creative writing reddit

TRY OUR FREE APP

Write your book in Reedsy Studio. Try the beloved writing app for free today.

Craft your masterpiece in Reedsy Studio

Plan, write, edit, and format your book in our free app made for authors.

Guides • Perfecting your Craft

Last updated on Dec 23, 2022

Creative Writing: 8 Fun Ways to Get Started

Creative writing is a written art form that uses the imagination to tell stories and compose essays, poetry, screenplays, novels, lyrics, and more. It can be defined in opposition to the dry and factual types of writing found in academic, technical, or journalistic texts.

Characterized by its ability to evoke emotion and engage readers, creative writing can tackle themes and ideas that one might struggle to discuss in cold, factual terms.

If you’re interested in the world of creative writing, we have eight fantastic exercises and activities to get you started.

1. Use writing prompts every week

Coming up with ideas for short stories can be challenging, which is why we created a directory of 1700+ creative writing prompts covering a wide range of genres and topics. Writing prompts are flexible in nature, they are meant to inspire you without being too constrictive. Overall, they are a great way to keep your creative muscles limber.

If you’re struggling for motivation, how does a hard deadline and a little prize money sound? Prompts-based writing contests are a fantastic way to dive into creative writing: the combination of due dates, friendly rivalries, prize money, and the potential to have your work published is often just what’s needed to propel you over the finish line. 

We run a weekly writing contest over on Reedsy Prompts, where hundreds of writers from all around the world challenge themselves weekly to write a short story between 1,000 and 3,000 words for a chance to win the $250 prize. Furthermore, the community is very active in providing constructive feedback, support, and accountability to each other 一 something that will make your efforts even more worthwhile.

Take a peek at our directory of writing contests which features some of the most prestigious open writing competitions in the world. 

2. Start journaling your days

Another easy way to get started with creative writing is to keep a journal. We’re not talking about an hour-by-hour account of your day, but journaling as a way to express yourself without filters and find your ‘voice in writing’. If you’re unsure what to journal about, think of any daily experiences that have had an impact on you, such as… 

Special moments . Did you lock yourself out of your house? Or did you catch a beautiful sunset on your way back from groceries? Capture those moments, and how you felt about them.

People . Did you have an unusual exchange with a stranger at the bar? Or did you reconnect with someone you haven’t seen in years? Share your thoughts about it.

World events . Is there something happening in the world right now that is triggering you? That’s understandable. You can reflect on it (and let some steam off) while journaling.

Memories . Did you go down memory lane after a glass of wine? Great, honor those memories by trying to recollect them in detail on paper so that they will always stay vivid in your mind.

Life decisions . Are you having an existential crisis about what to do with your life? Write down your thought process, and the pros and cons of the possible decisions in front of you. You’ll be surprised to discover that, not only is it a great creative writing exercise, but it can also actually help you sort your life out! 

If you struggle to write consistently, sign up for our How to Write a Novel course to finish a novel in just 3 months.  

NEW REEDSY COURSE

How to Write a Novel

Enroll in our course and become an author in three months.

3. Create an anonymous social media account

Like anonymous blogging, an incognito Twitter account sidesteps the pressure that comes with attaching your name to your work. Anonymously putting tiny stories out into the ether gives you the freedom to create without worrying about the consequences — which is great, so long as you don’t use it as an opportunity to troll people or spread conspiracy theories. 

You could use the anonymous account in different ways. For example, you could…

• Tweet from unique points of view (e.g. a dog observing human behavior );
• Create a parody account of real or fictional people (e.g. an English poet from the Middle Ages );
• Challenge yourself to write tiny flash fiction stories that fit into Twitter threads.

Just remember, you’re not doing this to fool anyone into thinking that your account is real: be a good citizen and mark yourself a fiction account in your bio. 

But if you’re not really a social media kinda person, you may enjoy our next tip, which is a bit more on the analog side.

GET ACCOUNTABILITY

Meet writing coaches on Reedsy

Industry insiders can help you hone your craft, finish your draft, and get published.

