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Thursday 22 November 2018

Creative Writing Class - Experience & Tips

Hey Everyone! :)

So I can finally share with you my experience with the recently taken creative writing class. I wanted to share with you all my experience with this and also other creative writing opportunities that came with it. If you want to know more about my personal experience such as how it affected my health during this time and how I managed it then please check it out here:

https://taranabegum.wordpress.com/2018/07/29/so-much-creative-experiences

This post will be in the form of a Diary style noting the dates and then what I did and learned from that experience.



Tuesday 23rd January 2018 - Poetic Prose Poems and Poems

Note: To read my work on prose poems please keep an eye out on my blog and I will be posting this (along with other works) on here.

In creative writing, I always thought to myself that I would learn new things and there is always something new to learn. In this case, I learnt something new which was a form of poetry that I didn't know existed called prose poems.

During this session, I actually didn't understand what prose poem was and thought it was like any other form of poetry with a set of rulings. In actuality, it is pretty much what I said but with a few additions.

Prose poetry can be defined by breaking the two components apart and then merging the two together. Firstly, let's break down what poetry is. Poetry is the literary work in the form of expressing ideas, feelings, emotions intensely and can sometimes be in the form of a rhyme or rhythm and imagery with a more metrical structure of a verse.

Prose, on the other hand, is written or the spoken language in normal form without any metrical structure. Now, if we join the two, prose poetry is the form of literary work of imagination, expressing with the quality of poetry but in the form of a prose (so no metric structure like a poem will solely have). So this is basically expressing ideas, feelings, emotions etc intensely but not in the form of a verse (metrical structure) but a prose (the way you would normally write - sort of like a short story but expressed in a poem form) which is known as prose poetry.

[Poem def. reference:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?ei=iGbLW4aZC8fPgAaNjITQCw&q=define+poem&oq=define+poem&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l5j0i22i30k1j0i22i10i30k1j0i22i30k1l2j0i22i10i30k1.2978840.2979279.0.2979787.4.4.0.0.0.0.151.280.0j2.2.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..2.2.276....0.Y9AhV5QU8UA
Prose def. reference:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?ei=MHLLW6O5Hc35gQbUqZiQAQ&q=define+prose&oq=define+prose&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i67k1j0l5j0i10k1l2j0l2.664580.665194.0.665425.5.5.0.0.0.0.169.312.0j2.2.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..3.2.309...0i131k1.0.5JPUW4Cnr80]

So understanding this concept took me a while because I haven't been exercising my brain in a long time however after making the mistake of attempting a prose poem for this class I learnt that it was not in verses but should be more in paragraphs. My first attempt was a verses type of poem however it changed and the structure was more in a prose poem form.

To help write a prose poem it's a good idea to use the 5 senses - Smell, Touch, Sound, Taste and Sight. This would help you to draw up an idea of how to describe something or someone intensely, when describing, or using adjectives it is good to have a sequence with adjectives, known as adjective sequencing. It is basically the order in which you are to describe, the sequence for this element is as follows: Quantity, Emotive, Size, Age, Colour/Texture, Specificity, Purpose. Using these elements can really help draw in the intensity as well as capture the reader, the imagery portrayed through this expands the imagination for the writer and the reader. These tips will also be helpful in writing stories, novels etc. (Something that I learnt when I was studying about poetry that I could use this in other forms of creative writing).


Tuesday 30th January 2018 - Writing a Scene in a Play Based on Realism

This is the session which I was excited about as I never written a play (well I did but I was so young and knew nothing about rulings and was just experimenting) and I wanted to explore another side of creative writing that I haven't done before.

I learnt many things from this session and I was enthusiastic about it as well, mostly because when it's something that I don't know I like learning about it and it's something new to me.

One of the key things I learnt from this session was about character profiling. Now, many writers out there will probably tell me that that's basic and you should've known about this from before. While others will probably be like me, self taught but never dabbled too much into the rulings (rulings are definitely important of course, but when you're writing for yourself I believe it limits creative freedom and you should be able to express in any way possible) especially if you're going to write for others to read there should be some generic rulings that most if not all writers should follow or have some flow of.

In this case, it was character profiling, it was the first time I learnt about it and even though to me it was basic sense, I didn't know I was already using it. That's the great thing about character profiling it helps with not just plays, but all other forms of creative writing too, such as novel, short stories, poems etc.

So what is character profiling? It's as the name suggests, it's like a profile of the character whether they are main or sub main to the plot of the story. This entails the following:

Name | Occupation | Apearance | Background/Current Home | Family/Siblings | Boyfriend/Girlfriend/partner/Marital Status | Childhood | Education and Qualification | Special Skills: Strengths and Weaknesses | Any other relevent info e.g Personality traits, how people percieve them etc.

These are the questions that should be answered when thinking of a character (especially if they are a main character) by placing all of this in a table and then noting down the parts important to the character it helps to develop the character better. Note: The above may not be completely filled depending on the type of character e.g. if they are not a main character you may not need too much information on it.

Overall, I learnt that playwriting and scripts are very much detailed and takes just as much effort as it would if you were writing a novel.

Tuesday 6th Feburary 2018: Writing a Play Part 2

This was the continuation of play writing again there were a lot of things to consider when writing a play and just how to structure a play also takes a lot of time and preparation. There are elements like themes, conflict and something new that I learnt called Unity. Unity in this case is basically time, place and raction being implemented in the play.

