English 10: Creative Writing

Considering theme in creative writing is central to putting together a good story. Here's what we've covered - effective criteria for creative writing:

1. The author and narrator are not the same person.
2. Plan the conflict. PvSociety and PvS works wonderfully in the first person. PvP is easier in the third person.
3. Show, don't tell: describe the experience of the story with the narrator's experiences in mind. Someone who has struggled their whole life to eat is going to see the world very differently than someone who has never struggled. Show your audience what kind of person your narrator is. Doing this accomplishes setting and character.
4. Plan the scope. These are short stories, not novels. Over the course of the narrative, keep major events down to a minimum. Many short narratives take place entirely on the front steps, or at a diner, or a bus stop. It takes some very careful writing and planning to have multiple locations while keeping the story brief.
5. Punctuate your dialogue properly. Make dialogue meaningful and impactful. Avoid shallow conversations unless you intend your audience to interpret the conversation as superficial.
6. Use theme to shape every other element of fiction. Theme is the big one - the lesson or message of the story. Planning a theme ahead of time will allow you make the conflicts important. Other elements like symbol and plot can all be informed by theme.