERARY FICTION
Why it matters and also why it doesn’t...
GENRE FICTION
●
Popular Fiction that falls into a specific fiction genre.
●
Appeals to fans of a certain genre.
●
Popular Genres include:
○
○
○
○
○
○
○
Crime
Fantasy
Romance
Sci-Fi
Western
Horror
Historical Fiction
GENRE FICTION AUTHORS
(an incredibly non-comprehensive list)
●
●
●
●
●
Horror
○ Stephen King
Fantasy
○ J.K. Rowling
○ J.R.R. Tolkien
○ Neil Gaiman
Crime
○ Agatha Christie
Sci-Fi
○ Frank Herbert
○ Margaret Atwood
Western
○ Cormac McCarthy
LITERARY FICTION
●
More vague than genre fiction.
●
Doesn’t necessarily fit into genre norms.
●
Often character driven, thought-provoking, and socially, culturally
and/or politically oriented.
●
Doesn’t follow a formula.
○
Nothing should strictly follow a “formula” but we’ll consider it this
way for the sake of clarity.
LITERARY FICTION AUTHORS
(another incredibly non-comprehensive list)
●
F. Scott Fitzgerald
●
Jane Austen
●
James Joyce
●
Mark Twain
●
The Bronte Sisters
●
Joan Didion
●
David Foster Wallace
Why it matters...
●
Can help you define yourself as a writer.
●
Can help you identify different elements of storytelling
from writers you admire.
●
Makes you think about your own interests and stories you
want to tell.
●
Can help you find a home for your work.
Why it doesn’t matter...
●
Can be too limiting as a writer.
●
You don’t have to be one thing or the other.
●
Plenty of great authors do both.
●
Good writing is good writing.
CREATIVE NONFICTION
●
Memoir
●
Biography / Autobiography
●
Nonfiction books
●
Essays
●
Journalism
●
Inspiration / Self-help
●
Plays
●
Screenplays
●
Podcasts
ELEMENTS OF NONFICTION
Like fiction…
●
●
●
●
●
●
Scenes
Dialogue
Character and Story arcs
Point of view
Theme
Commitment to truth
ELEMENTS OF NONFICTION
SCENES
●
Build the story through specific moments.
●
Show the story, don’t tell.
ELEMENTS OF NONFICTION
DIALOGUE
●
Develop characters and story.
●
Even if you don’t know what was really said, utilize your
research to give insight to characters.
●
The above does not apply to journalism.
ELEMENTS OF NONFICTION
STORY & CHARACTER ARCS
●
Make sure the story has a beginning, middle and end.
●
Story needs to develop as any work of fiction would.
●
Characters need to move the story forward and develop along
with with it.
ELEMENTS OF NONFICTION
POINT OF VIEW
●
Utilize your own unique perspective on the story you’re
telling to influence the way you tell it.
●
Make your connection to the story felt through the way you
tell it.
ELEMENTS OF NONFICTION
THEME
●
What is your story about?
●
What can we learn from the real life events being portrayed
in your story?
●
What connects this story to relevant human experiences - and
thus connects with your audience?
ELEMENTS OF NONFICTION
COMMITMENT TO TRUTH
●
Fact checking
●
Research
●
Don’t exaggerate
●
Stay true to your story
FATHER TIME
by
David Sedaris
FATHER TIME
LITERARY DEVICES EMPLOYED
●
SCENES
●
DIALOGUE
●
CHARACTER & STORY DEVELOPMENT
●
THEMES
●
POINT OF VIEW
●
COMMITMENT TO TRUTH
FATHER TIME
SCENES
●
Scenes build the story
○
Receiving news
○
Visiting the home
○
At his home
○
Together with his family
FATHER TIME
DIALOGUE
●
Highlights characters
●
Adds humor
●
Builds story
●
Puts the reader in the moment
FATHER TIME
STORY AND CHARACTER ARCS
●
Characters carry the story
●
Characters change as a result of the situation
●
The use of characters and moments build upon themes
FATHER TIME
THEMES
●
Time
●
Aging
●
Existentialism
●
Loneliness
FATHER TIME
POINT OF VIEW
●
Style unique to David Sedaris
●
Themes emerge under the style of writing
●
Strong sense of voice
●
Strong sense of perspective
FATHER TIME
COMMITMENT TO TRUTH
●
Personal subject matter
●
Perception of real life events
●
Selects events relevant to the story being told
EXERCISE 3
Begin to think on your story elements
Don’t work it all out yet
Begin Brainstorming
Carry a notebook with you
CREATIVE WRITING
FINDING YOUR MEDIUM
What medium is right for your story?