One thing to remember that is very important and different in a play writing compared to writing a novel is the direction and dialogue of the whole play. Direction in this case is writing exactly how the character moves, talks, display emotions etc. Dialogue not only explains the story but is the body of the entire plot in the play.

Tuesday 6th February 2018: Dialogue

As mentioned above dialogue is the body of the plot. Meaning that the description given in a story is just as important as, say for example, the reaction of a character through their speech. When a character talks their means of speech and reaction to certain situations are all showing how they are as a character. It can reveal many things in many circumstances.


Character's dialogue in a story may reveal a motive, or a reaction to something or even tell us about their personality or trait etc. It gives the reader an image of what this character is like.

This session was so important and almost most of the time writers are already portraying this without realising it. It's one of the most important part of any writing piece whether it's an autobiography or a short story. I learnt a lot from this even though I knew I was already doing this.


Tuesday 27th February 2018: Character and Character Stereotypes

This was an interesting session that I loved a lot too. Many writers would think about their characters in such a deep level that evolves the writing even more. Writing about characters in a story let's the readers' know what type of person they are, sometimes even form certain prejudices too known as character stereotypes.

When a reader is reading about a particular character you may have portrayed in a stereotypical way, it allows them to form a preconceived idea of that character. Character stereotyping can give a positive outlook to the character depending on how it's used. You may decide that the character doesn't actually fall in the same stereotype and may surprise the reader capturing the reader's attention about what happens next.

Research in that type of character plays the biggest role in character stereotypes as you want to know exactly how that characted is judged and then form that stereotype along the way. This is something new that I've learnt as I never thought as a writer if I would hold a certain stereotype of my characters. Knowing this, I think that it's helped me to develop the character in more depth and really build on them.

As for characters, there are many types of character that play in a story which include:
Major Characters | Minor Characters | Dynamic | Static | Round | Flat | Stock | Protagonist | Antagonist | Anti-hero/heroine | Foil | Symbolic

I never knew there was so many type of characters, especially looking above you might think what they all mean.

Major Characters - Characters who are vital to the development and resolution of the conflict. Basically, the plot and resolution of conflict revolves around these areas.

Minor Characters - Characters which complement the major characters and help move the plot forward.

Dynamic - Characters who chance over time, usually as a result of resolving a centrtal conflict or facing a major crisis. Usually are central characters.

Static - Characters who does not change over time, their personality does not transform or evolve.

Round - A character who has a complex personality, thy are perceived as conflicted/contradictory.

Flat - A character which is opposite of a round character.

Stock - Characters who've become conventional or stereotypical through repeated use in particular types of stories and are immediately recognisable by the reader.

Protagonist - A character which is central or main character in a story.

Antagonist - A character or situation that represents the opposition/obstacle again which the protagonist must contend/overcome.
 
Anti-hero/heroine - A major character, usually the protagonist, who lacks conventional nobility of mind, and who struggles for values not deemed universally admirable.

Foil - Any character (usually the antagonist or an important supporting character) whose personal qualities contrast with another usually the protagonist.

Symbolic - Any major/minor character whose existence represents some major idea or aspect of society.

This as you can tell is not the definitions I've come up with but was provided with. I think it explains the basic terms of how any character is portrayed in a story which I feel, as a writer, is very helpful.

(Unfortunately, I missed the session after this and was not feeling well)

Tuesday 13th March 2018: Writing Narrative Non-fiction Based on Real Life Events (Session after the missing one)

This session was very interesting and we were having a debate in terms of non-fiction writing. Some believe that taking for example a sentence or two from a newspaper article and creating a story from it, is considered non-fiction, while others disagree. I feel that non-fiction is highly based on facts and history and research done, however these facts can be portrayed differently, does that make it fiction or non-fiction? Honestly, I don't know but I would like to know about it though.

It was interesting, and nonetheless, I found another method in writing. Read stories or articles in a newspaper and write down words or phrases that stands out to you or even write that story and show what you can change and edit and viola you have your own story, or an idea of a story at least.

Tuesday 20th Marth 2018: Travel Writing

This type of writing was so interesting to me. I never new there were so many types of writing out there to be discovered. Travel writing, for those of you who don't know, is literally writing about your travels or someone else's travels. I would say it's definitely non-fiction, but can definitely be used as fiction for inspiration. I started story that was my experience to my home country and I can't wait to share it with you!

Travel writing also is a deep insight about the travel e.g. sight, smell, touch etc. There are many types of travel writing some include: Journalistic, diary (posts), Fiction - short novel based on exp. of your travel to say a story.

Many may already do it and not know they are but it's really interesting in knowing about a place in the eyes of someone else as their experience can just as well be different compared to your own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So that's my adventure of my creative writing class, I hope you liked it and enjoyed it too. I know I've learnt many things from this journey and believe that I will be learning a lot more over time. The types of writing styles that I've learnt I will share some of them here e.g. my travel writing. So I hope you look forward to that.

As you may have known throughout writing this post (I've been writing pieces of it over the past 9 months where I took about 5-7 months break and spent the rest of the months writing other things until: 22/11/2018) I have achieved other things like becoming a published author which you can read here: https://express-writing.blogspot.com/2018/11/tales-of-forgotten-world-book-out-now.html

I talk about my experience and the things I've been upto as well as what's come next. So be sure to check that out and I hope to post a writng piece here soon!

Take care and think positive

Tarana A beaming star shining with positivity for the world to embrace xoxox

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