In my posts, 11 Types of Creative Writing (Part 1 and Part 2) I discussed the various mediums writers of fiction could experiment with. These aren’t to be confused with writing types, such as blogging or copywriting, nor with genres, such as fantasy or romance. Instead, these are categories which focus on the creative side of writing—such as prose, or the act of telling a story. While I covered eleven mediums within the first two blogs, I thought of four more which could be experimented with.
Video version available:
It should be noted that these next four won’t be every writer’s cup of tea, as they may require other programs, niche interests, or an openness to style not required of other mediums.
Whether you’re a professional writer, or someone just beginning their author journey, experimenting with various mediums can open your world up, improve your writing, and ultimately afford you a little fun.
1) Poetry
Poetry is easily the most traditional on this list, going back as far as ancient times. As one of the oldest mediums, it’s also one of the most stubborn. It continues to appeal to people, young and old, and for those authors who don’t want to commit to a novel it’s an alternative which offers a great creative outlet.
However, poetry has become niche in recent times. While there’s an audience for it, few modern poets can achieve the kind of success someone like Stephen King can. Unless you’re Robert Frost, you won’t become a household name.
With that said, there’s an audience for poetry. Not everyone “gets” poetry, but those who do love it. What’s more, there are various poem types to experiment with, whether that be a ballad or a haiku. If you can’t rhyme, that’s also valid—plenty of poetry falls under the category of free verse, and some engage in what’s called “smash poetry.” Smash poetry involves presenting the poem orally, usually with passion or even humour. To the casual listener, it’s not unlike listening to rap—though no music is involved.
The beauty of poetry, whether it be verbal and passionate, or straight laced and rhyming, is that the topics you can cover are virtually endless. You can tell a narrative; you can explore emotions; you can emphasize the mundane side of life; you can talk about famous people, trees, songs, or even traffic lights.
You can talk about whatever you want, provided it means something to you. Poetry about even the most “boring” topics, such as going to school or talking to your kid, can be gripping, because they’re so relatable. Poetry is also flexible, because it can bounce between the ordinary and the divine—even within the same piece.
For those hoping to publish a poetry collection, it’s best to choose a theme. This can be emotion, nature, global warming, life in general—focus on what speaks to you.
Plus, poetry lends itself well to social media. Many poets made their start by sharing their poems on the likes of Instagram. The briefness of poems allows them to be easily shared within one post; they’re short and sweet, making them accessible—even to those with short attention spans. If smash poetry is more your style, you can even book performances in cafes which offer stage time or open mic hours. Musicians aren’t the only ones who can earn tips performing at the local coffee shop.
2) Comic Books
In my previous posts, I discussed graphic novels. However, comic books, such as compilations of newspaper funnies, should be sorted into their own category.
While graphic novels tend to focus on a single narrative, following a protagonist through a story the way you would through a book or a movie, comic books, by contrast, are more episodic.
Comic books will usually feature the same cast, and possibly a single identifiable protagonist, but each strip or “episode” is self contained, with only the odd batch adhering to a single short story. Ideally, each story should also be humorous in nature, presenting a dilemma and it’s according punchlines.
Traditionally, this type of story has been, and continues to be, presented in the newspaper every morning. All of the strips are in black and white, with the exception of Sunday strips, in which artists are given the choice to go all out, changing up layouts and adding colour.
Especially popular strips were later compiled into books. Notable examples are Charlie Brown, Dilbert, Far Side, and my personal favourite, Calvin and Hobbes.
On the surface, this form of writing might seem shallow, but the ability to write glimpses into the daily lives of a single family or group of co-workers allows for fleshed out characters, and even deeper themes. Calvin and Hobbes is filled with meaningful episodes, relatable moments, and is ultimately about the beauty (and the struggle) of being a kid, and the wild imagination that comes with that.
3) Simming
This is easily the strangest one on the list, and definitely not for everyone. This category of writing is dependent on you being a gamer, and, more specifically, an owner and fan of a Sims title. Whether you play Sims 2, 3, or 4, the overall concept of the game, and the ability to control it’s camera, lends itself well to storytelling. These stories can even be monetized, as they could technically fall under the category of Let’s Plays.
For those who don’t know, the Sims is a game which allows you to create your own original characters: you can design their homes, give them hobbies, make them talk or walk a certain way, and essentially anything else you’d need to make an original film. Plenty of Simmers are also writers, and most in the community are a creative bunch.
