Like snowflakes, no two stories are alike. Everyone has a story to tell and sometimes it’s not even their own. Those are the best kind. Stories that came to life from pure imagination. Creative writing has been a passion of mine since...always? I’ve been creating stories in my head, and occasionally writing them down, since I was young. For a while, it felt very personal. Then I found out other people had ideas too! Does that mean I’m not special? I’m not the only one who comes up with stories. I must not be original. Oh, how wrong I was. Like snowflakes, no two writers are alike.
I had plenty of fun exploring that concept.
Ideas
Autumn rode peacefully in her friend’s car. Suddenly, there was a groundhog in the middle of the road! She wondered what he was thinking.
Easton scrolled down the page. Her eyes lit up as she spotted a promising prompt.
Sarah set down her book after reading the last line. An idea flashed in her mind.
Megan thought about her day as she wrote. Writing a new story for herself was “really therapeutic.”
Hayley looked out her window at the world. Things could be different.
I woke up and reviewed the fragments of my dreams that lingered with me. THAT was weird, but strangely interesting.
It’s pretty amazing how creative the human mind is. Ideas seem to come from anywhere and writing is such a fun way to share ideas you have. Writing is also very therapeutic, as we’ve already heard from Megan. You can write about what you want changed, what you think about, and what you hope for. Creative writing is full of infinite paths and one spark of inspiration can take you anywhere.
Drafting
Autumn wrote up an outline of her story. The tale of the death-escaping-groundhog would be heard. “I was about to be maliciously attacked by a tin can with weird things that spin.” She keeps the phrase in mind as she finishes the rough plot. Then she dives into the details, intrigued by the fact that “one sentence can completely change the direction of a story.”
Easton makes a web branching from her original inspiration. Her story is fueled by a prompt that sets the character in a coma resulting from a horrible accident. She surrounds herself with crumpled paper and highlighters as she searches for the best idea. Once her final story is in mind she begins a draft, writing it by hand. It’s much easier to edit that way.
Sarah always starts out with a plan and some sort of background noise. She prefers to take it chapter by chapter. This allows her to make edits now instead of having to go all the way back through after finishing.
Megan has been sitting at her laptop for hours “writing whatever comes spilling out.” Why plan it out? There’s no fun in knowing what happens! She lives out the excitement through her character, Paige, who travels to London like Megan has always wanted to.
Hayley lays on the couch thinking about her story. She gets up and makes an outline before handwriting a rough draft. “...save the koalas man…” The draft is ROUGH and she knows it, but why stretch it out? She likes to finish her projects “as soon as possible.” She’ll clean up the details in a second draft or even her final.
I sit in band class, my mind full of various scenes. More realistically, the same scene running over and over in my head. I need to thoroughly know it inside and out before I dare write it down. It’s also important that I don’t forget the one line or moment in my dream that sparked my enthusiasm.
It’s pretty clear that no one writes the same way. There’s similarities everywhere, but we all have our own writing quirks. Some of us plan and some of us jump right in. Some get it done quickly and others, like me, take a long time when writing.
Final Thoughts
I’m sure you want to know what happens next, but I wouldn’t be a decent person if I spoiled the ending. However, I can let you in on a few thoughts from us.
Easton learned in her creative writing class that it doesn’t matter if “you think that your story isn’t as good as somebody else’s.” That’s a true struggle for writers. Especially us young folk, but we’ve got our whole life to get better.
Hayley likes writing that doesn’t have “hardcore guidelines.” She loves poetry especially because it allows you to see “someone’s raw, true personality” in so few words. She also loves creative writing because it lets her use her “imagination and writing powers” instead of pushing her brain to write long, analytical essays.
Autumn loves to read fantasy because “them dragons and unicorns are incredibly attractive.” It’s pretty clear she’s got a talent for unexpected stories that always put a smile on your face.
Sarah is as passionate as they come when writing is involved. When she gets in “the zone” she can’t be disturbed. She also likes to only work on one story at a time, but she’s full of ideas.
Megan loves writing stories because she gets to “make the decisions about what happens to the characters.” She also took creative writing and likes to use the stuff she wrote then as a measure for how far she’s come.
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, creative writing is a big thing for me. Who knows where it’ll take me, but I’m willing to find out. It’s fun to test the limits or your imagination!
I love how you incorporated so many different tutor personalities into one, unified, post. It helps me to learn more about you guys (since I'm in period 5) and I can definitely relate to the stories. Good job!
ReplyDeleteLexi! Let me tell you, when you asked to interview me, this was definitely not what I expected to come out. In a good way, of course! The entire time that I was reading this (okay, I may have read it more than once), I couldn't stop smiling! Your incorporation of so many different tutor's perspectives is so entertaining, and I wouldn't change a thing. :)
ReplyDelete-Megan M.