What is Creative Writing?

The term "creative writing" sounds strange to many ears. And for that reason, some consider it somewhat intimidating or strange. However, it is one of the most widespread in our world activities. From literature to video games, through film and television series, creative writing is present in a lot of scenarios.

The strangeness of the term ceases once started to dive in meaning. As its name suggests, creative writing is any writing that is out of the scheme that can impose their standard communication applications, such as in journalism, in scientific speeches or legal texts. When we write trying to seek an additional effect to mere communication, or looking for a point of originality that distinguishes our text from other similar speeches, we are practicing creative writing.

This definition is very broad, which includes a lot of phenomena. Traditionally, literature has been regarded as the best exponent of creative writing, including within the three major genres: poetry, fiction and drama. However, creative writing occurs in many more areas. Some also relate to fiction, such as comics, graphic novels, film, TV series or video games. Others are part of what is called creative nonfiction, which includes some journalistic works as chronic, essays, travel books, memoirs or more modern genres like writing in blogs and social networks.

Normally, the term is used in the context of their teaching. This usually occurs in the form of workshops rather than seminars, where students read texts written by them and receive feedback from peers and teacher workshop. Consequently, if we speak only of literature the most usual is to find the term "literary workshop". However, this designation is restrictive, as it excludes the teaching of other genres. For this reason, writing in Central we prefer to speak of "creative writing courses".

The teaching of creative writing is aimed primarily at adults, but can also be used for children and adolescents. In Anglo-Saxon countries, teaching occurs primarily in university contexts, existing both as masters degrees and even doctorates in creative writing. In the Spanish-speaking world teaching creative writing has always given outside formal contexts. In recent years it is gnawing at universities, however there are still no such established programs as exist in some American or British schools.

Due to the low professionalization of teaching creative writing, there are bitter debates about its usefulness. His detractors claim that you can not teach writing, for the talent and dedication to reading are the only ingredients needed to become a writer. Writing in Central think that such statements have no basis. Also the music or painting require talent, but no one doubts that can be taught to paint or play an instrument. In any case, this is an issue that is quite enough, so if you want to know more about it we encourage you to read Ten reasons to take a literary workshop if you want to be a writer and Ten reasons to take a literary workshop but not want to be writer .

 # Resource of Alfonso Muñoz