How do we measure creativity? Okay, so that was random wasnt it? Well, this is the thing that i've been pondering since day one of my enrolment to Macq Uni's ENGL201: Intro to Creative Writing class. We have weekly seminars in which, from what it says in the unit outline, i figured it's gonna be fun coz we'll be doing writing workshops every week (workshops are practically sessions where you have people reading out their writing for the week and other people give their feedbacks on them). But after a couple of workshop sessions, i've come up with this question; how do you measure creativity?
There was this Australian girl in my classroom who came up with this writing about her 'other' self. People liked it. I thought it was boring. I mean seriously; "who is that in my room?", "why is she crying?", "how come she looks so familiar?". Well, friggin OBVIOUSLY, she's you in mirror. I figured that out on the first 10 seconds of her reading (though, of course, i didnt say anything). Everyone else claimed that, after she finished reading, that it was the best writing ever. One guy, not sure whether he was trying to hit on the girl or what, straight ahead claimed that he had no idea that the writer was talking about her own reflection. Wait, i figured that out before the first paragraph even manage to come to an end. So, we're having conflicting opinions here. Everyone, including the lecturer thought it was creative. I thought it was predictable. I dont want to call a writing in which i can predict what will be going on after reading the first line as being uncreative so i just kept my opinion to my own self and, like others, claimed that it was a good writing. It was a good writing after all. Just slightly too predictable for me. But, yeah, let's skip ahead to a couple weeks of workshops.
There was this another girl who shared a really emotional poem. And then there was this another short poem about self-discovery which was never found. And then they were a few more others of almost the same kind of mood. Everybody loves them though i am starting to fast lose my interest in listening to their works. I dont know why but people tend to associate creative writing as some kind of sad self-loathing pieces of writing work. Poems have to be sad and emotional and one liners. Essays have to be about not being able to uncover your inner self. Writings are about being self-loathing and talking about things that you cannot get or be. Seriously, what the hell? Finally, there was this one lady who is not of Australian origin who wrote a poem about her family in rhymes. The fact that her English wasnt that good didnt stop me from thinking that her poem is nice. Something happy and positive for a change. I mean, it's about her family; her husband and son and herself - what is there not to like? I find that she enjoyed doing it. I thought she really put herself in the poem. Well, everybody hates it. The lecturer said the rhymes were out of place and some lines were unnecessary. Everybody else hardly commented anything on it. During the feedback session, everyone just pretend they're not in the class. Seriously.
Then, during this another workshop, another friend of mine wrote a short story on gender stereotypes in an Indian family. I thought it was brilliant. Others didnt comment on it. The lecturer said that the whole introduction paragraph was unnecessary. She said; go straight to the point so that your readers dont lose interest. She said; there was too much details and the word choices overlaps one another (apparently, you cant say things "illuminous, bright lights" coz illuminious and bright means the same thing). I thought the first paragraph was as necessary as the whole writing itself. So I said; what the hell?! Since when does creative writing has to be constrained by what the readers want or do not want to read em? I thought writing creativelywas about expressing yourself, creating the mood, bringing your message across, writing like you mean it. But cut out a paragraph coz long, winded paragraph about the setting of the storyline will bore the readers out? Since when did i sign up for being a publisher in a teen manuscript publishing company?
Finally, the moment of truth finally came (Double "finally" there. Sorry :p). It was my turn to present something. I chose my best writing; a poem with rhymes in it and it talks about my philosophical idea of questioning people's mentality. To tell you the truth; it sounds abit hippie-ish, but still, i thought it was my best work. I loved it. But i guess those people are as predictable as some write up about yourself in the mirror. Coz they hated it. Their comment was hardly meaningful. The lecturer said i did a stupid move by writing in rhymes coz writing in rhymes are hard and you shouldnt do it. Yes, i know writing in rhymes are hard but i thought i sign up to this course coz i want to improve my writing. If my attempt to try something risky is replied with a comment " dont try risky things", then how am i to improve my writing? After some reflecting, i realized no one else tried writing in rhymes. Their poems are mainly one-liners which doesnt contain any rhyme - just sad tones. So those writing reflect a true attempt in writing creatively but mine doesnt? So those poems are creative and mine isnt? Is that it?
And about lines in creative writings being unnecessary or too beating-around-the-bushes-like, how do creative writings differ than formal writings then? I thought Stephen King wrote his novels with a hell lot of sentences just to describe one thing super-small but that is his style. Shakespeare wrote reference to the Phoebus and Errebhus and Arthemist in his writing and does that mean that guy is just beating around the bush? I heard people complaining about Watchmen and Fight Club to have a really slow pace in its storyline narration - shall we tell the author to speed things up abit so they dont lose their readers' interest? And i know i normally cite this source for all the negative reasons but personally, i thought Stephanie Mayer's Twilight is slow as hell and it was not realistic at all. But people liked it. People liked her style. As a reader, i can comment but i cant change the fact that Twilight is Twilight. No. That is just how those authors' style are! And if you dont want to call them of being creative, then call them boring in front of the thousands of fans who says that their writings are awesome. And if i am going to write my poem starting with the first line "I like candies" and the second line "I like to fuck", and the following lines is the word "quack.... quack.... quack...." then no one should be able to stop me. Coz there is hidden annotation in both of those lines and if you dont get it; then you're the one not being to think beyond the text, arent you? SInce when does creative writing has to be readers-oriented? I am writing my own piece of work here so if being creative means that my reader couldnt understand what i am writing about, so be it!
So here's my final say for the evaluation to my ENGL201 Unit. I hate it.
Play Feed the Head. People call the game shitty. I call that creative.
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