Poetic license (or artistic licence) refers to ignoring factual truth for creative purposes. There is a wide area covered by this definition and so, inevitably, some uses are proper whereas other improper.
In other words, there are ways to use poetic licence properly (enhancing the affective power of your novel), but also improperly (muddling the waters and creating confusion).
In this post we’ll take a look at all these elements – what poetic licence refers to in more detail, ways of using poetic licence, and of course which (and why) are the ways I consider optimal.
The facts of the photo (I assume and hope!) are that the shark is superimposed on the image and the woman was only in a narrow water tank, alone. The use of poetic licence allows the artist to present a “reality” that might not be strictly speaking factual, yet possesses enhanced affective power(more…)
In writing, is imagination the same as creativity? If the answer were “yes”, this post wouldn’t exist. But imagination and creativity are two very different concepts, as we’ll see in more detail, and confusing them can have far-reaching repercussions in your writing.
Indeed, it’s particularly in the field of creative writing that confusing imagination and creativity can be damaging.
Imagination versus creativity. Creativity versus imagination.
Even the order is important, and so in this post I’ll refer to the pair as “imagination and creativity”. The reason? One of the major differences between these two concepts is their temporal order. Imagination comes first and creativity follows, in a different form.
But, as usual, the story doesn’t end with that; it only begins there!
Imagination is wanting to take a photo of a woman in a forest; creativity is deciding what the photo should look like (more…)
I hate editing my fiction. I hate everything about it; the way it sucks life out of a text, the way it’s a clinical, passionless process. But you gotta do what you gotta do. In my long, sometimes painful writing career, I’ve learned a thing or two about editing. Today, I’m sharing these fiction editing tips and tricks that will hopefully spare you some frustration.
As you might remember from earlier posts, the phrase “write drunk, edit sober” is attributed to Ernest Hemingway. It’s quite probable that Hemingway never said such a thing, but that’s irrelevant. The quote is memorable, and its advice solid – though there is a twist in the plot, as we will see. You do need to write with emotion (“drunk”) and you do need to edit without it (“sober”).
Fiction editing is a diverse process, and there are more than one right ways to do it. I certainly don’t claim that my fiction editing tips are the best for you, let alone the only ones.
I’m only sharing these fiction editing tips – perhaps one day I’ll share my nonfiction editing tips, too – to inspire you and give you a head start. Take what you can use, discard the rest – there’s a meta-editing tip there, if you’re perceptive 😉
“Write drunk, edit sober” can be seen as the first of my fiction editing tips. In other words, you need to write with passion, but be as objective as possible during the editing process(more…)