4. Find an old photo and tell its story

Find a random old photo — maybe on the web, maybe from a photo album in a yard sale — and see what catches your attention. Look closely at it and try to imagine the story behind it. What was happening? Who are the people in it and how are they really feeling? Do they share a relationship, and of what kind? What are their goals and dreams?

In other words, bring the photo to life with your imagination. Don't be afraid to take artistic license with your story, as the goal is to be creative and have fun while writing. 

How do you know it’s creative writing?

5. Create a character from a random name

Just as our universe started from a few simple elements, you can create a character from a few basic information, like their name, culture, and gender. Reedsy’s handy character name generator can help you with that, offering random names based on archetypes, Medieval roots, fantasy traits and more. A few examples? A Celtic heroine named Fíona O'Keefe, a hero’s sidekick named Aderine, or a Korean track star named Park Kang-Dae.

Once you've chosen their name, begin to develop their personality. Set a timer for 5–10 minutes and write anything that comes to mind about them. It could be a page from their FBI dossier, a childhood diary entry, or simply a scene about them boiling an egg.

Just ‘go with the flow’ and don’t stop writing until your time is up. Repeat the process a few times to further hone the personality. If you like what you end up with, you can always go deeper later with our character profile template . 

If a stream-of-consciousness exercise is not your thing, you can try to imagine your character in a specific situation and write down how’d they respond to it. For example, what if they were betrayed by a friend? Or if they were elected in power? To help you imagine situations to put your character in, we made a free template that you can download below. 

FREE RESOURCE

Reedsy’s Character Questionnaire

40 questions to help you develop memorable characters.

6. Construct a character by people-watching

People watching is “the action of spending time idly observing people in a public place.” In a non-creepy way, ideally. Sit on a bench on a public square or on a road-side table at your favorite café, and start observing the people around you. Pay attention to any interesting quirks or behaviors, and write it down. Then put on your detective’s hat and try to figure out what that tells you about them.

For example, the man at the table next to you at the restaurant is reading the newspaper. His jacket and hat are neatly arranged next to him. The pages make a whipping sound as he briskly turns them, and he grimaces every time he reads a new article. Try to imagine what he’s reading, and why he’s reacting the way he is. Then, try to build a character with the information you have. It’s a fun creative exercise that will also, hopefully, help you better empathize with strangers. 

7. “Map” something you feel strongly about into a new context

Placing your feelings into new contexts can be a powerful creative writing exercise. The idea is to start from something you feel strongly about, and frame it into a completely different context. 

For example, suppose your heart is torn apart after you divorce your life-long partner: instead of journaling or writing a novel about it, you could tell a story about a legendary trapeze duo whose partnership has come to an end. If you’re struggling with politicking and petty power dynamics at the office: what if you “mapped” your feelings onto an ant who resents being part of a colony? Directing your frustration at a queen ant can be a fun and cathartic writing experience (that won’t get you in trouble if your co-workers end up reading your story).   

8. Capture the moment with a haiku

Haikus are poems from the Japanese tradition that aim to capture, in a few words, daily moments of insight (usually inspired by nature). In a nutshell, it’s about becoming mindful of your surroundings, and notice if you can see something in a new or deeper way 一 then use contrasting imagery to express whatever you noticed. 

Here’s an example:

Bright orange bicycle

Speeding through the autumn leaves

A burst of color waves

It may sound a bit complicated, but it shouldn’t be 一 at least not for the purpose of this exercise. Learn the basics of haiku-writing , then challenge yourself to write one per day for a week or month. At the end, you’ll be able to look back at your collection of poems and 一 in the worst case scenario 一 revisit small but significant moments that you would have otherwise forgot about.   

Creative writing can be any writing you put your heart and soul into. It could be made for the purpose of expressing your feelings, exploring an idea, or simply entertaining your readers. As you can see there’s many paths to get involved with it, and hundreds of exercises you can use as a starting point. In the next post, we’ll look more in detail at some creative writing examples from some fellow authors. 

