LITR 3731: Creative Writing
Sample Final Exam 2005
Devon Kitch
Creative Writing is one of those things that readers typically take for granted. When we sit down to read a book, we are seeing everything in its complete form; thus, it has been edited and revised several times. We do not see the first draft in its primitive state, making us perceive authors as demigods whom are given “the gift of writing”. Though many people are extremely gifted in their writing, writing is not a gift. Rather, it is a process of learning and revising that occur simultaneously as one explores their own writing and ideas. Writing can be done on an everyday basis and good writing will hopefully be achieved from the practice. Creative writing encompasses many genres such as poetry, fiction, and drama that we discussed in class. Creative writing helps both the casual writer and the serious author develop their sense of style and self. It helps them find who they are and what they are capable of becoming. Most of all, creative writing teaches the author that even a finished work may not truly be done.
I have spent years thinking that it was ridiculous to be required to turn in several rough drafts when my first draft always seemed good enough. Perhaps it was the laziness of my fresh-out-of-high-school youth, but I was just happy to have something to turn in by the deadline. Creative Writing has forced me to think about different aspects of my writing, then revise as needed rather than settling for “good enough.” I feel that my poem is an excellent example of the revision process because every time I revisit the poem, I have a new idea for a more appropriate ending. At the beginning of the semester the poem was “good enough,” I didn’t want to change a single thing. However, your words “keep in mind that you are truly writing for your audience” reverberate within my mind and encourage me to rethink what I consider to be finished products.
Tina Hergenrader’s visit stressed the importance of writing, discussing writing, and being well read. She encouraged us to make the time to write every single day, make it a goal to sit down for at least fifteen minutes to write. You cannot create a finished product without a first draft, so I found this advice to be extremely helpful. I have a tendency to write only when I get around to it rather than setting a specific time that I can sit down and write daily. I also have a tendency to do an extensive amount of talking without the action to back it up. I have always dreamed of writing, but done nothing to reach that dream. She emphasized the fact that if writing is going to be an important part of your life you can not treat it as an afterthought, but as a priority, like eating and brushing your teeth. Also, reading is a large part of writing and should be on the forefront of your “to do” list. Reading helps create ideas, decide on writing styles, and helps you decide what works and doesn’t work for you as a reader. Over all, she encouraged us to take an active part in our writing, to join groups and attend readings.
Minot further stresses the importance of reading within the genre you wish to write, “Musicians listen to music. Scriptwriters study films. Novelist read fiction. Poets read poetry. It’s as simple as that”. In order to understand and be effective within the genre you have chosen, you must have some background knowledge to draw upon. You cannot expect to snap your fingers or wiggle your nose and be magically transformed into an author. It takes reading and writing to reach your goals and become successful. To illustrate this fact, Minot gives us several examples in each chapter to enhance our understanding. Rather than giving us a recipe for writing, he gives us the writing then discusses its components and, in some cases, the earlier drafts.
Minot’s Three Genres was most beneficial in dealing with fiction. While writing my fiction piece, I thought of Minot’s “Seven deadly sins of fiction” in which I broke two of the deadly sins. I have always wanted to try writing some sort of science fiction piece which breaks the “Twilight Zone Rerun” rule and I chose to center the story around the protagonist’s dreams, breaking the “My weird dream” rule (156-59). Minot tells me that my story is doomed from the start, but I have chosen to pursue the idea despite his criticism. I suppose I like to find things out the hard way, rather than take someone else’s advice that is based on years of experience. However, I will use the rest of his advice and try to make the dreams entertaining and give strong characterization to my characters.
In reference to viewpoint and fiction, I chose to use first person for my protagonist’s dreams, but to write the rest of the story in third person. Through class discussion I learned that it is rare to use first person for an entire story, but that it can be quite effective in some instances. By rotating the viewpoints I feel that I am allowing my readers to enter the story, to dream with Emma, and feel what all the characters are feeling.
Writing fiction requires an extensive amount of thought and imagination, with much care given to the organization of words. My fiction piece contained certain words to denote the futuristic setting, whereas my poem used some words that hindered its fluency. Perhaps the most important thing I have learned is pick a style and stick with it. If you want to write a poem using slang, then stick with slang but do not include Shakespearean words such as “thou” and “hast”. My poem tended to fluctuate between common and archaic vocabulary, ultimately confusing the reader. Through the revision process I have been able to change my wording to be more effective and to imply the meanings I had originally intended.
While paying attention to the uniformity of your vocabulary choices, the author must also ensure that the do not merely throw facts or words into a story without the proper introduction. For instance, my poem’s ending had originally placed a strong emphasis on the word “four”. This was confusing to the readers because there was no previous reference to “the four”. After our discussion, I named the poem “The Four” to hopefully clue my readers into my thought processes. Likewise, with my drama piece, I had the entire class yell at Sherry’s character the first time she opened her mouth. Sherry advised me that it would be wise to add some more lines that show how annoying she was before I had the characters yell at her, otherwise it appears that they yell at her without cause. This writing experience has taught me to pay close attention to detail. The author is involved in the story and knows what will happen, but the readers must be given clues in a coherent manner. I couldn’t drop lines that didn’t have relevance to the poem or drama therefore I had to add lines that corroborated my ideas.
Minot’s visual examples of manipulating one’s life experiences in “Beer and Sausage” further explain how writing is an extension of our lives. To some degree we put a glimpse of ourselves into every character we create. My future students will be able to use creative writing to express themselves, hopefully, in a setting that is as supportive as the one I experienced. I will be extremely happy if I can convince my students that reading and writing are relevant to their lives and I believe that the use of creative writing and young adult literature will encourage them.
So no, writing is not a gift from the gods, it takes practice and effort. Minot’s book has been helpful, but class discussions have been the most memorable tool for creating writing. The student comments were friendly, but critical and their lack of comments also provided just as much criticism! I had always looked upon writing as something that just appeared on your laptop. I never pondered the amount of effort and imagination it takes to create a two, three, or four hundred page novel. Being an author is not an easy occupation where the words get telepathically transmitted in a coherent form, from your brain to your laptop. . This course gave us the tools to begin or end our careers in writing, giving us hints and advice that we can choose to accept or reject. Minot was right, it takes a million different elements to compose a story, poem, or drama; however, none of his advice is more important than getting the act of getting started and staying engaged.