●
Fiction or Nonfiction
●
Short or Longform
●
How should your story be told?
How do you find your specialty?
●
Genre Fiction. Literary Fiction. Non Fiction.
●
What do you like to read?
●
You do not have to lock yourself into one specific form
of writing.
CREATIVE WRITING
STYLE
What is a writer’s style?
●
How you use the key elements of creative writing to convey your
ideas and tell your story.
○
○
○
○
○
○
Point of view
Narration
Theme
Characters
Setting
Plot
What is a writer’s style?
●
SYNTAX: The way words and phrases are arranged to form
sentences.
●
How you choose to arrange words and sentence structure will
affect your style.
●
As will figurative language, such as similes and metaphors and
sound devices, such as alliteration or onomatopoeia.
What is a writer’s style?
This is how you will set the tone, feel and overall
impression of the story you’re telling.
What is a writer’s style?
●
How?
○
○
○
○
○
Understanding of grammar
Strong point of view
Firm sense of story
Pay attention to other styles
Practice
Key Point
Story must underlie Style
Otherwise you have style without substance - which is
not good writing.
Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory
From Death in the Afternoon:
“If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things
that he knows, and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a
feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The
dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above
water.”
The Sun Also Rises
●
The initial draft of the story opens with ‘This is a story about a
lady’.
●
Goes on to detail the life of Lady Brett Ashley in expository
paragraphs - information later revealed throughout the course of the
story.
●
Most of the first two chapters cut at F. Scott Fitzgerald’s
insistence.
The Sun Also Rises
Finished draft opens with:
“Robert Cohn was once middleweight boxing champion of Princeton. Do not
think that I am very much impressed by that as a boxing title, but it
meant a lot to Cohn.”
The Sun Also Rises
●
The difference?
○
○
○
○
○
Ambiguous
Introduces point of view
Goes right into story
Story reveals itself naturally
Maintains tight, succinct writing throughout this novel and all
other writing
Final thoughts on style
●
Every author has a different style.
●
Your style should be a reflection of you as a writer.
●
Do not simply imitate a style you admire.
●
Style is something that is found over time more than it is something
that is decided upon.
CREATIVE WRITING
PROCESS PART 1:
General Overview
What is ‘Process’?
●
How you, as the writer, go about writing a story from
start to finish ○
From formulation of an idea to a revised and completed draft
●
Process will be different for everyone
●
There are some elements
process
that should be part of any good
Routine
●
What does this mean? Consistency. But...
●
You can allow yourself to take a day off.
○
○
One person may do their best work going at it for 8 hours a day 7
days a week.
Some may do three twelve hour days in a row then stop for four days
to recuperate
Routine
●
Hold yourself accountable.
●
Know what is right for you.
●
Routine is essential.
Writing Every Day
●
Doesn’t have to be your project
●
Practice
●
Let yourself fail
Explore the Possibilities of your Story
●
Free Association writing
●
References and comps
●
Research
●
Ask yourself questions your reader might ask
Key Point
“The worst enemy to creativity is
self doubt”
-Sylvia Plath
What will your process be?
●
Know yourself.
●
Know your story.
●
Know your goals.
CREATIVE WRITING
PROCESS PART 2:
The Outline
Why Outline?
●
Essential part of any writing process, no matter what
you’re working on.
●
See your story come together for the first time.
Why Outline?
●
Ensure all of the right pieces are there and in the right
places.
●
Put everything you’ve done so far into a cohesive
narrative.
Key Point
Outlining is recommended but not
necessary
How you choose to go about writing your story is
ultimately up to you.
