On narratives that entrap and enchant us, and then stick with us for a while.

Introduction

The wizardry world of words introduced itself to me nine years ago, when I signed up for my first Creative Writing course. Ever since, I’ve read about and practiced creative writing extensively. And, admittedly, I’ve attended more than a few such courses. During my academic endeavors, I kept leaning towards the philosophy of Creativity, the imagination, and literature. Needless to say that the three-act structure of a narrative is something I am very well acquainted with. You know — the setup, the confrontation, and the resolution. But let me tell you now about a different three-act structure.

With the extraordinary rise of the amount of fiction available nowadays, it’s easy to see how story lines, character arcs, and tones of voices — all look remarkably similar. While this may not inherently reduce the quality of fiction offered on the shelves of bookstores and online, we often value more works that actually stand out. Those that entrap and enchant us, and then stick with us for a while. Literary creativity is the doorway to delight and the key to those three stages of our experience with fiction. So, let’s take a closer look at each one!

Act One: Entrap

We are told not to judge a book by its covers. Then how should we, following this advice, choose our next fiction read? Perhaps we should be guided by professional reviews, friendly recommendations, or personal instinct. But while all those seem reasonable, they are somewhat lacking. I think that one of the reasons why we’d prefer to read one book over another is because it sparks our curiosity; because we are intrigued by the plot, or the style. I, for one, was curious to read Georges Perec’s novel La Disparition (translated as The Void), only after learning that the author wrote it without using the letter e. This is but one example of how the authors’ creativity can lure us to engage with their works.

Similarly, content writers and journalists focus on catchy headlines, accompanied by just as eye-catching images, to grab their audiences’ attention. So, whether it’s the title, subtitle, or the blurb, as a Writer one must know how to first entrap their readers, so they can get the chance to enchant them.

Act Two: Enchant

Suppose for one reason, or another, we start reading a certain book. If within the first few (dozen) pages, the author is unable to attain our attention, then our engagement with the work will be brief and of no value.

Authors need to come up with the most intriguing and appropriate way to tell a story, as they find the fine balance between eschewing clever summations and astute analyses, while providing crisply phrased and clear sentences with sufficient information for the reader to actively engage with the work.

In act two, writers are on the mission to enchant us into turning page after page, wondering what happens next. But rather than a magic wand, their tool for enchantment is their personal style — a blend of manner and matter. You can read more on personal style here.

Perhaps the first thing one needs to do is choose the point of view (POV) of the narrator. Whose voice is telling the story? To whom are they telling it, and why? Is the narrator reliable, or not? The very same story told from a different perspective can turn out drastically different. By exploring the risks and rewards of different POV strategies, authors use their creativity and imagination to consider who in their story is best suited to hold the narrative reins. And once that’s settled, the story-telling begins.

But we need to bear in mind that creative writing goes beyond story-telling. Literary fiction enables us to create our own stories as readers, by providing room for interpretation. For example, if works are too explicit in their claims, they lose some of their artistic value and become didactic. Part of the allure of great fiction is that it lacks the explicit non-fiction forms of persuasion, and allows room for the readers to use their imagination. Often, authors will provide all the necessary clues for a certain conclusion, and then invite the reader to embark on their own journey to insight.

Another technique which authors can employ to trigger such an imaginative effect is that of the metaphor. A common figurative device, it allows writers to make connections which appeal to their readers’ wider experiences and help them see things, hopefully, in a fresh and original way. I say hopefully because metaphors can become forced and cliched, too. But when writers are successful, they display creativity, since a good metaphor “shows flair and originality, and exhibits the value of aptness.”¹

Not all writers can be like good old Shakespeare, who other than being a timeless playwright, was also a prolific inventor of words — about 1700 of our common words today, originate from his works. And there is no need to be, as long as we weave words together in a meaningful, valuable, and enchanting way.

Act Three: Seeds of the Afterlife

In act three, authors use their creativity to sow the seeds for the afterlife of their work — the time readers spend contemplating aspects of the narrative, after they’ve turned the last page of a book. Though, it could also be the time they spend thinking about the story when they’re not reading it. One might say that the afterlife is the most fertile soil for cognitive gain from fiction, as well.

If authors are successful in grabbing and attaining our attention, their creative way of dealing with certain matters within the plot, may expand our curiosity beyond the confinements of their book’s covers.

The difference between the stories we read and forget about, and those that never quite leave us is, I reckon, in their emotional imprint. An excellent and creative storyteller knows how to elicit in the reader the marriage of thinking about particular things, while reading particular paragraphs, and feeling certain emotions in the meantime. And it’s precisely the stylistic creativity of the author that allows the narrator to bend language in ways that assure such a pensive and emotional engagement. If one is very affected by something, she is much more likely to think about it again, and again, and perhaps discuss it with others.

Why do we prefer to dress as certain characters for Halloween, and not others? Perhaps, because their style is to our liking, or because we’d like to be a bit more like them. They have touched us in a way. All this is a byproduct of excellent creative writing. Similarly, we use The Great Gatsby as a party theme because Fitzgerad had done an excellent job in telling us about it. Think, for example, of the afterlife of the Harry Potter books. It’s so much more than movies, games, and toys.

Yet another, somewhat different example of an afterlife of a book is the case of the thriller novels Satori and Shibumi. Written by Trevanian in 1979, Shibumi’s character Nicholaï Hel had such a strong emotional imprint on another author — Don Winslow, that in 2011 he published Satori — a novel based on Shibumi that explores Nicholaï Hel’s early adulthood.

Conclusion

Creative writing is inevitably engaged with setups, confrontations, and resolutions. But the creativity of writers can transpire through a different kind of three-act structure. In the first act, the author’s creativity helps grab the reader’s attention. In the second, it attains it. And finally — in the third, it paves the way for the afterlife of the work.

References:

¹ Gaut, Berys. “Creativity and imagination.” The Creation of Art, edited by Berys Gaut and Paisley Levingston, Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 164

Writer’s Creativity in Three Acts was originally published in The Writing Cooperative on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.