Creative Writing Vs. Technical Writing 22522e

CREATIVE WRITING

Differences Between Technical & Creative Writing

Writing can be grouped into five basic types: technical, creative, expressive, expository, and persuasive. To help understand technical writing, it may help to compare it to the other types.

Expressive writing • is a subjective response to a personal experience—journals and diaries—whereas technical writing might be objective observations of a work-related experience or research.

Expository writing • “exposes” a topic analytically and objectively, such as news reports. Like technical writing, the goal of expository writing is to explain or reveal knowledge, but expository writing does not necessarily expect a response or action from the reader.

Persuasive writing • depends on emotional appeal. Its goal is to change attitudes or motivate to action.

Technical writing • conveys specific information about a technical subject to a specific audience for a specific purpose.

Creative writing • is fiction—poetry, short stories, plays, and novels— and is most different from technical writing.

Imagery It can be defined as a writer or speaker’s use of words or figures of speech to create a vivid mental picture or physical sensation.

Imagery is language used by poets, novelists and other writers to create images in the mind of the reader. Imagery includes figurative and metaphorical language to improve the reader’s experience through their senses.

Example 1 Imagery using visuals:

• The night was black as ever, but bright stars lit up the sky in beautiful and varied constellations which were sprinkled across the astronomical landscape.

• In this example, the experience of the night sky is described in depth with color (black as ever, bright), shape (varied constellations), and pattern (sprinkled).

Example 2

Imagery using sounds:

• Silence was broken by the peal of piano keys as Shannon began practicing her concerto.  Here, auditory imagery breaks silence with the beautiful sound of piano keys.

Example 3

Imagery using scent:

• She smelled the scent of sweet hibiscus wafting through the air, its tropical smell a reminder that she was on vacation in a beautiful place. The scent of hibiscus helps describe a scene which is relaxing, warm, and welcoming

Example 4

Imagery using taste:

• The candy melted in her mouth and swirls of bittersweet chocolate and slightly sweet but salty caramel blended together on her tongue.  Thanks to an in-depth description of the candy’s various flavors, the reader can almost experience the deliciousness directly.

Example 5

Imagery using touch:

• After the long run, he collapsed in the grass with tired and burning muscles. The grass tickled his skin and sweat cooled on his brow.  In this example, imagery is used to describe the feeling of strained muscles, grass’s tickle, and sweat cooling on skin.

Types of Imagery 

Auditory imagery appeals to the sense of hearing.

 Gustatory imagery appeals to the sense of taste.  Kinetic imagery conveys a sense of motion.

 Olfactory imagery appeals to the sense of smell.  Tactile imagery appeals to the sense of touch.

 Visual imagery is created with pictures (many visual images are pictures of things representing well-known sayings or phrases).

• Imagery is found throughout literature in poems, plays, stories, novels, and other creative compositions. • Although the word “imagery” most often brings to mind mental images, imagery is not always visual; it can appeal to any of the five senses.

Symbolism  Carl Jung defined a symbol as “a term, a name, or even a picture that may be familiar in daily life, yet that possesses specific connotations in addition to its conventional an obvious meaning.” • Symbols can be based on culture, such as a country’s flag (stars and stripes=USA) , or religion (the cross=Christianity), or other things.

DICTION • Diction = word choice – A study of diction is the analysis of how a writer uses language for a distinct purpose and effect, including word choice and figures of speech.

Examine the following when considering word choice: • Informal Diction (personal writing) e.g. bug, folks, job, kid, boss, get across • Formal Diction (academic or literary writing) e.g. germ, relatives, position, child, superior, communicate

Types of Diction • Colloquial words – conversational language – Is there dialect? • Slang – highly informal • Jargon – the special language of a profession or group (lawyer talk, technical talk)