Plot your Story
●
Elements of storytelling
○
○
○
○
○
○
Character
Conflict
Plot
Setting
Point of view
Theme
●
How do we put all of these together?
●
Write out all of the story beats you need to hit.
○
Can be as simple as a bullet point list.
Plot your Story
We will build these bullet points into the foundation for
your story
Orchestrate your Characters
● Story beats are written out. Let’s look at characters.
○
○
○
Does each character have an arc and/or point of view?
Is every character necessary?
Are there moments missing in your characters’ development?
Orchestrate your Characters
●
Seeing the story come together helps you see how the
characters serve the story.
●
Adjust as necessary.
Deliver your Message
●
Creative writing is communicating a message or idea.
●
What message is your story conveying?
○
○
○
Is it missing the mark?
What can make it more clear?
Is it too on the nose?
Deliver your Message
●
Elements of good writing:
○
○
○
Foreshadowing
Revelations
Character Arcs
● Do all fit into the story you are piecing together?
Key Point
Know your ending
When you have a firm grasp on your ending, it
will be easier to build your story because you
know exactly what it is building to.
Writing your Synopsis
● You should see your story roughly taking shape.
● It could be helpful to write out a short synopsis of
your story
○ No more than a couple of paragraphs.
Writing your Synopsis
● View as a very rough sketch of your story.
○ Back of a book or DVD case.
● Helps you get a sense of the story beyond the main
bullet points.
Building your Story
● All of the elements are in place.
● You have a rough picture of the story you’re telling.
● Now it’s time to piece it together as an outline.
Building your Story
● How you want to write your outline is up to you.
● My recommendation: Write a couple sentences for each
scene of your story.
● You know it by now, so keep it concise.
Building your Story
● A short descriptor of each scene will give you a sense
of:
○ How your story builds
○ How it flows
○ Its pacing
○ The effectiveness of your essential story elements
Key Point
For Outlines - J.K. Rowling
“I always have a basic plot outline, but I
like to leave some things to be decided
while I write.” - J.K. Rowling
Key Point
Against Outlines - Stephen King
“The thing is, I don’t outline, I don’t have
whole plots in my head in advance. So I’m really
happy if I know what’s going to happen tomorrow,
which I do, as a matter of fact, I know what’s
going to happen in the novel I’m working on. And
that’s enough.” - Stephen King
EXERCISE 4
Crafting your Outline
Using what we just learned, take your time to build your
story and craft your outline, your way.
Then, we’ll be ready to write our first draft.
CREATIVE WRITING
PROCESS PART 3:
Writing the First Draft
How to begin…
●
Don’t fear the blinking cursor on the blank page!
●
You have all the elements.
●
You have your outline.
●
You’re ready to write your first draft.
●
Some tips…
Tips for writing your first draft...
●
Don’t edit as you go.
●
Write in a distraction free environment.
●
Learn to write anywhere.
●
Always carry a notebook with you.
●
Accept that your first draft will be far from perfect.
Key Point
“The first draft is just you telling yourself the
story.” - Terry Pratchett
EXERCISE 5
Write your First Draft!
You have everything you need.
Take your time.
Enjoy the process. (or try to)
Then we can look at editing.
CREATIVE WRITING
EDITING YOUR WORK
Goals of Editing
● Correction
● Concision
● Improvement
Key Elements of Self Editing
●
Aesthetics
○ Presentation
○ Formatting
○ Grammar
●
First Impression
●
Show don’t tell
●
Assessment of your goals
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Strengthen where necessary
Aesthetics
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Presentation
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Formatting
○ Double-spaced
○ Numbered pages
○ Paragraphs indented five spaces
○ Legible font
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Grammar
First Impression
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Does your story start strong?
○ The beginning of your story can establish a scene.
○ Introduce character and conflict.
○ Raise questions for the reader.
First Impression
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Don’t begin with back story.
○ Place your reader in the present moment.
Show don’t tell
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Play out your story in your reader’s mind.
○ Imagery
○ Strong verbs
○ Specific details
○ Don’t underestimate your audience
Show don’t tell
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Joe really loved Mary.
