Why creative writing? Think about it! If it were not for the creative mind of the writer there would be no must-read novel that is impossible to put down; that must-see award-winning movie would be non-existent; and that one song for each of us, that transports us to our own little fantasy world, would never be heard.
Close your eyes and imagine for a moment that the entertainment provided by the creative mind for the entire world to see and hear is non-existent. With your eyes still closed, picture yourself turning on the television to view your favorite evening comedy, or that one movie you have waited all week to see, only to find your big screen is dark. Now imagine turning on your favorite radio station and hearing only static.
Open your eyes and realize that what you have just experienced is not the product of reality, but a fantasy, a daydream created by nothing more than the creative part of your mind that allows you to perceive what is imagined, if only for a moment, as being real. Even though your conscious mind has made the distinction that what you have just imagined is not reality but fantasy, for a moment your subconscious mind was emotionally affected causing you to feel as though you have actually experienced what your imagination has so vividly allowed you to see.
The books, the movies, and the songs we all love are products of the creative writer’s imagination. The creative writer has both the skill and talent to develop what is born in the imagination and transfer that image to the pages of the must-read novel that is impossible to put down, the script that becomes the award-winning movie, and the lyrics of the song that transports us all from the world of reality to the land of fantasy.
The obvious question now is, how does one take a thought and process that thought into a creative masterpiece that will grab the attention of the adoring public?
In order to properly answer this, we first need to understand what imagination is. The textbook definition explains imagination as being the power to reproduce images, stored in the memory, under the suggestion of associated images, or of combining former experiences to create new images.
We are all affected by what we see, hear, taste, smell, and feel. For example, do you remember the movie Psycho? Yes! Did the shower scene immediately replay in you mind’s eye with vivid imagery? Did you hear the screams? Did you feel your heart race? Amazing, isn’t it? The power to reproduce an image, stored in your memory, has allowed you to become affected by that image, and left you feeling as though you were experiencing the affects of the movie Psycho for the first time. I’m even willing to bet that you will think twice before taking that evening shower, and while taking it, you will constantly look over your shoulder!
Assume that you are a scriptwriter, and have been contracted to write a script that must include a shower scene, which possesses all of the intensity of the shower scene in Psycho. Of course you understand that although your script must possess all of the intensity of the shower scene in Psycho, the scene itself must be different. Immediately your imagination is triggered and in your mind’s eye the shower scene begins to play. However, this time your mind is focused on creating a new image by combining a former experience. As your thought process takes over, you begin to envision many different images and soon you find you have created a scene that is just as compelling and intense as the one replayed in your mind’s eye.
As a published writer, I have found that what is born in my imagination stems mostly from former experiences, or external influences that have captured my attention, and stirred deeply felt emotions within me. I have also found that what captures my attention, and stirs my emotions, for the most part, also captures the attention, and stirs the emotion of the general public.
Tapping into these former experiences or external influences, and creating a subject matter, or story line that is meaningful to the general public and effectively written is, perhaps, the single, most important element of creative writing.
You will find there is much more likeness in the commonality among us, as human beings, than the differences that separate us as individuals. Within all of us is the ability to feel the emotions of love, hate, sorrow, and fear. Emotions are, perhaps, the greatest commonality among us as human beings. We all have emotions, and we must learn to deal with them. The differences that separate us, as individuals, are how we deal with them.
Much has been spoken and written with regard to the horrific tragedy of September 11. The likeness in the commonality among us, as human beings, allowed us to feel the emotions of love, hate, sorrow, and fear and unified us, not only as a nation, but also as a world. Together, but separately, as individuals, we each dealt with the pain and sorrow of that day in many different ways. Some went to church, embraced their families, and prayed for a better tomorrow…we all searched for resolve to the aching agony felt deep within our being.
As time slowly distances us from the events of that horrific day, the process of healing has begun. We have been inspired by the many good deeds of our fellow human beings, and the words of wisdom of those among us, that with one stroke of the pen captures our attention, expresses our feelings, soothes the aching agony within us, and gives us hope for a brighter and better tomorrow.
What is the secret, the formula, the process of creative writing? How does one take a thought, process it within the imagination, and transform it into that must read novel? A novel so captivating that it not only stirs the emotion within us, but also becomes the novel that cannot be put down until the reader has completed every page within it.
To begin with, the writer must be passionate about the subject. The subject must be one that touches an emotion within us all, whether it is love, hate, sorrow, or fear. The concept has to be real, and the characters strong, defined, but most importantly, believable. The words should not be too complex, especially when writing fiction. A good story will be filled with events that keep the story flowing with excitement. It is important to remember that a successful writer draws the reader in, allows them to form opinions, and creates the feeling within them, that they are a part of the story.
Writing begins with a single thought, and our thoughts are created or influenced by those events or former experiences that have allowed us to not only create an opinion about the events or experiences that have influenced us, but also, touched us with emotion. Remember, what is powerful enough to capture the attention and stir a deep felt emotion within one is, more often than not, powerful enough to capture the attention and stir the same deep felt emotion within us all. But the difference lies in how we, as individuals, process these events or experiences. Individually the opinions formed about these events or experiences are different within us all, but the commonality, the factor that bonds us as human beings is the emotion within us all, and the ability to feel the effects of love, hate, sorrow, and fear.
My book “The Abduction of Rebecca” is a work of fiction, but was inspired by a true event that I witnessed as a child of fourteen.
The events of that day brought with it the overwhelming realization that all in the world is not perfect. Sorrow consumed me and out of the sorrow a deep felt yearning for understanding why there are some among us that commit evil deeds, and seem to have no remorse for what they have done, filled my thoughts.
As time distanced me from that day of long ago, I married and had a child of my own. Like everyone, I became a viewer of the nightly news. I found each time a story was reported that dealt with the tragedy of a child, sorrow once again consumed me, and I was taken back to that day of years ago.
Out of desperation, in the search for resolve, and while yearning to understand a vile act that is never understandable or excusable, “The Abduction of Rebecca” was born within my imagination. However, the outcome for “The Abduction of Rebecca” is much different than the outcome of the event that inspired Rebecca’s birth, and of many stories of child tragedy that I have watched as a viewer of the evening news. In The Abduction of Rebecca I have tried to represent that there is much more likeness in our commonality as human beings than in the differences that separate us as individuals.