Most of us were lucky enough to have English as a subject in school, but that was way back when writing was thought of as essential for children to be able to do. Times have changed, and while some may argue that writing should still be taught, the way we approach learning and teaching creative writing has completely altered. If you’re in a creative writing class now, here’s what you do.
Start A Conversation
The first thing you need to do in a creative writing class is start a conversation. Creative writing is all about having conversations with yourself and letting the thoughts flow naturally. Your instructor may give you a topic to work on, but it’s your job to take that topic and develop it into something interesting and perhaps even compelling. To do this, you need to find the middle ground between what you know and what you don’t know, and the best way to do this is by asking questions. Questions can lead you to places you didn’t even know existed, and it’s your job as a writer to explore every last bit of potential in your topic. Once you’ve started the conversation, you need to keep going. Talking is a critical part of the creative writing process, and if you don’t have anything to say, you probably aren’t putting enough thought into what you’re writing.
Brainstorm Ideas
Having a conversation isn’t enough. You also need to turn that conversation into something concrete, and to do this, you need to be able to brainstorm. Brainstorming is all about coming up with ideas, and if you want your ideas to come to life, you need to be able to express them effectively. There are several different types of brainstorming, including free writing and mind mapping, but in a nutshell, these are the steps: