Get Published

I will be collecting various Web sites with ways for students to get published, but here is one place to start:

Launch Pad: monthly contests in poetry and prose.

Fiction

Fiction is the most commonly known form of creative writing and is what most writers aspire to.

Form

Fiction writing generally falls under two categories: the short story and the novel.

Genres

There are so many genres or categories of fiction writing, but some common genres include: Christian fiction, science, fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, mystery, thrillers, western, young adult and children’s fiction.

Like creative nonfiction, fiction includes the same elements of storytelling we’ve already discussed: plot, character, setting, dialogue, etc.

Playwriting

Playwriting is writing dramatic pieces for theatrical performance.

Elements of Drama:

Dialogue-what the actors say

Stage Directions-tells what people are doing when they move

Music/Sound-to bring the drama to life

Cast (Actors)-play the parts or roles

Stage Sets-creates the setting

Costumes-what the actors wear

Props-items that the actors need

Plot

Although the plot of a dramatic piece will have setting, characters, conflict and other features of fiction writing, the plot of a piece of drama is generally very short and to the point.

It’s not Fiction

One of the main differences between fiction and drama is that drama is largely spoken and acted out rather than described.

Visualizing

You must visualize the set, costumes, and necessary props as you create a drama.

Form

Traditional drama has acts and scenes in which sections of the story take place. This is an effective tool to use to break the story into scenes and provide a transition between changes in scene.

Chorus

Traditional drama contains a chorus whose function is to provide narrative commentary on events. It can be sung or spoken.

Prologue

At times, drama has a prologue to explain the situation. It is often one actor who steps out into the front of the stage to introduce the story.

Epilogue

At times, drama has an epilogue to either explain what happens after the action of the play or to make commentary on what we are to learn.

Poetic Forms

There are many poetic forms to explore, but I will name and explain a few here. If you are interested in learning about the other poetic forms and seeing examples, I suggest Poets.org.

Couplets

Usually forming other poetic forms, the couplet is simply two lines of rhymed poetry.

Haiku

Unrhymed Japanese poetry with 3 lines of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables, usually on a nature theme.

Imagist

Typically written in free verse using only images to communicate the idea or theme.

Shakespearean/English Sonnet

14 lines of iambic pentameter divided into three quatrains (4 lines) followed by a couplet (2 lines) with the rhyme scheme abab | cdcd | efef | gg with the couplet playing a pivotal role as the turning point.

 

Petrarchan/Italian Sonnet

14 lines of iambic pentameter divided into two stanzas: octave (8 lines) and sestet (6 lines) with a rhyme scheme of abba | abba | cdecde and is usually divided into a problem (octave) and solution (sestet) format.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter. Commonly seen in  Shakespeare’s plays.

Free Verse

No rhyme scheme. No rules.

Poetry

Poetry should engage the senses and imagination. Poetry entertains and offers fresh insight.

Form or Genre

Poetry is usually divided into forms depending on the rhyme scheme and structure of the poem. There are many poetic forms to use: ballad, elegy, pastoral, sonnet, haiku, villanelle, imagist, blank verse, free verse, and more.

Sound

With the exception of free verse, most poetry includes some kind of rhyme scheme, giving poetry a musical quality.

When discussing sound, we talk not only of end rhyme, but also internal rhyme such as assonance (repetition of a vowel sound) and consonance (repetition of a consonant sound), and alliteration (repetition of a particular sound—includes both assonance and consonance), but also of meter.

Meter has two parts: the number of iambs or feet (two feet per iamb) and the number of iambs per line which create the meter.

Iambic (iamb) meter has two feet (iambs=two syllables) with unstressed followed by stressed syllables.

Trochaic (trochee) meter has two feet with stressed followed by unstressed syllables.

Spondaic (spondee) has two feet with stressed syllables.

Anapestic (anapest) has three feet with two unstressed followed by a stressed syllable.

Dactylic (dactyl) has three feet with stressed followed by two unstressed syllables.

After determining the meter of the poem, we then look at the number of feet (or iambs) per line.

Monometer (one foot), Dimeter (two feet), Trimeter, Tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter, heptameter, Octameter, etc.

Iambic Pentameter is a popular meter which has 5 sets (penta) of iambs (two syllables) creating 10 syllables per line.

That time | of year | thou mayst | in me | behold

Imagery

Poetry, because it is short in the number of words, is concise. We achieve conciseness and exactness of language through the use of imagery (the use of the senses to describe things).

Theme

Poems usually have some specific theme. For example, the traditional haiku is usually about the seasons and nature. Some poems are about love or loss. Others are just meditations on people, places, or things.

Figures of Speech

Just as other imaginative writing includes the use of figurative language, poems also use this.

Context

What is the situation in which this poem was born or created? Often poems are written as a response to a situation, historical or personal. I bet you could find a number of poems about 9/11.

Figurative Language

Figurative language is simply language that uses figures of speech to convey ideas.  It is a way of describing things or people or events by comparing it to something else.

Simile is a comparison of two things using like or as. "I was as sleepy as a bear. "

Metaphor is a comparison of two things by creating a direct comparison. "I was a load of bricks."

Personification is giving human characteristics to nonhuman things. "The branches leaned with the weight of ice."

Metonymy is one word or phrase that is a part of something standing for the whole. "We'll have to take this to Washington for approval." Washington is referring to our government. "Nice wheels." Wheels are standing for the entire car.

Hyperbole is exaggeration used to evoke strong feelings or effect. "I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse!"

Idioms are a form of speech that are peculiar to a specific region. "I'm building my nest egg." Nest egg is referring to a retirement account, but some regions may not recognize this meaning.

Clichés are expressions that are so overused they become trite. "I'm dead as a door nail."

Analogy, like simile and metaphor, is a comparison between two things that are alike. Analogies are usually longer than a simile or metaphor and are used to explain an unfamiliar thing by comparing it to a familiar thing.

Point of View

Point of View is the narrative view or perspective in which a story is told. One way to add interest to a story is to vary the point of view.

First Person POV

The narrator is telling the story and is a character participating in the action of the story. When reading stories in the first person, we need to realize that what the narrator is recounting might not be the objective truth. We should question the trustworthiness of the accounting.

Objective POV

The writer tells what happens without stating more than can be inferred from the story's action and dialogue. The narrator never discloses anything about what the characters think or feel, remaining a detached observer.

Third Person

The narrator does not participate in the action of the story as one of the characters, but lets us know exactly how the characters feel. We learn about the characters through this outside voice. Third person narration can be either omniscient or limited.

Omniscient POV

A narrator who knows everything about all the characters is all knowing, or omniscient.

Limited POV

A narrator whose knowledge is limited to one character, either major or minor.