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Why Learn Creative Writing?

Sean Glatch  |  November 1, 2022  |  5 Comments

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Why learn creative writing? Truthfully, creative writing is one of the most misunderstood disciplines in the 21st century. When people think of a creative writing course, they often imagine a group of lofty, out-of-touch people who wear argyle sweater vests and have unproductive conversations about abstract concepts.

In reality, nothing could be further from the truth: the best writing classes remain engaged with the real world, and the skills gained in a creative writing course apply to nearly every facet of daily life.

If you’re wondering whether it’s worth picking up a course in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, we have five reasons to learn creative writing. But first, let’s talk about what actually happens in a creative writing course.

The Basics of a Writing Workshop

Whether you’re enrolled in a poetry, fiction, or nonfiction writing class, you can expect the following writing process – at least in a quality writing course like the ones at Writers.com.

  • Weekly prompts and writing exercises to sharpen the precision and necessity of each word you use.
  • Constructive critiques from a community of writers who are each growing their writing skills alongside you.
  • A creative space to explore new ideas, experiment with language, and arrange words in new and exciting ways.
  • Focused writing instruction from a master of the craft.

The benefits of creative writing come from engaging with the course material, the writing prompts, and the other class members. These elements help you become a better writer, both in creative realms and in everyday life. How? No matter what form of writing, a creative writing class pushes you to connect ideas and create effective narratives using the best words – and that skill translates into real world success.

The Benefits of Creative Writing

1. why learn creative writing: improved self-expression.

Improving your writing skills leads to stronger communication. When you practice finding the right word in a story or poem, you engage the same parts of your brain that are active in everyday writing and speaking. A creative writing course subconsciously turns you into a more effective communicator.

The importance of precise language and self-advocacy translates well into both interpersonal relationships and working environments. Take it from this expert on how writing and self-advocacy results in career and leadership success.

2. Why Learn Creative Writing: Job Success

This brings us to our next point: great writing leads to job success. Of course, your boss probably isn’t expecting you to write emails in the form of a short story or a sonnet – though if they are expecting this, you have a pretty cool boss.

In reality, almost every job requires some sort of written work, whether that’s simple written communication or something more elaborate, like publishing data or marketing materials. In a creative writing class, you practice the style and grammar rules necessary for effective writing, both within the realms of literature and in career-related writing. Sharpening your writing and creativity skills might just land you your next promotion.

3. Why Learn Creative Writing: Improved Thinking Skills

Strong writing leads to strong thinking. No matter what type of writing you pursue, learning how to write is another form of learning how to think.

That might seem like a bold claim, so think about it this way. Without language, our thoughts wouldn’t have form. We might not need language to think “I’m hungry” or “I like cats,” but when it comes to more abstract concepts, language is key. How would you think about things like justice, revenge, or equality without the words to express them?

When you hone in on your ability to find choice, specific words, and when you work on the skills of effective storytelling and rhetoric , you improve your ability to think in general. Good writing yields great thinking!

4. Why Learn Creative Writing: Empathy

Reading and writing both rely on empathy, especially when it comes to being an effective workshop participant. When we read and write stories, we situate ourselves in the shoes of other people; when we read and write poetry, we let language navigate us through emotion.

The importance of creative writing relies on empathy. We practice empathy whenever we listen to another person’s life story, when someone tells us about their day, and when we sit down with a client or work partner. When we write, we practice the ability to listen as well as to speak, making us more effective communicators and more compassionate human beings.

5. Why Learn Creative Writing: It’s Fun!

In case you’re not convinced that a writing course is right for you, let’s clarify one more fact: creative writing is fun. Whether you’re in a fiction writing course, starting a memoir, crafting a poem, or writing for the silver screen, you’re creating new worlds and characters. In the sandbox of literature, you’re in control, and when you invest yourself into the craft of writing, something beautiful emerges.

The Importance of Creative Writing

Simply put, creative writing helps us preserve our humanity. What better medium to explore the human experience?

To learn creative writing, like any art form, requires compassion, contemplation, and curiosity. Writers preserve the world as they observe it in stories and poetry, and they imagine a better world by creating it in their works.

Through the decades, literature has explored society’s profound changes. Literary eons like the Naturalist movement and the Beat poets responded to the increase in Western Industrialization. Confessional poets like Virginia Woolf helped transform poetry into a medium for emotional exploration and excavation. And, genre movements like the cyberpunk writers of science fiction helped popularize the idea of an “information economy.”

Thus, the importance of creative writing lies in its ability to describe the world through an honest and unfiltered lens. Anyone who engages in creative writing, no matter the genre or style, helps us explore the human experience, share new ideas, and advocate for a better society. Whether you write your stories for yourself or share them with a wide audience, creative writing makes the world a better place.

Jobs for Creative Writers

Because creative writing isn’t a STEM discipline, many people don’t think that learning it will help their job prospects. Why learn creative writing if it doesn’t make any money?

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Creative writing skills are much sought after on resumes, since both creativity and the ability to write are soft skills in decline. Additionally, if you’re considering a career change—or ready to start one!—these are some popular jobs for creative writers.

