CREATIVE WRITING
Creative writing is the act of producing new ideas of writing in different forms of writing. With adequate skill,
thought, knowledge of the techniques and imagination, you can write stories of different kinds, plays and even a
wide range of different types of poetry of your own. A piece of creative writing is a work of art and the skills needed
to create it can be studied at the university.
Creative writing: Fiction
What Is Fiction?
Fiction is means invented stories. Fiction is a story writing out of writer’s imagination. Fiction may be short stories,
fables, plays, novellas, or novels.
Elements of Fiction
1. Characters
Characters are the people, animals, or aliens in the story. Readers come to know the characters through what they
say, what they think, and how they act. Characters are either flat or round
i. Flat characters do not play important roles in the stories. They often have only one or two traits with little
description about them.
ii. Round characters play an important role, often the lead roles in stories. They are complex, dimensional,
and well-developed. The stories are about them. They often change by going through a life-changing
experience as the story unfolds.
2. Setting
Setting is where and when the story takes place. It includes the following:
• The immediate surroundings of the characters such as: trees, furniture, food, inside of a house or car, etc.
• The time of day such as morning, afternoon, or night.
• The weather such as cloudy, sunny, windy, snow, or rain, etc.
• The time of year, particularly the seasons: fall, winter, summer, spring.
• The historical period such as what century or decade the story takes place.
• The geographical location including the city, state, country, and possibly even the universe, if the writer is
writing science fiction.
3. Plot
Plot is the order of events in the story. The plot usually has five structures:
• Exposition: this is an introduction to the characters, time, and the problem. This creates the beginning of
the story.
• Rising action: this includes the events that the main character encounters. Each event, developed in
separate scenes, makes the problem more complex.
• Climax: is the turning point in the story. Usually, it is a single event with the greatest intensity and
uncertainty. The main character must contend with the problem at this point.
• Falling action: this includes the events that unfold after the climax. This usually creates an emotional
response from the reader.
• Denouement or resolution: this provides closure to the story. It ties up loose ends in the story.
1. Conflict is the struggle between two entities.
• Character vs. character
• Character vs. nature or natural forces
• Character vs. society or culture
• Character vs. machine or technology
• Character vs. God
• Character vs himself or herself
2. Point of View
Stories are generally told in one of two points of views:
• First-person point of view: This means that one of the characters in the story will narrate–give an account–
of the story.
• Third-person point of view: This means that the narrator is not in the story.
3. Theme
A theme is the underlying truth that is being conveyed in the story. This is the central message and lesson of the
story.
