Creative writing is intended to entertain. Good creative writing also contains a message - a statement about life or the nature of mankind. To entertain it must be interesting and "alive."

For a story to entertain, several elements must be present. First, something must "happen." In other words, there must be a situation which demands a resolution and the situation must be resolved. These elements are called the "plot" and the "resolution." The moment of resolution is called the "climax." The message is called the "theme."

Example: A man watches as his neighbor and his cousin become entangled in a dangerous relationship which leads to three deaths.

This is, of course, the plot of The Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald. What happens? This statement tells us. An author needs to understand what happens in the story in order to develop the plot.

What about the theme? That is the message about life or the nature of man.

Gatsby shows us that a man who truly loves another is willing to give his life and ask for nothing in return.

This is not to imply that writing a story must start with plot and theme. Creative writing is an individual pursuit, and each writer must find her or his own method within the process.The author may choose to start by creating characters and then deciding on a plot.

Characters

The characters are the people in the stories. There are many types of characters and the writer must be certain that she understands each character as a person and what each character does in the plot.

 

Narrator: The narrator tells the story to the reader.

 

Protagonist: A story must have a character who tries to accomplish something. Without this element nothing can happen. This character might be trying to win something,or find something, or defeat something. This character is the protagonist.

 

Antagonist: The antagonist tries to stop the protagonist. The antagonist wants something in opposition to the wants of the protagonist and both of them cannot win. Both, however, can lose. Here's the tricky part - the protagonist and antagonist can be the same person.

The protagonist wants a date with a newcomer to town. The protagonist is afraid to ask this newcomer to a movie or dance. The newcomer is willing, but the protagonist is not aware and, therefore, does not ask. The only thing which stops the protagonist from succeeding is her/his own fear of rejection.

Conflict occurs when two forces (the protagonist and antagonist)) work against each other. Recognized conflicts include:

• Man (the generic term for a protagonist) vs Man
• Man vs Himself
• Man vs Nature (weather, disease, etc)
• Man vs the Supernatural (gods, ghosts, evil beings, etc)
• Man vs Fate (a predestined course which cannot be changed)

An ending to a story is tricky business in that it must do two things which are difficult to accomplish together:

• The ending must come as something of a surprise to the reader
• The ending must seem to be the only reasonable ending possible.

NOTE: Avoid trick endings. These are endings which are not reasonable in our world. Safes do not tend to fall from airplanes and land on bad guys who are escaping from the police. Endings to avoid:

• The Seventh Cavalry: This is the ending in which the protagonist is suddenly saved by a miraculous appearance of some hero who appears in the nick of time.
• The Dog Story: This ending depends on the author withholding and important piece of information. For instance, the story is told as if the protagonist is an ill treated son of parents who make him sleep in the damp basement, but in the last paragraph we learn that the protagonist is actually the family dog.
• It Was A Dream: The situation is terrible and no escape is possible, so the character wakes up from a dream. Or, any other variation of the dream ending. If the story is a dream it should have sufficient foreshadowing to indicate this.

Poetry should say something about man's situation or the nature of the world. This can be done through metaphors, allusions, images or other devices.

Poetry should paint mental pictures. It should use sound to create mood.

Poetry should avoid wordiness.

Poetry need not rhyme, but may do so. If a poem rhymes, it should also have a steady meter.

A good writer is, by nature, a reader. Reading keeps the mind alive and active and keeps the writer tuned into the ideas which are being presented by others. Do not copy others, but learn from what they do.