  • Average Starting Salary: $51,000
  • Demand: High
  • Skills needed: creativity, grammar, timeliness

Copywriters help companies put their branding into words. A copywriter might write emails, blogs, website content, or ad copy that encompasses the company’s voice and purpose. Copywriting requires you to write in a mix of styles and forms, flexing your writing muscles in new and exciting ways.

Grant Writer

  • Average Starting Salary: $50,000
  • Skills needed: storytelling, research, argumentation

Nonprofits and research facilities rely on local and national grants to fund their projects. Grant writers help secure that funding, writing engaging grants that tell the organization’s story in an engaging, tailored, and convincing way. Creative writers will enjoy the opportunity to tell a meaningful story and create positive community change through this career.

Communications/Public Relations Specialist

  • Skills needed: creativity, communications, social media

A communications specialist helps drive a company’s image through various social channels. They may help create a positive narrative for their company through blogs, journalist outreach, social media, and other public-facing avenues. Much like copywriting, a PR specialist helps weave an effective story for a company.

  • Average Starting Salary: $55,000
  • Demand: Medium/High
  • Skills needed: creativity, storytelling, organization, self-reliance

The dream job for many writers is to write and sell books. Being a novelist is an admirable career choice—and also requires the most work. Not only do you have to write your stories, but you also have to market yourself in the literary industry and maintain a social presence so that publishers and readers actually read your work. It’s a tough business, but also incredibly rewarding!

Reasons to Learn Creative Writing: Finding a Writing Community

Finally, creative writing communities make the writing struggle worth it. The relationships you foster with other creative writers can last a lifetime, as no other group of people has the same appreciation for the written word. Creative writing communities create transformative experiences and encourage growth in your writing; if there’s one reason to study creative writing craft, it’s the friendships you make in the process.

You don’t need a class to start writing, but it’s never a waste of time to learn the tools of the trade. Creative writing requires the skills that can help you in everyday life, and a creative writing course can help.

At Writers.com, we believe that creative writing can transform both individual lives and the world at large. See the importance of creative writing for yourself: check out what makes our creative writing courses different , then take a look at our upcoming course calendar today.

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Sean Glatch

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Would like to apply for a course to write a novel.

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I’d be happy to help! Please email [email protected] with any questions, and we’ll find the right course for your writing.

[…] Sean. “Why Learn Creative Writing.” writers.com. June 7, 2020. https://writers.com/why-learn-creative-writing . Accessed November 7, […]

[…] And last of all it’s fun! I hope to live my life doing the things I love, with like-minded creative people who I love. I have many exciting things upcoming as I continue with the process of completing my first novel, Les Année Folles, such as publishing to my first magazine, journal, and working on the millions of short story ideas I have stored in my head. Stay tuned! References: Glatch, S. (2020, June 7). WHY LEARN CREATIVE WRITING? Retrieved from Writers.com: https://writers.com/why-learn-creative-writing […]

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Writing Beginner

What Is Creative Writing? (Ultimate Guide + 20 Examples)

Creative writing begins with a blank page and the courage to fill it with the stories only you can tell.

I face this intimidating blank page daily–and I have for the better part of 20+ years.

In this guide, you’ll learn all the ins and outs of creative writing with tons of examples.

What Is Creative Writing (Long Description)?

Creative Writing is the art of using words to express ideas and emotions in imaginative ways. It encompasses various forms including novels, poetry, and plays, focusing on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary tropes.

Bright, colorful creative writer's desk with notebook and typewriter -- What Is Creative Writing

Table of Contents

Let’s expand on that definition a bit.

Creative writing is an art form that transcends traditional literature boundaries.

It includes professional, journalistic, academic, and technical writing. This type of writing emphasizes narrative craft, character development, and literary tropes. It also explores poetry and poetics traditions.

In essence, creative writing lets you express ideas and emotions uniquely and imaginatively.

It’s about the freedom to invent worlds, characters, and stories. These creations evoke a spectrum of emotions in readers.

Creative writing covers fiction, poetry, and everything in between.

It allows writers to express inner thoughts and feelings. Often, it reflects human experiences through a fabricated lens.

Types of Creative Writing

There are many types of creative writing that we need to explain.

Some of the most common types:

  • Short stories
  • Screenplays
  • Flash fiction
  • Creative Nonfiction

Short Stories (The Brief Escape)

Short stories are like narrative treasures.

They are compact but impactful, telling a full story within a limited word count. These tales often focus on a single character or a crucial moment.

Short stories are known for their brevity.

They deliver emotion and insight in a concise yet powerful package. This format is ideal for exploring diverse genres, themes, and characters. It leaves a lasting impression on readers.

Example: Emma discovers an old photo of her smiling grandmother. It’s a rarity. Through flashbacks, Emma learns about her grandmother’s wartime love story. She comes to understand her grandmother’s resilience and the value of joy.

Novels (The Long Journey)

Novels are extensive explorations of character, plot, and setting.

They span thousands of words, giving writers the space to create entire worlds. Novels can weave complex stories across various themes and timelines.

The length of a novel allows for deep narrative and character development.

Readers get an immersive experience.

