Creative Writing notes
Poetry
-
Words, texture
Creative Non-Fiction
-
White space
Fiction
-
What needs to happen in a story to be successful?
o Establish voice, a scene, and a surprise ending
-
Short stories/essays
o If there is a clear voice, then you can hint at the conflict and introduce something
that complicates the central conflict, and then
-
Fiction
o Use it to share perspectives of people who are different than you
-
Free, indirect style
o Third person but allowing some of the character’s voice to seep into the way it
narrates
-
Endings
o You could repeat an earlier element, with a slight difference based on how the
story goes, or just do it again with more description
o I love the way that Rock Springs ends—with a zoomed-out, generalized, thoughtprovoking paragraph that basically challenges the reader to see this person as a
human being similar to themselves

Questions, tie-back to reader, main lesson explanation, but without a
conclusive ending (reminds me of Jonah and the whale)
o In Attraction of Asphalt, it goes back to an almost ritualistic thought process, a
cyclic application of what the whole essay has been talking about

Very present, mindful, descriptive
o At Grandmother’s ends in a surprising way, but then ends with a one-liner to tie it
off.
o Try three things as an ending before quitting: someone speaking, an image, a
good ending, a bad ending, a cliffhangar, a shocking statement
-
Settings
o Choose settings with proper thought and care
o Settings can

Set the mood

Add depth and context

Amplify tension

Give characterization
o Don’t be too flowery or cliché

What details you choose can make or break a scene

“When describing a market in Cuba, don’t describe the carts, describe the
unusual things—the man blowing into the chicken’s throat”
-
Characters

Favor brevity and power

Even settings can be cliché—funeral in the rain
o Complex, both good and bad, connect with emotionally; change and develop
more clear understanding perspectives
o Helps people feel seen
o Round characters: feel like real people, fully developed complex personality,
interact with each other and have conflict and development; the reader gets to see
full range of morality, emotion, ability to love, etc.
o Flat characters: can be summarized in two words (comic relief or hover parent),
one-dimensional
o Dynamic characters: changes throughout the story; can be both round and
dynamic
o Static characters: don’t change throughout the story
o Flat or static doesn’t necessarily mean bad
o Is relatability important? Remember that you don’t know all the experiences of
humankind
o Think about your own process of getting to know people—what do you look at
first? How can you learn their character in between the lines

Give someone a name

Put them in a situation that gives them an opportunity to make choices

Have them make a decision based on what you know about people,
discover who they are through their choices

To make it more compelling: think about what context/life might lead the
character to make that choice and make it more interesting

Have the character wrestle with their choices
o Gender Norms

Think about gender norms in this time period

Your characters don’t need to adhere strictly to these norms, but you do
have to be aware of them in order to create complex characters
o Be Christlike with your characters; see them for who they really are