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Joe wrote Mary a letter every single day, never finding himself
at a loss for words while expressing his profound admiration.
Show don’t tell
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This being said, avoid ‘stage direction’.
○ Convey only necessary information.
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Bill stood up from his seat, put both feet on the floor, and
stepped one foot in front of the other across the room until he
reached the front door, through which he exited.
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Bill exited through the front door.
Assessment of goals
● Are your story elements there?
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Character
Conflict
Plot
Setting
Point of view
Theme
Do they work the way you want them to?
Assessment of goals
● Does your story communicate what you wanted to
communicate?
● If not, what is missing?
Strengthen when necessary
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ACTIVE VS PASSIVE VOICE
○ Avoid “was” and “were” type of words.
○ Put your reader in the moment, even if it happened in the
past
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Mary was weirded out by all of Joe’s letters.
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Joe’s barrage of letters shook Mary to her core.
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Put the subject first
Strengthen when necessary
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HOW DOES IT READ?
○ Read it aloud
●
AVOID ADVERBS WHERE NECESSARY
○ Use stronger and more precise nouns and verbs
○ Adverbs assist nouns and verbs that don’t quite work
●
SPELL CHECK
○ Your computer’s spell-check won’t catch everything
Strengthen when necessary
●
GET A SECOND OPINION
○ Let trusted friends and family members read your work
○ Use feedback as you see fit
Key Point
Writing is Rewriting
There is no set number of revisions a writer
needs to do in order to complete a manuscript.
Keep working until it’s exactly where you want it
to be.
Bonus Tip!
Give yourself some time off between completing
your first draft and editing it.
EXERCISE 6
Edit your First Draft!
You know the questions to ask yourself. You know what
will make a strong story. Go make your writing as strong
as it can be.
CREATIVE WRITING
FINDING A HOME FOR YOUR WORK
Methods for getting your work out there
● Get a literary agent
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Self publishing
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Submitting to literary magazines and journals
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Other recommendations
Getting an Agent
● Have a polished manuscript
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Have the intention to continue writing
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Know yourself and your writing style
Getting an Agent
● Do your research
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Which authors do you feel your writing is most in line with?
Who are their agents?
Compile a list
Getting an Agent
● Send a query letter
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An introductory letter sent to an agent.
Tell them about yourself and your manuscript
See if they would be interested in representing your story and
assisting in getting it published
Most commonly done via email, not snail mail
Getting an Agent
● A good query letter...
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Is personalized
Mentions relevant connections
Pitches your story in a succinct and compelling way
Reflects your voice and personality
Is free of grammatical errors and typos
Is concise and to the point
Getting an Agent
● A bad query letter...
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Is too casual
Is over-long
Does not reflect your ability to write well
Getting an Agent
● It will not be easy.
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But it will also never be impossible.
Self Publishing
● Independently publish your book on different platforms
without the use of an agent or publishing house.
●
A quick online search will show you available platforms
for self publishing your book.
Self Publishing
● The upsides of self-publishing…
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Creative Control
○
Bypass the traditional methods and big publishers
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Higher royalty rates
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Get your name out there
Self Publishing
● The downsides…
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Less visibility, unless you already have a large following
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Upfront costs
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Lack of professional support
○
Distribution
Key Point
Independent Publishers
It’s worth looking into independent publishers
that will accept manuscripts from authors without
an agent. Just do your research to make sure
they’re legitimate.
Submitting to Literary Journals and Magazines
● Great for short story and essay writers
●
No agent required
●
Submissions are free
Submitting to Literary Journals and Magazines
●
Do your research
○
Know what material the magazine or journal publishes
○
Find specialized journals that match your writing style
○
Don’t just go for the big names
○
Be persistent
Other Recommendations
● Read
● Write
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Research
●
Create a website
CREATIVE WRITING
CONCLUSION
Final Thoughts on Creative Writing
● You will improve the more you write
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No writer is an overnight success
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Push boundaries and try something new
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Be okay with rejection
●
Do it because you love it
Thank You!
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