Join a community of over 1 million authors

Reedsy is more than just a blog. Become a member today to discover how we can help you publish a beautiful book.

Try our novel writing master class — 100% free

Sign up for a free video lesson and learn how to make readers care about your main character.

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Enter your email or get started with a social account:

Creative Sparks: 30 Reddit Writing Prompts to Ignite Your Imagination

• Oct. 13, 2023
• David Formt

In a realm where the ink never dries, writers often find themselves at a crossroads, facing the dreaded writer's block or a lack of inspiration. Reddit , a platform known for its diverse and engaging communities, emerges as a haven for writers seeking a spark to ignite their creative engines.

Through its countless threads, aspiring and seasoned writers alike can stumble upon a myriad of writing prompts, capable of spawning a whirlwind of creativity. Among these threads, Reddit Writing Prompts stand as a beacon for those in pursuit of unique ideas and a fresh perspective.

This article endeavors to present 30 intriguing Reddit writing prompts, each with the potential to propel your narrative into uncharted territories. The aim is to furnish the reader with a reservoir of inspiration, to keep the quill dancing on paper even when the muses seem to have deserted.

Unveiling the magic encased in each prompt could be the key to transcending conventional narrative boundaries, opening doors to novel storytelling landscapes.

Discover the Power of Reddit Writing Prompts

Reddit writing prompts are not merely sentences; they are gateways to unexplored universes, waiting to be traversed by the daring scribe. They can serve as a robust tool for overcoming hurdles in the creative process, offering a fresh narrative perspective or a new storyline to delve into. Explore the boundless opportunities Reddit offers to writers .

30 Reddit Writing Prompts to Ignite Your Imagination

• The Mirror of Erised : Delve into a narrative where characters encounter a mirror that reflects not their physical selves, but their deepest desires or fears.
• The Last Library : In a world where all the libraries are shutting down, one remains as the last bastion of printed literature.
• Time-Traveler's Dilemma : Venture into the paradoxes and dilemmas a time-traveler faces when meddling with the past.
• The Silent City : Uncover the mysteries of a city where no one speaks, and communication takes on a new form.
• Parallel Lives : Explore the lives of individuals living in parallel universes, unaware of each other's existence.
• Nature's Revolt : Narrate the epoch when nature decides to reclaim its dominion, reacting to centuries of human exploitation.
• The Dream Catcher : Craft a tale about a device that can capture and replay dreams, unveiling the mind's enigmatic realms.
• The Forgotten Hero : Unearth the life of a hero forgotten by history, their struggles, and unrecognized valor.
• A Virtual Existence : In an era of advanced virtual reality, individuals can live out their wildest fantasies, but at what cost?
• The Cosmic Dance : Venture into a narrative where the cosmos is a dance floor, and celestial entities partake in a cosmic ballet.
• The Mind's Labyrinth : Delve into the psyche of a protagonist navigating the intricate labyrinth of their mind to unlock buried memories.
• Lost in Time : Explore the perplexities of a character lost in time, unsure of their past and fearful of the unknown future.
• Whispers of the Ancient : Uncover the whispers of ancient beings guiding the protagonist through a world teetering on the brink.
• The Final Frontier : Venture into the uncharted expanses of space, where humans endeavor to find a new home among the stars.
• Life's Symphony : Craft a narrative where every life event contributes to a unique symphony, audible only to those who listen closely.
• The Unseen World : Delve into a realm invisible to the naked eye, uncovering the lives of mystical beings living among us.
• The Eternal Night : Explore a world plunged into eternal night, and the societal transformations that ensue.
• The Human Exhibit : In a faraway galaxy, humans are a rare exhibit in an alien zoo, narrate their attempt to break free.
• The Ethereal Connection : Discover a world where emotional bonds materialize as visible ethereal threads, binding hearts together.
• The Lost Civilization : Uncover the secrets of a lost civilization, their knowledge, and the reasons behind their downfall.
• The Great Beyond : Explore the mysteries of the afterlife through the eyes of a protagonist transitioning into the unknown.
• The Hidden Oasis : In a dystopian future, an oasis hidden from the world holds the key to humanity’s survival.
• The Phantom Island : Narrate a voyage to a phantom island that appears on no map, yet holds ancient secrets.
• The Mind Heist : Delve into a narrative where mind thieves can steal memories, altering reality and personal identities.
• The Last Whisper : In a realm where words hold power, the last whisper of a dying sage unleashes unforeseen consequences.
• The Imaginarium : Venture into an imaginarium where every thought takes a physical form, revealing the boundless realms of imagination.
• The Enchanted Forest : Explore an enchanted forest where trees whisper secrets of the old world to those who listen.
• The Forgotten Realm : Craft a tale revolving around a realm that exists alongside the modern world, yet is forgotten by the sands of time.
• 2Slash - Your Writing Companion : While exploring a prompt about modern-day wizards, introduce 2Slash , a Chrome extension transforming mundane writing tasks into a breeze, aiding wizards in seamlessly penning down enchanting tales.
• Virtual Reality : Spin a yarn about a world where virtual reality has become intertwined with daily life, blurring the lines between the real and the virtual.

