Five Types of Writing For All Your Creative Needs

Let me begin today’s article with a question: how did you decide what to write?

I chose poetry because it was an easy way to challenge my creativity, tell stories, dump my emotions, and find comfort.

However, poetry is one of the many types of creative writing available, and I want to take a moment to check out the top five, explore what they are, and (hopefully) inspire you to try something new!

Poetry

If you like playing with form, rhyme, emotion, structure, and imagery, then poetry is probably for you!

With poetry, you can explore fiction and non-fiction themes and make it as long (epic poetry) or short (couplet or haiku) as you want. You can also play with classical forms (sonnet, ghazal, limerick), try your hand at freeform, or make your own!

Essays

If you enjoy recounting personal experiences, offering critiques, or sharing opinions, then an Essay may be your best bet.

Essays are generally non-fiction and can be a great launching pad for new writers to break into the blogging or non-fiction scene. However, remember to keep the Introduction, Body, and Conclusion format when writing your essay- especially if you hope to get it published!

Blogs

Unlike the formality of Essays, blogs are more casual and don’t have a strict format- although the I/B/C format is always a safe bet for non-fiction.

Since they are more casual, you can use blogs to share information, promote products, inspire your audience, and bring attention to issues.

They can also help you build writing experience, strengthen your grammar, and practice your style of choice.

Stories

Unlike their full-length cousins, stories offer a platform for writers who don’t have enough words for a 300-page book.

Generally, stories can be fiction or non-fiction and range between Novellas (10k minimum words) to Flash Fiction (1k words or less).

Novels

Finally, we have novels. Novels (50K-120K words) give the writer space to create elaborate worlds, complex plots, and dynamic characters.

They take time, energy, research, and focus, but the result could be worth it when you see your name on the New York Bestseller’s list!

These are the top five types of writing, though you could also include music, screenwriting, audio writing, and more.

Final Thoughts

Now that you know a few creative writing types, I ask again: how did you decide what to write? Was it the thrill of compiling an award-winning essay? Or does your name in lights appeal to you?

No matter what type you choose, the good news is that you don’t have to stick with one category for the rest of your life. I write poetry, flash fiction, and blogs- and I encourage you to try a new form today and create something new!