Many people assume, understandably, that creative writing is more a matter of talent than skill, and, after struggling to think of ideas a few too many times, comparing themselves too harshly to established, published writers, or just thanks to a lack of practise and opportunity, many people convince themselves it’s something they simply can’t do. However, as much as some may find it comes more easily than others, creative writing is absolutely a skill and one which anyone can (and I would recommend should) learn and develop, and over the years I have refined a detailed, personalised way of helping my students to understand the art and find their voice.

Everyone’s “journey” in creative writing is going to be different, all starting at different points and going in different directions, but the five key steps I use to set us on that path are these:

• Discussing stories: We begin by talking about the stories my student as a reader, viewer, player, listener, etc. enjoys, whatever they may be. Perhaps they’ve been reading a book lately which they enjoy; perhaps watched a film that sticks with them; perhaps they’ve played a videogame which drew them in: the specific format doesn’t matter, as the vast majority of storytelling techniques are consistent across all forms of stories, and through discussing together what happened, to whom, where, how, and why, we begin to tap in to understanding how these stories “work” and why they resonate with us as an audience.

• Analysing techniques: Taking those same stories, we begin to dig a little deeper, looking at the particular techniques their creators employ to create specific effects for their audience, how they’re structured, what makes them unique and what feels similar to other stories we’ve seen. Perhaps we’ll look at the latest Marvel movie and how the characters’ journeys are developed across multiple installments; or perhaps we’ll look at the way a relationship is built up between the two protagonists in a romance novel; or why we care when our favourite character meets a tragic demise in a videogame. By looking at both the moment-to-moment language and drama and the overall structure and theming, we deepen our understanding of the writer’s craft as both creator and analyst, allowing us to improve both our comprehension skills and our ability to devise compelling stories ourselves.

• Drawing inspiration: “Good artists copy; great artists steal” - Pablo Picasso (allegedly) Many assume that, in order to be a “good” writer, you have to be wholly original, but this could not be further from the truth: all stories are iterations on previous ones, either of our own or others’, in some shape or form, be that through inspiration, emulation, or subversion. ‘Game of Thrones’ would not exist without ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ would not exist without ‘Lord of the Rings,’ which would not exist without ‘Beowulf’ which would not exist without ancient mythology; ‘Twilight’ would not exist without ‘Dracula’ which would not exist without ‘The Vampyr’ which would not exist without Mediaeval fears of undead monsters; ‘Star Wars’ would not exist without ‘Dune’ which would not exist without ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ which would not exist without the events of the First World War. By studying these patterns and chains of iteration, the inspiration one story takes from another, the techniques one author develops from another, and the way stories respond to one-another over literature and time, we can begin to truly understand what makes a story “work,” both to us and to a wider audience in general, and thus both to analyse and utilise those techniques in our own work.

• Developing our own stories: Drawing on our newfound understanding of what personally inspires and appeals to us in the stories we encounter, we can begin to develop a story of our own. Perhaps we want to try our hand at writing a Mystery novel, so plan out an elaborate crime and work backwards to lay the clues for our detective to solve it; perhaps we want to write our own homage to Greek mythology, so develop our own demigod Hero to fit in with the spirit of the ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey;’ perhaps we want to write a superhero whose clever use of their specific powers allow them to outfox and defeat the various villains; perhaps we want to satirise our own lives by creating a character whose antics are inspired by the everyday trials and tribulations we encounter ourselves. Together, we work out who these characters are, what worlds they inhabit, what challenges they face, and how we can most effectively convey all of these intricacies to our audience while achieving the effects we desire. We aren’t setting out to write a masterpiece right out of the gate, as no-one can, any more than Verstappen was born a champion racer, Shakespeare was born a brilliant wordsmith, or Alexander was born a near-unbeatable General: we’re setting out to refine a skill, to express ourselves, and have fun doing it.

• Refining our stories: Once we have our ideas underway and feel we have a grasp on how to synthesise ideas and put them down on the page, we can experiment with polishing and improving them and exploring other ways to convey them to the audience. Perhaps, with our newfound experience, we’ll look back at an earlier section and think, “hmm, I know how I can say this more effectively,” or, “here I can foreshadow this thing which happens later,” refining our own writing while simultaneously deepening our understanding of how other authors do the same. Likewise, we can look at other ways of telling the same story and how that alters the effect, such as, “what if we wrote the same events from this other character’s perspective,” or “what if we framed this as a journal entry instead,” or “what if we structured this as a Mystery instead of an Action story.” Through this, we explore the intricacies of the writer’s craft, the impacts of structure and genre, and how to elevate both our writing and analysis by truly understanding how the stories we hear and tell work and the myriad ways they can make an audience experience what their creators want them to feel.

If you’ve ever had that feeling of, “oh, I don’t have enough good ideas for creative writing,” don’t worry: it’s something even the most celebrated authors experience (and I know I have, too!), but I assure you it’s mistaken, pure and simple, and together it won’t take long for us to find and refine those ideas which form a piece of work you can truly be proud of. Whether you aspire one day to be an award-winning novelist or screenwriter or you simply want to pass an element of an English exam you’ve been struggling with, I’ve no doubt you’ll find studying Creative Writing with me a rewarding, entertaining, and edifying experience with exceptionally versatile, lifelong benefits in both your academic and personal life.