The Creative Writing as a Skill elective course, intends on nurturing and polishing the budding writers. This course provides a platform to hone their writing skills. With 14 young writers from various programs, on board, we started the journey for a full semester of 15 weeks session. Breaking every possible barriers and coming out of their comfort zone, these writers explored various literary genres and delved into a variety of styles. The best possible outcome which got highlighted on an individual level was catharsis- purgation. These writers are now able to express their views and emotions with clarity and also without any hesitation. They prefer being original, instead of following the trend of copy pasting.

As the name suggests, creative writing is a form of writing that goes beyond the traditional realms of normal, professional, academic or technical forms of writing. Instead, it encompasses a number of different genres and styles across a whole range of fields of both fictional and non-fiction writing; storytelling, playwriting, poetry, prose, journalistic, and more.

Session Implementation:

During the 15 weeks of their creative writing sessions the students have explored the following genres:

1. Fundamentals of Creative Writing: The students were given a brief on what creative writing is, ideating, and structuring. In this particular session they were briefed about non-fiction which includes Biography, Memoir and Autobiography, Travelogues, Diaries and Self-Narrative Writing.
2. Autobiography/Biography: A biography is a non-fiction work written about a person’s life using the third-person narration; whereas an autobiography is a biography narrated/ written about oneself. Our students were asked to select a part from the life of APJ Abdul Kalam, which they would find inspiring, and write a biography on the same.
3. Memoir Writing– “Memoir” comes from the French word for memory. It is a genre of literature wherein the author usually goes back to his childhood days and recounts the stories that he/she fondly remembers. Our writers too have written memoirs wherein they have gone back to their childhood days and have recollected memories that they fondly recollect.
4. Travelogues– A travelogue is a non-fiction work. It is a truthful account given by a traveler of their experiences on a journey. In order to record the account of travelling, the writers of MSU were taken to Rongichu Water Garden wherein they had to observe the surroundings and cherish all the beautiful minute details of the garden in their travelogues.
5. Poetry writing- Aristotle defines poetry as the mimetic, or imitative, use of language, rhythm, and harmony, separately or in combination. Poetry is mimetic in that it creates a representation of objects and events in the world, unlike philosophy, for example, which presents ideas. In simple words a poem is a piece of writing in which the words are chosen for their beauty and sound and are carefully arranged, often in short lines which rhyme. Before writing a poem, our writers were asked to read and analyze a few poems and get familiar with rhyme scheme, figures of speech and forms. After they got familiar with it, they were asked to write an original poem using the rhyme schemes and figures of speech.
6. Short story-  A short story is a piece of prose fiction that can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. Because of the shorter length, a short story usually focuses on one plot, one main character (with a few additional minor characters), and one central theme. Our writers were briefed about the key components on the short story, after which they were asked to come up with the jest or outline of a story. They then talked about their theme, characters, and the plot in front of the classroom to gain clarity on their short stories. Finally they wrote a rough draft and then the final draft of the short story.
7. Written Translation- Written translation is the method of turning the written word from one language to another language in a manner that is linguistically and culturally prominent so it can be understood by its target audience. The students have taken up a short story/poem written in their regional language and translated it in English.
8. Scribbling Oral Narratives– Oral narratives are a type of story that’s told orally, often using gestures and facial expressions to convey the story. In this particular session, our writers were asked to do a research and get hold of one oral narrative in their region which they narrated in the classroom and later on wrote it down.

Re-editing and Posting Online

As a part of their classroom activity, our writers were also asked to post all of their works online. They created an account in ‘Blogger’ and post all the works they have done. We believe that starting a blog comes with many benefits, especially as an author. It will not only help the writer to reach a wider audience and build a relationship with them, but it will also help them grow as a writer. Posting blogs has also helped our writers to boost their confidence and a motivation to create more literary works.

Here are a few blogs and their links to our writers blogs:

Read More blogs by Sheetal Prasad (BSc. Optometry)

Read More blogs by Deepansa Sunar (DMLT)

Read More blogs by Sushmita Chettri (BSc. Optometry)

ASSESSMENTS AND SKILL ChallengeWeekly Assessment:

As a part of their internals, the students were supposed to go through 15 assessments. In Creative Writing Skill Elective, the students had to go through the following assessments:

Skill Challenge:

A skills assessment is extremely helpful in pinpointing exactly the areas where someone needs to develop skills, making it easier to develop a relevant, personalized learning and development plan. Medhavi Skills University gives the students to track their growth through skill challenges, and also to give them a platform to showcase the skills that they have learned in a semester.

For Creative Writing Skill Challenge, the writers were asked to write poems and short stories with the help of prompts. The purposes of a prompt is to encourage the student’s interest in a topic and encourage them to write about it in a thoughtful and creative way. While an effective prompt introduces and limits the writing topic, it should also provide clear instructions about the writing task.

Outcome of the Creative Writing Skill Elective:

These are the outcomes that are prevalent in our writers after their successful completion of the course:

1. Understand the concept and process of Creative writing.
2. Development and nourishment of their creative writing Skills.
3. Write for various literary magazines and social media.
4. Make innovative use of their creative and critical faculties.
5. Critically appreciate various forms of literature.