CREATIVE WRITING

   We must know that creative writing is any form of writing that expresses ideas and thoughts in an imaginative way. It's different from the normal academic writing that is factual, straight to the point etc.
  From this above, let us classify all written works into two: fiction and non-fiction
  Non-fiction is any work of art that expresses real life situations whilst Fiction is anything written that's not real, in other words, imagined
 Creative writing includes poems, novels, short stories, movie scripts, comedy anything that is in fact imaginative.

These forms of writing have a way of entertaining the readers and giving vivid images of events that have either happened or just exist in the writers head.
  Now you may be thinking to yourself, I love reading novels, I love spoken word poetry, I want to be able to write scripts etc. How do I do this?
  This is how you do it: BE CREATIVE!
You cannot give what you don't have remember. Start by being a creative person in every other area of your life, with food, clothes, let your imagination run wild.
 We must all note that creativity is inborn, and creative people are normally called "right brained" as opposed to the left brained people who are more logical and analytical.

 But being born creative doesn't mean you would remain creative. A lot of things can stifle that creativity e.g fear of making a mistake thereby not expressing yourself, not mixing with people who challenge you to do things differently, always insisting that there's only one right way of doing things and finally, always saying " I am not creative". Yes! Saying it can also kill your creativity.
 So so far, this is what has been said..."what is creative writing?", how can I write creatively?Be creative as a person. Creativity is inborn and can be stifled with time.
  If you realise, when you were a child, you were very creative, you could imagine things, draw, sing dance etc. But with time and "schooling" and life's pressures, you relegated all that to the background.

But all hope is not lost...

To gain your creativity back, expose yourself to creative content…go on YouTube, watch performance poetry(spoken word), comedy skits, read novels from a variety of writers that creatively express themselves, change that mindset that says " this is the right way, be willing to explore ", write about anything, anywhere and anyhow. Do you know you can write a short story in broken English?
The key is captivating your audience and keeping their interest piqued.
 Be willing to break the rules when it comes to writing if you want to be creative. The key is to capture your audience and hold their attention.
 In addition to all that has been said already,
Join a creative group that challenges you. If you are the best writer in your community, go to another community with writers that make you look like a learner.
Have days that you dedicate to writing…on those days, pick a random word, time yourself and write a song, poem etc about that word. Keep doing this consistently and watch how you'll get better
 Have a support system of friends that you always share what you've written with
 Finally, when you get inspiration, work on it as soon as possible, some of the poems I got randomly turn out to be the ones I really love now. Avoid procastination and don't be afraid of criticism.
In other words, put your works out there, on the internet, share with friends, ask for corrections, read from other writers and watch yourself grow.
 When not writing, learn to express your self creatively.


TEACHER:Victory Osas(Writer/Spoken word artist)