Creative writing

Creative writing is a term for writing approaches that assume that writing is a creative - linguistic process to which every human being can be taught methodically. Creative Writing thus goes beyond traditional writing classes by placing the emphasis on the process of writing itself, and "trained by associative, shaping and working methods " is. A uniform description of what comprises creative writing, can hardly be because the approaches differ greatly in part in foundations, methods and goals.

Concept and history

The term " creative writing " is originally derived from the English ' creative writing ' from. For the first time the term appeared at the end of the 19th century in American universities as a term for seminars, in which students of literature should obtain practical writing experience. A short time later published under the title "Creative Writing" first manuals.

If " creative writing " understood in a broader sense, as covered by the definition, all forms of writing, which relies on the methods of idea generation. Writers of all ages have methods and techniques used that have helped them in text production. In this broader sense, the history of creative writing dates back to antiquity. To write games were used in ancient times. In the Baroque period was the playful use of language signs of high education and eloquence. In the early 20th century artistic movements such as Dada and Surrealism write games have rediscovered as a source of inspiration.

Concepts

In creative writing, four main concepts can be distinguished:

Play with language

Writing Games specialize as a way towards cutting the often write inhibitory respect for the written word. Especially in writing workshops, but also in school writing games are often entry-level exercises in complex methods of creative writing. Writing games are used in almost all concepts in different forms. They help to find a pleasurable access to linguistic expression and to their own language. However, the exclusive use of writing games coming soon to its limits. In general, therefore, come today conceptions that are based solely on language games, barely out. They are usually involved in further concepts.

Therapy and autobiographical self-reflection

Writing processes often have a therapeutic dimension: Own adventures and experiences, fears and desires are taken up writing and designed. Regular writing experience can lead them to make discoveries about unconscious inclinations and desires, because the writing process always leads to similar topics, keywords, and further thoughts.

This phenomenon can be exploited therapeutically. Similar to the self-evident Talk in therapy writing is a form of self-expression, in which the writer not only acts, but also considers the outcome of his actions. Jürgen vom Scheidt therefore distinguishes between the inner writer and the observing self. Although most writing processes can be viewed in this perspective, it is advisable to accompany the conscious therapeutic use of creative methods of writing professionally from a poetry and writing therapist.

An easy way to think about writing itself, is the keeping of a diary or (for limited periods ) of a journal. It is recommended by Lutz von Werder, in the diary as well as in the Journal - regardless of your subjects - again and again to work with literary forms ( eg, thoughts in haiku or Senryus " pour " or used in the form of a poem " elf "). Even the conscious adherence of memoir and writing memoirs heard this. Many fictional texts contain autobiographical traces that you can make conscious in dealing with their own texts.

Vocational writing didactics

By becoming aware of creative writing in the Federal Republic of the writing movement had an impact on the school lessons. Until the 1970s, the dictation and the classic essay dominated the writing didactics. The attachment teaching was marked by academic standards: It was necessary to convey the most important written forms of presentation than just a regular letter. Among them were:

• Report
• Description
• Story
• Description
• Contemplation
• Discussion

Free forms as the report had this experience just to meet school standards, which allowed a uniform grading.

The protagonists of creative writing have the school education from the beginning criticized as too standardized and diagnosed writer's block as a result of the standardized teaching. Educators have taken this criticism and attempts to develop alternatives to the classic essay of the class. It began in the 1970s, the curriculum -oriented communicative classroom teaching, which was replaced in the 1980s by educational and identity- theoretical approaches.

In today's writing didactics creative writing methods have become obvious methodological elements that go far beyond the teaching of German. In contrast to the developments of the 1970s and 1980s has been recorded in the 1990s, methods and conceptual pluralism. Being considered Unless conceptually the use of techniques of creative writing in the classroom, the effort is to be noted to integrate the various approaches.

Pragmatics of writing

While university courses (Master of Creative Writing ) are included in the Anglo- American world, in Germany there are only limited university offers. The main offer is made in writing courses at community colleges or in writing workshops, writing seminars and workshops novel associations and private providers. Some universities do not offer student counseling or similar means courses in creative academic writing. At the University of Hildesheim (Study Creative Writing and Cultural Journalism ) and the University of Leipzig (German Literature Institute in Leipzig ), there is an apprenticeship as a writer. The Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences offers a Master's postgraduate course at the creative and autobiographical writing.

Creative Writing

Creative writing will be accompanied by instructions for writing to produce without necessarily demanding texts. Often, it comes to teach fun writing using language or to reflect on their own social or individual role. At most, as a long-term goal here puts a text production in the view that can satisfy higher demands and aims at publication.

However, this feature only the stand-alone approach in the German creative writing movement. The principles of the American creative writing, however, were aligned from the outset to lead to professional writing and self-awareness. This is more common in Germany only since the 1990s. The literary writing focuses on classic poetry and prose forms of literature as well as playwriting. From the novel writing workshops and are thus gradually become resistant workshops where classic form of knowledge is connected with the methods of creative writing. Numerous institutes and write some university courses offer courses and training for aspiring writers and writing teachers. In the U.S. there are 16 magazines for creative writing. Since 2000 there with " TextArt " a first German magazine for creative writing.

Playwriting

Under scenic letter refers to the writing of drama texts ( plays) and screenplays (film and television). The writing of dialogues, scenes and scene sequences requires in contrast to fiction writing special abilities. This includes:

• Compliance with the logic of action
• Maintaining the voltage arc over the entire piece
• The characterization of the characters solely by their actions and speeches
• Designing realistic dialogues
• The writing of stage directions
• The writing of scenes according to specific guidelines (usually determined by the format )
• Designing of a valid script

The scenic writing has become especially through the increased production of television films and television series by the private television station to a field of activity with great demand for professional writers. To the resulting profession of screenwriter was born in vocational respect, through the establishment of programs to the scenic writing at various German universities bill.

Scientific Writing

The professionalization of writing schools are gradually becoming by including in the field of academic writing. Where to in the 1990s, scientific pro-seminars have dealt exclusively formal aspects of writing scientific texts (correct citation, footnotes, bibliographies, propaedeutic, etc.), and the academic work is now seen as a prose form that can be taught in different ways through creative methods. In addition to Otto Kruse Lutz has helped Werder to illustrate that scientific and creative work need each other and promote.

Methods

In creative writing methods are used that will help you reduce writer's block, increase motivation and self-awareness can make when writing. To achieve this, both halves of the brain as possible conceptual and pictorial thinking are to be used when writing, that is to be connected. As sources of inspiration are personal experiences and experiences of childhood, dreams and imagination, as well as writing in places such as cafes.

The creativity techniques used and methods have been developed in part for creative writing, more come from other creative fields of work.

Examples of pure writing methods are

• Brainwriting
• Cluster
• Free Writing
• Journal Writing

Methods that have been developed not only for creative writing, for example, are

• Brainstorming
• Mind Map

Often come not single methods are used, but a variety for which there was a corresponding organizational framework is necessary. Examples are

• Writing Workshop
• Roman workshop
• Interactive novel