Harness the Magic of Storytelling

These prompts are but a sliver of the endless possibilities that lie within the realm of creative writing. Each idea holds the potential to spawn a unique narrative, filled with characters and worlds bound only by the limits of imagination.

Moreover, the act of engaging with these prompts not only hones one's writing skills but also fosters a community of like-minded individuals, passionate about storytelling. Delve deeper into the art of storytelling and its impact on human cognition .

The journey of a writer is one filled with endless learning and exploration. Reddit writing prompts serve as a catalyst, fueling the creative engines and offering a platform for writers to share and evolve their narrative artistry. This not only contributes to personal growth but also to the flourishing of a vibrant, global community of storytellers.

With tools like 2Slash, even the daunting tasks of writing become less tedious, allowing for a smoother creative process. The narratives awaiting to be penned are infinite, and the keys to unlocking them lie within the realms of imagination, waiting to be discovered by the curious and the daring. Join the global community of storytellers and embark on a journey of endless exploration and learning .

Other posts that might interest you

Exploring the Best ChatGPT Alternatives for 2024

Discover the top 8 ChatGPT alternatives for 2024 and stay ahead in the world of conversational AI. Explore their unique features and capabilities.

Dave Hembit

• Dec. 28, 2023

Top Productivity Hacks for 2024

Discover innovative productivity hacks for 2024! Uncover AI, time-management techniques, and wellness tips to boost efficiency and balance life.

• Dec. 23, 2023

AI Trends and Statistics for 2024

Explore the transformative AI trends and statistics for 2024, covering generative AI, ethical use, job impacts, and legislation in a comprehensive three-part series.

• Dec. 1, 2023

• New threadmarks

Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.

Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.

• The tagging system on SpaceBattles has been overhauled to make it more useful for organizing and filtering content. A new age of tags is upon us!
• If you are interested in interactive stories, check out our Quests section! With Quests, readers get to make choices that affect what happens next after every chapter.
• New Awards types are available now! Introducing the Golden Dice and Escalation Awards.
• Eiyuden Chronicles, spiritual successor to the legendary Suikoden JRPG series, features a special shout out to SpaceBattles ! The game is out now on PC and consoles.
• Creative Works

