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My thoughts on creativity



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Wed Dec 02, 2015 12:22 am
WritingWolf says...



Everywhere I look people are talking about how a good book is something new, something creative, something that reader's haven't seen before and may never see again. Is that really true? And if it is, is that all that goes into making a book good?

Earlier today I was reading a post on Writer Unboxed (here about that. What I took away from it (which isn't exactly what it said) is that anything you write will draw elements from your experiences, and since any good writer reads at some point or another it will draw from something you've read. Because of that I've started to wonder if maybe it's not that the idea is new, but the way the idea is presented feels new.

What do you think?
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Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:00 pm
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Senmaster says...



Hey WritingWolf, this is Senmaster.

Through my experience in reading, writing, and various advanced English courses, I have found that nothing is actually new in terms of plot. Sure you can find a science fiction novel with some new scientific element in it that could be entirely new to literature, but with no actual new plot. Some writers and professors have even gone as far as to say that there are only six plots, though some say seven, others say nine, but the thing is that writing can be categorized into groups based on its focus, whether it be comedy or romance or a rags-to-riches story.

I think that the true art to writing is story is in the execution. A good story also has to be written, and it is the writing that can completely change a story. A great story terribly written probably won't be very popular, while a mediocre story excellently written might become something great.

Writing has so many components, though: there are perspective, voice, dialogue, characterization, description, etc. This is where the author can be creative and create something the world of literature has never seen before. You as the writer have the entire control of the novel and how everything will play out. This is will good writing will actually be highlighted, where a story can become something great, and where true skill can be found in the writer (that is why there are so many writers here on this site. Every writer has their strengths and their weaknesses, and through collaboration, that author's writing can improve. That is why we must look at both the plot and the writing itself when reviewing).

A few months ago, I was faced with a similar situation as you are currently in. I was devoted to finding a completely new plot. However, I found it impossible. After reading book after book, I found elements of my story in these other novels, and that's when I realized that the real solution to my problem was not to find a completely novel plot, but I had to just create a new, exciting world into which the reader would want to immerse himself in. And I don't just mean through the idea of the world. A writer creates the world through his/her description of the landscape, through characterization and dialogue (I found that writers must master this in order to complete the world they are creating because it gives us an idea as to how the people in that world think and speak, and through the action.

And the article you read is completely correct. Writing is strongest when you yourself have experienced what you are actually writing about. And you probably will use elements of what you read into your own writing. If you read plenty of mystery novels and few romance ones, chance is that you will find your experience much easier when you try incorporating those mystery elements than if you were trying to write a romance novel.

But reading can also teach you something else. If you find that you don't like something in what you're reading, and you find a solution to it, you can write it with those needed improvements in your own novel.

I hope this helps.
  





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Thu Dec 03, 2015 12:37 pm
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Sujana says...



I agree with Senmaster. Personally, I think original is overrated--its great, but its not everything. I'd much prefer a writer that is capable of writing a cliched story and pulling enough good twists that it brings us a new flavor to it than a writer who has an original story but can't pull it off in an entertaining fashion. But this is a pretty interesting article, I might cite it for conversation with my schoolmates--we have little debates about this, too.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief."

Ecclesiastes 1: 18
  





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Fri Dec 04, 2015 4:38 pm
WritingWolf says...



Thanks for sharing you guys!

Although some further thought has brought another question to my mind. Why is it that readers find plot so important? Every time I ask someone if a book is good or not they always talk about the plot. I know a few people who will talk about character development, world building, and style some after they're done with plot, but most people it's just about the plot. Why is that?
~You can only grasp what you reach for~
  





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Fri Dec 04, 2015 4:49 pm
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Vervain says...



Why plot? Simple: The plot is the story.

If there is no plot, there is no story. You can write as much as you like about the character or the world, but without some kind of conflict—even the smallest kind—there's no value to it, and the characters and world don't change.

We don't read to see people and places remaining the same, no matter how "interesting" they are; plot is what drives character development and realistic worldbuilding (worlds are not static), and while style is important as well, the plot is more central to the actual value of the piece. You can dislike the style of something and still accept it has value because of the plot and characters (and, in a way, plot is synonymous with character development due to the intertwined nature of change and conflict); you can't very well accept that something without plot has value simply because of the style.
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Fri Dec 04, 2015 10:05 pm
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Rosendorn says...



Nothing is unique yet everything is unique.

Allow me to explain.

We all borrow. We all steal. But we all bring our own experiences to the table. As a result, everything we produce is unique because we are unique. This means the quest for uniqueness is both a determent to your actually writing (those who search for unique, in my experience, never write more than 500 words) and pointless (because if you just try to write the story you want to tell, it'll be unique by default).

Giving up on your quest for unique and simply writing a story you want to tell is a much better use of your time, and you'll find that unique happens much more easily when you're not actively trying for it.

I disagree that we write best about what we know. I've found this attitude is a detriment to branching out as a writer, because you never branch out and research. Do I know what it was like to live in Mughal India with magic? Nope. But I used writing skill to make people believe I did.

Write what you can research, not what you know. Do not limit yourself to your own life and own choices, because really, it's an extraordinarily small window.

The only time I ever say personal experience comes into play is for extremely nuanced topics that are impossible to research. Writing from the perspective of somebody who has a very complex relationship with their marginalized identities (for example, somebody gay and Jewish) is something that needs to be handled with extreme care. You probably will never be able to find out all the discourse surrounding the topics unless you are within that group, therefore you should leave those narratives to that group.

That isn't to say don't write characters who are gay and Jewish at the same time. Just don't make the narrative about their relationship with being gay and Jewish.

As for plot.

Plot, as Ark said, is conflict. For me, it is character's goal+ setting obstacles. The character wants to do something, but the setting (world's regulations, secondary characters, ruling class, an opponent) is blocking them. This is why it is important to develop primary characters, the world, secondary characters, and the general backdrop of the character's life— because that is where you will get more conflict from. It is where you'll get more plot from.

If you don't develop this in depth, then your plot falls flat because there simply isn't enough to carry it. However, if you put too much focus on the background then you forget your story is, well, a story. It's about a single character wanting something, and has to fight through obstacles to get it.

Yes, making the setting better will help this tremendously. That's why you put effort into it. But part of writing is understanding that not everything you put effort into will appear in the narrative itself, simply because it takes away from the plot. It's why I tend to worldbuild as I write; I don't want to get so bogged down in building a whole society when I want to write a story.

If you put too much focus on the setting and style, then you bring what should be invisible to the forefront. That's the hallmark of good writing: nothing detracts from the story. The background to the character's life and format their story is delivered in should be invisible.

Plot is what readers want to see. Don't disappoint.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

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