Creative writing (also known as ‘fiction writing’ or ‘creative non-fiction’) is a common type of writing that can be both enjoyable and profitable. Despite the fact that it can be quite a flexible genre, there are a number of distinct differences between creative writing and other genres such as journalism, history, and technical writing. Some of these differences are subtle, while others are more significant and may even determine how you approach the writing process. Let’s examine some of these key differences.
No Objective Truth-Telling
If you’re writing a journalistic article, you’re being paid to report the facts. You might be choosing a particular slant for your article based on your personal beliefs or the beliefs of your organization, but you’re still effectively following a structure that might be better described as ‘objective truth-telling.’ You’re identifying something as fact because it’s true – whether you like the facts you’re reporting or not!
In creative writing, you’re not required to provide facts to support your story. Instead, you can develop your ideas and emotions about a particular topic in a way that makes your story more authentic. You might not know what happened in the real world, but that’s your prerogative as a writer. You can invent the characters, scenarios, and dialogue as you see fit.
The biggest difference between this type of writing and journalism is that there is no need to verify the facts. You can make things up as you see fit, and the only fact-checking that might happen is that your readers can decide whether or not what you wrote is factually accurate. If you want to be factually accurate, then you should endeavor to use only verifiable sources and avoid making things up as you go along. This can certainly be beneficial if you’re looking for a creative writing challenge, but remember that you run the risk of being inaccurate. Be sure to check your facts as you go along; however, you might not always catch all the errors you make. Creative writing allows for more flexibility in terms of what you can write and how you can write it. On the whole, though, you should always strive to be as accurate as possible.
Creative Writing Is Interpretive
The best way to understand creative writing is to compare it to music. Just as a piece of music might be a little different each time you hear it, so too can a piece of creative writing be interpreted in a different way each time it is read or heard. This is an important concept to understand because it means that every time you read or hear something, you are reading or listening to it for the first time, and you will thus see it through a different lens. It also means that when your friend asks you what you think about this article, you might have a completely different opinion than the author intended!
In creative writing, you are not merely conveying information. Instead, you are participating in a creative process that involves utilizing your imagination and innovating with language in order to tell the story. This is in contrast to much of the journalism that you’ll encounter, which is more of an ‘information-gathering’ activity.
This doesn’t mean that you should ignore facts completely – of course not! You should know exactly what happened during a particular historical event, and you should certainly try to cite your sources whenever you can, but you should not be bound to this genre of writing in terms of what you can write or think. You have the freedom to be creative within reason, and this allows you to write about anything you please, so long as you do it in a tasteful manner. While traditional journalism usually requires a certain level of expertise in order to do it well, creative writing is much more accessible to anyone who has an interest in it; the only requirement is a desire to tell a good story.
The Most Important Thing To Remember
Above all else, the most important thing to remember about creative writing is that it is subjective. This does not mean that you should take what you have written and run with it, blindly believing that your way of thinking is the only way that things should be done. Instead, it means that you should approach each individual piece of creative writing that you do with an open mind, ready to see it from a different perspective and learn from it. Just because something is subjective does not mean that it is worthless, as there are certain advantages to this type of writing, as we’ll discuss later on in this article.
Flexibility
Whether you’re writing for school or for pleasure, you might encounter situations where you need to write something quickly yet effectively. Many freelance writers and bloggers have to juggle a lot of writing with their full-time jobs, and this sometimes leaves them with very little time to devote to their own blogs or websites. In these cases, creative writing might be the perfect solution because you can write something that can be published quickly and effectively. This makes it perfect for online content because it can be easily updated as needed.
In addition, many writing coaches and freelance writers advocate for using active voice rather than passive voice in writing. Passive voice is when you use a word like ‘it is’ or ‘they are’ instead of ‘I am’ or ‘You are’ in your writing, and it can often lead to bloated sentences that make your text hard to read. Instead of using passive voice, try to use active voice where you can. When you do this, the active voice makes your writing much more lively, and it also forces you to write in the first person, which is a good thing.
Whether you’re a full-time blogger or a freelance writer, being able to write creatively can often be beneficial in terms of both your own mental health and the effectiveness with which you perform your duties. Many individuals find that writing creatively is both a stress reliever and a way to come up with new ideas and approaches. It’s always nice to have a fresh perspective and be able to look at things from a different angle. This can often lead to ideas that you could never come up with on your own. Creative writing can be both therapeutic and profitable, and for these reasons and more, it might be worth exploring.