A wealth of resources also exist for those putting together a film, such as mods that add gun animations (if you’re planning on making a gangster film), and clothes and hairstyles for any need. Many specialize, creating clothing or hairs for specific eras, such as regency times, medieval, or any of the last decades we’ve experienced (such as the 50’s or the 80’s). If you’re telling a story about a king, you’ll be certain to find an ideal outfit for such a character.
For more advanced filmmakers, tutorials exist online which show you how to create camera angles and map them to short cuts; how to teleport your “actors” to their respective sets; and even how to create effects in your camera work, such as a slow pan. Keyboard shortcuts also allow you to pause and resume the game without going out of your shot to do so.
There are a number of approaches you can take when making a Sims film. You could take the advanced route, and create what the community calls a machinima film. These can feature either characters in the series or your own OC’s, but some of these can feel like actual films and run for half another for each episode; the most sophisticated include custom animations, realistic camera shots, traditional film transitions, and, of course, an original story. People even add in their own lighting or animations if they’re skilled enough.
If that sounds too complicated, you can simply film your characters talking, and use subtitles to denote what they’re saying. This sounds simplistic, but an engaging story will hook people. Plus, you’ll have total control over the look of your actors, the sets, and any music which plays throughout the film. If you’re feeling especially avante-garde, you could pay homage to the silent film era, editing the colour from your footage and inter cutting it with subtitles against a dark screen; it’s your choice.
Finally, you might create a voice over film, in which you string various shots together with narration and music over top. The video version of this blog is something of an example of this, though in typical scenarios the narration exists to share a fictional anecdote, or tell a simple backstory, about the characters or characters who are seen throughout the movie.
4) Song Writing
Not all writers want to be musicians, but for those who are musically gifted the art of composing songs can be more writer oriented than people realize. All songs tell a story, with common themes being love and heart break. Every musician and her cousin has written a break up song. Of course, the most popular musicians write about everything—even vegetables. Groups like the Beatles and the Beach Boys weren’t afraid to use their fame to write songs which would excite the imagination.
Songs like Yellow Submarine and Octopus’s Garden are as creative as they come, inviting the listener to go to another world.
For the more narrative minded, many songs, especially those in the alternative rock genre, take it a step further and tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end. These tell the listener what the protagonist is dealing with, giving him problems and consequences for his choices. These songs can be quite quirky, too. Music allows a writer to tell their weirdest stories, and still be popular.
Some songs are quite long. Alice’s Restaurant is the lengthy tale of those who avoid the draft because of a criminal record (with crimes being as ridiculous as not dealing with the trash in an appropriate manner). It’s a weird song, but one you have to listen to at least once.
Other songs, still, are more epic, telling stories of revenge or cowboys who haven’t forgotten their mothers.
Being a musician is another ball game from writing, coming with it’s own challenges: you need to line up concerts, perform, self fund CD’s and, if you’re lucky, sign with a label who will order albums from you and line up tours. It’s not an easy lifestyle, even if, by some miracle, you manage to make more than twenty dollars to live off of. It won’t be for many writers, though songwriting remains a form of writing nevertheless.
Plus, even those who remain more interested in writing novels can still nurse their passion for music by incorporating their compositions into their work. Plenty of authors write original songs, and insert them into their novels. If your protagonist is a musician himself, the ability to write songs, and tell quirky stories with them, will still resonate with an audience.
Conclusion
I’ve shared a number of ways a creative writer can flex their muscles throughout these last posts. I’ve gone over web serials, plays, films, and how these mediums intersect with each other. However, with this post, I delved into creative writing types which were less typical, even unheard of.
Poetry, Sims films, and songwriting are forms of writing which can be drastically different from the others in the overall process. Most of the mediums on this list also require a secondary interest and skill: songwriters will need to be able to write a catchy melody and be passionate about music; those hoping to make Sims films will need to be familiar with the video game, and comfortable with gaming in general; and those looking to become comic book artists will need to be able to not only draw, but come up with dynamic designs which will best suit their characters.
Thankfully, anyone can experiment with these mediums; whether you are successful with them or not, exploring other types of writing, especially those which feel so different, can flex your creativity, and encourage you to approach your stories from outside the box.
What other forms of writing do you practice? What’s your favoured way to tell a story, or consume one? Let me know.