As an English major, I have always found novelty in reading something new, profound, and, most importantly, creative. In a certain way, finding a piece of innovative and creative literature gives you an upper hand: you simply add another reference point or literary element to your toolbox in your future writing.
Despite this interest, creative writing as an act is something I learned to avoid: to create something is to share an anecdote, an experience, an emotion, or a part of your personhood, which must be put on display and, most critically, judged.
I find that my program is often split between the creatives (the majority) and the critics (a minority).
The creatives learn the rules of writing dramas, poems, novels, and short stories, and break them, often resulting in a unique piece of literature that mirrors a part of them.
As one of those students who identify as the critic, I find it a simple act. Your goals are to annotate a piece, pick up on a detail you find intriguing, and decide what it does. You play the role of a detective or lawyer, and find the evidence you need to make connections, imaginatively offering a common lens. For a field and subject considered beyond interpretative and ‘subject’, argumentative essays seem the most objectively right.
Going into my second year in 2025, English and the bounds of my education within it were indefinite and something I needed to uncover. By taking ENG 306, a poetry-writing practicum class, my role as a critic had to shift toward a more creative focus.
In this class, as someone who only writes critical argumentative essays, I found it a frustrating start; however, these are some steps and ideas towards enjoying creative writing, especially poetry.
- . Start Simple!
-
Poetry and creative writing can be overwhelming; when we read them, we encounter an amalgamation of metaphors, symbols, contrasts, and, overall, the abstract. Starting to write and laying this expectation upon myself led to writing ‘purple prose’, overwrought and dramatic writing that is overpowering with devices, yet overbearing to the true meaning of the piece.
Instead, as a starting point, pick a physical object or environment, and sit with this subject matter for some time. Interrogate yourself about the shapes seen, smells, texture, sounds, and interactions this item may have with the things around it.
And although you may have a burning desire to begin using metaphors and similes, it is crucial not to because you cannot use a metaphor or simile that compares the object to another when you cannot yet describe the details of the object on its own. Through this activity, I found myself learning to enjoy the little things around me and realizing that some poetry or creative writing may focus solely on our ability to experience something, rather than explaining a universal struggle.
- . To Write You Must Read
-
Ironically enough, as an English major, I fall behind when it comes to the heavy labour of my program. I simply don’t read enough in my spare time, which ultimately affects the quality of my writing.
‘Nulla dies sine linea’; no day without a line. Without a source of imitation and inspiration, original thoughts and techniques seem impossible.
It is vital to read a minimum of one poem a day, no matter how long or short. Within this process, you will gain a sense of poetic voice, the creation of a poet’s literary fingerprint, becoming a writing style only recognized as theirs. However, to build this unique style, writers must ‘pretend’ to be other poets; adopting this role leads to greater confidence and experimentation with style.
As you follow this practice, exploring a variety of artists, their central themes and symbols, and delving into their emotional core, will allow you to become a better creative.
- . Use Yours and The World’s History
-
Writing as an act serves as a means of learning and developing knowledge, not exclusively a way to share it. It’s not uncommon to take a topic that resonates deeply with you and comes from experience, as it’s what we know best and isn’t debatable. If one has gone through the experience, another cannot reject it or prove it false.
Instead, through my process of becoming a creative, I was challenged to incorporate the critical into the creative process. I searched through archives at the TMU special archives and collections, observed online national archives, and researched into the past. Regarding these historical symbols and the need for further research into their stories, this allows for the creation of a new persona and media.
By adopting these ideas, we, as poets and writers, can create a world, interpretation, and story about the people in a historical archive. Dictating the formality, frequency of punctuation, libration, and metaphor depends on the appropriateness of archives and their features as well. In this way, the critical lenses of essays are applied, but also, your poetic voice does not have to be established yet, as context clues establish your poem.
- . Write Every Day
-
I often fall victim to the practice of treating writing as a “one and done” project, completed in a single sitting, and then going through rounds of revisions. There is no objective truth in poetry and its writing style; anything can be poetry.
Essays, the epitome of perfectionism, conflict with poetry, a means of boundary-breaking. To break this habit of perfectionism, write daily using a random prompt or thought-provoking question, and set a timer for 15-20 minutes. Through this method of unobstructed free writing, ideas continue to flow, and the unconscious mind works uncensored. Possible prompts may include creating ekphrastic poetry, poetry based on describing an image or visual media into words, writing based on non-lyrical music, and rewriting the poems of others into your own.