Creative Writing

PART4

Short-Form Genres

So far, you’ve learned about the various tools that come in handy for most any kind of creative writing. Part 4 begins the process of investigating just what kinds of creative writing you can practice and perhaps attempt to get published in. I begin with these shorter genres because beginning writers are going to write a story before a novel, a scene before a play, and so on. However, if you are determined to, say, write a novel, don’t skip Part 4. It’s still very important because it provides techniques that make composing longer genre forms possible.

We’ve already explored some of the fundamental differences between nonfiction and fiction writing, and Chapter 10 focuses on a short version of the former, the essay, because ...