Creative Writing

• Original Fiction

• 2 minutes ago

Story Ideas & Recommendations

• 1 minute ago
• Creative Writing Archives

• Yesterday at 5:33 PM

• A moment ago
• Forum: Original Fiction
• Forum: Worm

• Summertime Madness
• Jan 22, 2024
• Words: 7.2k

• Aug 27, 2005
• Words: 550k

• Oct 23, 2023

• Sep 11, 2016
• Words: 3.7k

• Aug 27, 2022
• Words: 450k

• Charles Garrett Abbott
• Feb 11, 2024
• Words: 120k

• Feb 19, 2024

• Sep 16, 2023
• Words: 160k

• Sep 19, 2023

• Fabius Maximus
• Mar 27, 2023
• Words: 140k

• Jun 30, 2023
• Words: 170k

• ConfusedCultist
• Feb 26, 2024

• Harry Leferts
• May 1, 2022
• Words: 7.8k

• christian.bradley
• Apr 5, 2024

• Apr 13, 2024

• ArtemisAvant_

• Dec 9, 2022
• Words: 400k

• Jun 10, 2022

• Nov 10, 2020
• Words: 320k

• Requiem_Jeer
• Dec 29, 2021
• Words: 110k

• Underdog Emiya
• Jan 20, 2024

• zackman2k23
• Thursday at 5:52 AM
• Words: 9.4k

• StargazingSeraph
• Apr 7, 2023
• Words: 150k

• Mar 30, 2024

• Thursday at 11:43 AM
• Words: 8.7k

• Oct 13, 2022
• Words: 670k
• Feb 25, 2024

• Apr 8, 2024

• Sunday at 11:39 PM
• Words: 3.9k

• Mar 5, 2024

• OstensibleMammalian
• Oct 23, 2022
• Words: 1.1m

• Aug 25, 2018
• Words: 410k

• 48 minutes ago
• Words: 3.1k
• The_Technomancer
• Thursday at 2:43 AM
• Without synonyms
• As some of you may have already noticed, today is the closest thing to what may be called SB's 25th birthday. Check out this thread for details and updates on the history of SB, 25-year anniversary contests, a special 25 year subforum, and more!

Our Top 50 Reddit Writing Prompts.

Writing can be quite a difficult endeavor on it's own, and the process becomes impossible without inspiration. For most people who have trouble sticking to a daily writing goal, it’s not a lack of self-discipline, but instead a lack of inspiration. 

Thankfully, authors and readers from all over the world have united in one place to share their creative and fun prompt ideas - Reddit. This Reddit forum, r/WritingPrompts , has amazingly grown to almost 16 million members. 

The subreddit has become a place for members to sporadically post prompt ideas, encouraging other members to comment their own spin-off stories from the prompt. It’s not uncommon to see some users receive a flood of positive feedback on their response that they proceed to write multiple follow up responses to the same prompt.

Amazingly, there have even been some users who report back years later that their prompt response inspired them to write an entire novel !

It’s no secret that r/WritingPrompts has become a gold mine for writing inspiration. So, we thought it could be useful to to compile the all-time top 50 writing prompts from the subreddit.

On days where you’re stuck and unable to think of anything to write about, check out these prompts below and give one a shot! 

The year is 1910. Adolf Hitler, a struggling artist, has fought off dozens of assassination attempts by well meaning time travelers, but this one is different. This traveller doesn't want to kill Hitler, he wants to teach him to paint. He pulls off his hood to reveal the frizzy afro of Bob Ross.

The year is 2038 and net neutrality has been dead for almost two decades. But a rebellious group managed to travel back to 2017…

“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do Mr Bond. I’m going to stick you in a spacesuit with a radio, and strap you into one of my cars. Then, while mankind watches, I’ll launch you into space. The last thing you’ll hear before leaving this earth forever, will be their applause.”

You lost your sight - along with everyone else on Earth - in The Great Blinding. Two years later, without warning, your sight returns. As you look around, you realize that every available wall, floor and surface has been painted with the same message - Don't Tell Them You Can See.

When you die, you appear in a cinema with a number of other people who look like you. You find out that they are your previous reincarnations, and soon you all begin watching your next life on the big screen.

You hire a female prostitute, tell her to meet you at a fancy restaurant, and ask her to pretend to be your colleague from the bank. Hire a male prostitute, and tell him the same thing. You sit at a table next to theirs and listen to their conversation.

It's 3 AM. An official phone alert wakes you up. It says "DO NOT LOOK AT THE MOON". You have hundreds of notifications. Hundreds of random numbers are sending "It's a beautiful night tonight. Look outside."

Every country has ninjas but the world only knows about Japan's because theirs suck.

