Abracadabra: Creative Writing

By Shawn Gale

This is a simple guide to creative writing. With that said, anyone who reads it with an open mind, whether a beginner or advanced writer, will come away with something. All the basics you need to start writing today are shared in the following pages, from plot to settings to character development and then some. I have used both historical and contemporary examples to illustrate many of the lessons, while at the same time providing my own thoughts and insights.

And who am I, you may ask. I am someone who has been reading, writing, and publishing for years, while pluming the human condition. My life experiences, the good, the bad, and the ugly have afforded me a unique perspective. You can check out my author bio at the back and also visit my website for further details.

I encourage you to study this text, practice the lessons, and be inspired for that is the true spark of all creative works. If you work hard, you will improve. And if you work really hard and persevere, you might see your words in print someday. Like anything in life, the more you put into a pursuit, the more you will get out of it. I hope you enjoy!

There is so much to do.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 30, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543417616

Shawn Gale

Shawn Gale writes on Canada’s West Coast. He is a graduate of the Fraser Valley Writers School, where he earned a Master’s diploma. He graduated from Humber Colleges School for Writers with a Letter of Distinction. He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing at Bircham International University. He was a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Creative Writing department from 2014-2017, where he earned two certificates in screenwriting. His stories have been published in anthologies and periodicals in the US and Canada. He is the author of the acclaimed, award-nominated story collection The Stories That Make Us. He is also the author of the critically-acclaimed YA fantasy series World of Dawn. He is a member of Burnaby Writers Society and The Writers’ Union of Canada https://www.writersunion.ca/member/shawn-gale.

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Copyright © 2017 by Shawn Gale.

ISBN:      Softcover                  978-1-5434-1760-9

                eBook                        978-1-5434-1761-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 05/29/2018

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Contents

The Creative Process

Writing Fiction

Writing Poetry

Life Writing

Publishing

MFA

Essay and Memoir

Magazine Writing

Poetry II

Playwriting

Character

Setting

Writing Fiction: The Wide Open Range

Final Note

Bibliographic Material

About The Author

Some things cannot be learned quickly and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring.

—Ernest Hemingway

The Creative Process

Over the years there has been an ongoing debate as to whether our genetic makeup or environment defines who we are: how we think, how we feel, and thus how we act. This is the Nature vs. Nurture debate. It is widely accepted today that these two elements combined define us. Migrating down through our ancestry, our long-term and short-term genetic traits influence our physical make-up as well as predisposing us to certain thoughts, feelings, values, beliefs, and behaviours. At the same time, our environment constantly influences these facets as well. It is only natural for all of this to inspire us to create a unique tapestry of themes, plots, settings, and characters.

The only thing as critically vital to a writer as the act of writing itself is the act of reading—voraciously. You ought to read the good, the bad, and the ugly. You read the good so you know what to strive toward, the bad so you know what to avoid, and the ugly so your spirits are uplifted knowing it was not you responsible for creating such inferior work. Reading classic literature is as important as reading contemporary literature. What the masters have accomplished, may not only help your actual craft, but may also inspire and bestow confidence for literary discussions. This all adds to the zeitgeist of your writing. Reading a wide range of literature also allows you to see what can be done: nuanced prose, clever turns of phrase, vivid imagery, punchy dialogue, and experimental literary devices, among other things. This will embolden you to try new things and develop your craft. After all, how many writers began to experiment with stream of consciousness after reading James Joyce’s Ulysses?

Most importantly, by reading widely you learn what makes a story a story—themes, plots, settings, characters, and of course conflicts. Much will be learned by osmosis if you read with focus. You can see what works well, and try something similar in your own writing. You pick out inconsistent style, non sequiturs, point-of-view infractions, and grammar and spelling mistakes. Sir Isaac Newton said, If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. With creative writing, this could not be truer: the greater breadth to your reading, the wider your perspective, which leads to even more gusto and skill with your writing.

Where does creativity spawn from? This question is perhaps the most pondered among writers, yet it is perhaps the most difficult to answer definitively. Opinions vary. Whatever those answers are, it is safe to say that we each have our own way to come up with ideas, and a uniquely pastiche fashion to mould those ideas into a coherent story. It starts with an idea. Invest time and energy and the idea will grow into a story, as fuel and oxygen grows a fire. What you put into a project is what you will get out of it.

Some writers begin writing immediately from an idea, relying on an organic process to develop the story. Some, such as Joyce Carol Oates, spend months walking around developing an idea into a mature story, taking notes and doing research, before actually beginning to write. If you are seriously engaged in a project, ideas—actions, certain words, bits of dialogue—will continue to develop in your unconsciousness, even when you are not actively working on it. Stephen King refers to this unconscious creative process as the boys in the basement. In psychological circles this phenomenon is referred to as the Zeigarnik Effect.

Of course, a support network is vital to a writer, whether it is a spouse, mentor, family member, writing circle, or a combination of these. Having people to bounce ideas off and give feedback is helpful to spot flaws, untangle plot issues, and stimulate creativity. I think it is important to mention here that the realm of creativity is boundless. You ought never feel constrained by a certain set of beliefs or prescribed parameters in your personal creative process. These will only hamper your ability to grow. Figure out how your creative process works and then foster that process through trial and error. This may go on for your entire life. If something turns out to be a boon, you keep it. If it turns out to be a bane, discard it. Learning how to write well can be a tedious process, yet a richly rewarding one.

Think of all the stories you have heard, all the stories you have seen on TV or read in print. Do not be hindered by that piece of advice: Write what you know, which has migrated down through generations of writers. It can limit the scope of your writing if taken too literally. What is this referring to exactly? Something you know extremely well, such as being a parent for ten years? Or something you have experienced once such as an afternoon walk along the Great Wall of China? You can come to know many things by doing adequate research.

Have you ever heard a retro pop song and been transported back to your youth when it was at the height of its popularity? That is the power of association. Certain writers and their work, maybe you can associate with a period in your life—high school, university, a trip abroad, a book club, or a writer’s group. This is why similes and metaphors are used, because of the human mind’s processing ability to gain a coherent understanding through the Laws of Association.

Our brains are made up of billions of neurons. For our entire lives, these neurons have been forming neural pathways that give us the cognitive faculties to perceive things in certain ways and to make sense of the world that we inhabit. At its basest level, we use this for survival. At its highest level, we use this to live our lives to their fullest. What if a ten-year-old boy touches a flame and suffers a third-degree burn on his hand? From that day forward, the boy will associate fire with pain and know not to touch an open flame in the future. Years later that boy is now a young man reading a book (something that brings him much fulfillment), and he comes upon the simile: Freddy’s words scorched her heart like an open flame. This will likely resonate deeply with him because association is at work here. Now in the same novel the following metaphor is used: His sandpaper skin was coarse and dry. Most people who have used sandpaper would be able to associate the experience with the metaphor describing this fictitious character’s skin.

Passions for creative writing are a must for a writer. If you do not have passions, your heart and soul will not go into your work. This will most likely result in writing that is flat and weak. You must not only have a desire to create works, but to create them well. It does not stop with the act of writing alone; it goes far beyond. Being a professional writer is a lifestyle. Do not get me wrong, there are many writers, both past and present, who have been content to write and publish very little or even nothing at all. Franz Kafka only published a few stories in his lifetime, yet he wrote many. He left directions with his executor to burn everything after his death. Luckily for the world, his executor did not follow through with Kafka’s request.

On the other hand, there are writers who strive to promote their work and share it with as wide an audience as possible. This in itself is a passion. Public and prolific writers such as Lee Child and Margaret Atwood write voluminously while