Humans once wielded formidable magical power but with over 7 billion of us on the planet now Mana has spread far too thinly to have any effect. When hostile aliens reduce humanity to a mere fraction the survivors discover an old power has begun to reawaken once again.

A woman has been dating guy after guy, but it never seems to work out. She’s unaware that she’s actually been dating the same guy over and over; a shapeshifter who’s fallen for her, and is certain he’s going to get it right this time.

The human lifespan is actually only one day long. To adapt, when we go to sleep each night, our mind sends us one dream deeper, where we wake up alive. When we finally die, the experience of our life flashing before our eyes is really just us waking up in each dream, one at a time.

Whenever you speak, people hear you speaking in their native language. Most people are surprised and delighted. The cashier at McDonalds you've just talked to is horrified. "Nobody's spoken that language in thousands of years."

You're Barack Obama. 4 months into your retirement, you awake to find a letter with no return address on your bedside table. It reads "I hope you've had a chance to relax Barack...but pack your bags and call the number below. It's time to start the real job." Signed simply, "JFK."

The hottest show in the afterlife for the past decade: Steve Irwin wrangling all sorts of supernatural creatures.

Your ability to see people's age in years as an invisible number above their heads has made you the perfect bouncer. One day you see a four digit number.

Following World War III, all the nations of the world agreed to 50 years of strict isolation from one another in order to prevent additional conflicts. 50 years later, the United States comes out of exile, only to learn that no one else went into isolation.

Due to your nerdy great great great great grandfather in 2017 'buying a star' and some modern legal shenanigans you are now the proud owner of a small intergalactic empire

Your entire life, you've been told you're deathly allergic to bees. You've always had people protecting you from them, be it your mother or a hired hand. Today, one slips through and lands on your shoulder. You hear a tiny voice say "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

An alien has kidnapped Matt Damon, not knowing what lengths humanity goes through to retrieve him whenever he goes missing.

All of the "#1 Dad" mugs in the world change to show the actual ranking of Dads suddenly.

A super hero fights evil by wiping memories of both the villain and everyone who knew of them so that they can be reintroduced into society safely. Today, as you were combing through old newspapers, you discovered that you were once the world's most powerful supervillain.

When you’re 28, science discovers a drug that stops all effects of aging, creating immortality. Your government decides to give the drug to all citizens under 26, but you and the rest of the “Lost Generations” are deemed too high-risk. When you’re 85, the side effects are finally discovered.

Earth is doomed in a matter of years, but you are bestowed with a mystical dagger that causes anyone killed by it to instantly resurrect on an alternate Earth that does not share the same fate. In one world you are revered as a hero, in the other the most notorious serial killer of all time.

Vampires cannot enter a house uninvited. Turns out, they invented Welcome mats to bypass this rule decades ago.

As Pride Month nears its end, the other six members of the Seven Deadly Sins begin to wonder when they'll get months dedicated to them. Pride, meanwhile, is just trying to get them to understand that he's not actually the focus of Pride Month.

You go to hell, only to find out that hell has been overturned by humans. Turns out gathering billions of the most wicked of humans, among them are several ruthless but brilliant rulers, commanders, and dictators, who can no longer die, isn't such a good idea after all.

You never kill the spiders in your home, you just whisper "today you, tomorrow me" when you set them outside. Now, in your most dire moment, an army of spiders arrives to have your back.

"Jesus take the wheel, Satan get behind me, Buddha... man the .50 cal"

One day, time just suddenly stops for a short moment for you. At first, you tried to mess around, but after the 246th time it happened, you start to realise that your power is not stopping time, but being able to move in time frozen by another person in the world.

You're a biologist who made a deal with the devil: eternity in hell after death in return for unlimited funding for your research. The funding was worth it, you discovered immortality, and the devil is not happy about this.

Your daughter has been begging you for a pony, and you told her to write a letter to Santa. On Christmas morning, you find a fire-breathing horse in your front yard, and a package by your front door. Looks like she wrote a letter to Satan, and he delivered.

Pennywise wakes up after his 27 year sleep to find that four giant turtles and a rat have taken over the sewers.

You won a lifetime supply of Oreos when you were a kid. The apocalypse and collapse of civilization was 30 years ago, yet every month the Oreos are still delivered to you, no matter where you are.

You have $86,400 in your bank and someone steals $10. You spend all the rest of your money trying to get revenge.

At the age of twelve you started randomly seeing a green line and a red line appear on the ground. You always followed the green line and have lived a successful and happy life. Ten years later you are on top of the world, but bored. Time to see where the red line leads.

We finally get men on Mars and they discover an old Soviet flag placed down decades ago. The Soviets won the space race but for whatever horrifying reason didn't say anything.

Bored with Heaven's docile wildlife, Steve Irwin rounds up a camera crew and leads an expedition to observe and study the native species of Hell.

In order to get a shot at going to Valhalla, you must die with a weapon in your hands. You just died and are now sitting in front of Odin's advisory board as they discuss whether a spatula actually counts.

After you die, you're handed a book about your life. You open it, expecting a novel. Instead you get a "Choose your own adventure" book with all of the decisions you ever made, and every outcome they could have had.

From birth, your parents have done everything they could to stop you from going out during a full moon. At the age of 16, curiosity overwhelms you and you sneak out of the house during a full moon. You take a peek at the moon, and suddenly you turn into a log cabin. You are a warehouse.

You discover a library with a biography for everyone on Earth. While reading your own, you notice that whenever someone else is mentioned, there's a footnote showing where you can find their biography. It's odd how someone who was only a sentence in your book has a whole chapter for you.

Humans are the first sentients, putting us millenia ahead of aliens. Instead of acting like an "elder" species should, we create mysterious artifacts with no actual use, crop circles and send spooky messages, like "be quiet, you are in danger" to the aliens, because we are still childish morons.

At age 15 you told the gf you were "in love" with that you'd always be there when she was in need. Aphrodite heard you and made it a reality, whenever your gf was in need you appeared at her side. Problem is, you and the girl broke up after 3 weeks but you still appear even now..10 years later

A purge comedy where two pals accidently kill someone a week before the purge and tries to fake the person's life until the night of the purge when the murder would be legal.

You are Death, but in a post-apocalyptic world. Only a few survivors remain, and you're doing everything you can to help them because if the last human dies, you die as well. The survivors can't see you, but they feel your presence and notice your effort. They started to call you Life.

When you die, you wake up in an alien world holding a bong, with other aliens saying how was the trip.

Jesus actually had 14 disciples but their behavior was deemed inappropriate by biblical scholars, so they were removed from the final versions of the Gospels. They are Brad and Chad, the Bro-ciples, and these are their stories.

The lone survivor of an Arctic exploration, you were captured generations ago by a band of tiny warriors. They’ve placed you under an enchantment to do their bidding; heading out into the world once each year as their unwilling emissary. They call you “slave,” or in their tongue, “Santa.”

You are a cat who has been taking an advantage of the recent rise of video conference trials to elevate your legal career. One day your human video filter stops working and you need to convince the judge that you are a real, human lawyer licensed to practice law in the state of Texas.

A schizophrenic man gets sick of the voice in his head and asks it to start paying rent if it wants to live there. The next morning he finds an envelope filled with cash on his desk.

Build your writing habit, start today.

Join thousands of writers today and write more.

BU Creative Writing

for writers at Boston University and beyond

• Contributors

The MFA in Creative Writing: For Those Who Need to Write

February 18, 2015 at 3:30 PM

This is a guest post by Michael Samuels (fiction 2015), who interviewed CW Program Director Karl Kirchwey for his take on the Creative Writing MFA.

Michael Samuels

For Karl Kirchwey, prize-winning poet, translator, and director of creative writing at BU, existential questions surround the school’s prestigious Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program. The top-ranked program, whose alumni include Jhumpa Lahiri, Ha Jin, Elizabeth Alexander, and Rafael Campo, is not for the faint of heart. “What are you in fact preparing your students to do?” he sometimes asks himself. “Well, you’re preparing them to starve, right? Especially if they’re poets!”

That’s a joke, mostly, although Kirchwey is humble with the promises of an MFA: there’s no guarantee that the degree will make you a great writer. “That’s a question of how you were born,” he says, “what’s happened to you that might make writing an urgent necessity for you, what might have happened to you that has unfit you for any other activity in life.”

“There are writers who manage to actually combine careers,” Kirchwey clarifies, citing the “physician poet” Rafael Campo as the prime example. Since few people make a living from writing fiction or poetry alone, most former students of the program become teachers in the US and abroad, local journalists and foreign correspondents, translators, editors, founders and coordinators of publications and literary organizations – careers enriched by a creative writing background, and with time carved out for their own fiction and poetry.

In any case, for those who believe they have the skill and devotion, “identifying your own gift and identifying your desire to focus on that gift is something which can be respected,” Kirchwey says, “and which can be built on.” The program offers “more time for your own work, more time for reading, more time for making connections with other writers, more time for learning how to teach,” he explains. The Global Fellowship, unique to the program, also provides more time to write, an adventure to write about, and sometimes the international connection that leads to a post-graduation job abroad.

Before traveling the world, Kirchwey says it’s also extremely valuable that students find their place in the cultural universe. “Just as scientific progress is completely impossible without an acceptance and an understanding of the work that has come before,” Kirchwey explains, “our progress as artists but also as human beings is completely impossible without an understanding of the literature, the art, the music that has come before.”

Writing, says Kirchwey, means joining that stream. “It is not to avoid responsibility, it is not to live as an irresponsible artist, but it is instead to take the highest kind of responsibility.”

Michael Samuels is a current Fiction MFA candidate, and writes for the Office of Communications at Boston University College of Arts & Sciences.

Thank you, Michael!  

If you are a BU MFA student or alumnus and wish to write a post for this blog, please contact Catherine Con at [email protected].

Post a Comment

Your email address is never shared. Required fields are marked *

• Search for:

Recent Comments

• Tulsi patra on Ryan Wilson’s recent publications and awards
• Coloring Pages on Omer Friedlander receives VSC fellowship
• Martika on Omer Friedlander receives VSC fellowship
• Gaz Hall on Lisa Hiton’s Book Reviewed by Meg Fernandes
• Poshak on Ryan Wilson’s recent publications and awards

Alumni Pages

• Daphne Kalotay
• Eleanor Goodman
• Epistolary Blog
• Eric Grunwald
• Micah Nathan
• Piano & Scene
• Rachel DeWoskin
• Rebecca Kaiser Gibson
• Roman Sturgis
• Apply to the Program
• BU Creative Writing on Facebook
• Creative Writing Program
• Favorite Poem Project
• flatmanCrooked
• Global Fellows
• WordPress.com
• WordPress.org

Faculty Pages

• Robert Pinsky
• Sigrid Nunez
• November 2022
• October 2022
• August 2022
• February 2022
• January 2022
• November 2021
• October 2021
• August 2021
• February 2021
• January 2021
• December 2020
• October 2020
• September 2020
• August 2020
• December 2019
• November 2019
• September 2019
• February 2019
• January 2019
• December 2018
• November 2018
• October 2018
• August 2018
• February 2018
• January 2018
• December 2017
• November 2017
• October 2017
• August 2017
• February 2017
• January 2017
• December 2016
• October 2016
• September 2016
• August 2016
• February 2016
• January 2016
• December 2015
• November 2015
• October 2015
• September 2015
• August 2015
• February 2015
• January 2015
• December 2014
• November 2014
• October 2014
• September 2014
• August 2014
• February 2014
• January 2014
• December 2013
• November 2013
• October 2013
• September 2013
• August 2013
• February 2013
• January 2013
• December 2012
• November 2012
• October 2012
• September 2012
• August 2012
• February 2012
• January 2012
• December 2011
• November 2011
• October 2011
• September 2011
• February 2011
• January 2011
• November 2010
• October 2010
• September 2010
• August 2010
• February 2010
• December 2009
• November 2009
• August 2009