Example: Across the Divide tells of two siblings separated in childhood. They grow up in different cultures. Their reunion highlights the strength of family bonds, despite distance and differences.

Poetry (The Soul’s Language)

Poetry expresses ideas and emotions through rhythm, sound, and word beauty.

It distills emotions and thoughts into verses. Poetry often uses metaphors, similes, and figurative language to reach the reader’s heart and mind.

Poetry ranges from structured forms, like sonnets, to free verse.

The latter breaks away from traditional formats for more expressive thought.

Example: Whispers of Dawn is a poem collection capturing morning’s quiet moments. “First Light” personifies dawn as a painter. It brings colors of hope and renewal to the world.

Plays (The Dramatic Dialogue)

Plays are meant for performance. They bring characters and conflicts to life through dialogue and action.

This format uniquely explores human relationships and societal issues.

Playwrights face the challenge of conveying setting, emotion, and plot through dialogue and directions.

Example: Echoes of Tomorrow is set in a dystopian future. Memories can be bought and sold. It follows siblings on a quest to retrieve their stolen memories. They learn the cost of living in a world where the past has a price.

Screenplays (Cinema’s Blueprint)

Screenplays outline narratives for films and TV shows.

They require an understanding of visual storytelling, pacing, and dialogue. Screenplays must fit film production constraints.

Example: The Last Light is a screenplay for a sci-fi film. Humanity’s survivors on a dying Earth seek a new planet. The story focuses on spacecraft Argo’s crew as they face mission challenges and internal dynamics.

Memoirs (The Personal Journey)

Memoirs provide insight into an author’s life, focusing on personal experiences and emotional journeys.

They differ from autobiographies by concentrating on specific themes or events.

Memoirs invite readers into the author’s world.

They share lessons learned and hardships overcome.

Example: Under the Mango Tree is a memoir by Maria Gomez. It shares her childhood memories in rural Colombia. The mango tree in their yard symbolizes home, growth, and nostalgia. Maria reflects on her journey to a new life in America.

Flash Fiction (The Quick Twist)

Flash fiction tells stories in under 1,000 words.

It’s about crafting compelling narratives concisely. Each word in flash fiction must count, often leading to a twist.

This format captures life’s vivid moments, delivering quick, impactful insights.

Example: The Last Message features an astronaut’s final Earth message as her spacecraft drifts away. In 500 words, it explores isolation, hope, and the desire to connect against all odds.

Creative Nonfiction (The Factual Tale)

Creative nonfiction combines factual accuracy with creative storytelling.

This genre covers real events, people, and places with a twist. It uses descriptive language and narrative arcs to make true stories engaging.

Creative nonfiction includes biographies, essays, and travelogues.

Example: Echoes of Everest follows the author’s Mount Everest climb. It mixes factual details with personal reflections and the history of past climbers. The narrative captures the climb’s beauty and challenges, offering an immersive experience.

Fantasy (The World Beyond)

Fantasy transports readers to magical and mythical worlds.

It explores themes like good vs. evil and heroism in unreal settings. Fantasy requires careful world-building to create believable yet fantastic realms.

Example: The Crystal of Azmar tells of a young girl destined to save her world from darkness. She learns she’s the last sorceress in a forgotten lineage. Her journey involves mastering powers, forming alliances, and uncovering ancient kingdom myths.

Science Fiction (The Future Imagined)

Science fiction delves into futuristic and scientific themes.

It questions the impact of advancements on society and individuals.

Science fiction ranges from speculative to hard sci-fi, focusing on plausible futures.

Example: When the Stars Whisper is set in a future where humanity communicates with distant galaxies. It centers on a scientist who finds an alien message. This discovery prompts a deep look at humanity’s universe role and interstellar communication.

Watch this great video that explores the question, “What is creative writing?” and “How to get started?”:

What Are the 5 Cs of Creative Writing?

The 5 Cs of creative writing are fundamental pillars.

They guide writers to produce compelling and impactful work. These principles—Clarity, Coherence, Conciseness, Creativity, and Consistency—help craft stories that engage and entertain.

They also resonate deeply with readers. Let’s explore each of these critical components.

Clarity makes your writing understandable and accessible.

It involves choosing the right words and constructing clear sentences. Your narrative should be easy to follow.

In creative writing, clarity means conveying complex ideas in a digestible and enjoyable way.

Coherence ensures your writing flows logically.

It’s crucial for maintaining the reader’s interest. Characters should develop believably, and plots should progress logically. This makes the narrative feel cohesive.

Conciseness

Conciseness is about expressing ideas succinctly.

It’s being economical with words and avoiding redundancy. This principle helps maintain pace and tension, engaging readers throughout the story.

Creativity is the heart of creative writing.

It allows writers to invent new worlds and create memorable characters. Creativity involves originality and imagination. It’s seeing the world in unique ways and sharing that vision.

Consistency

Consistency maintains a uniform tone, style, and voice.

It means being faithful to the world you’ve created. Characters should act true to their development. This builds trust with readers, making your story immersive and believable.

Is Creative Writing Easy?

Creative writing is both rewarding and challenging.

Crafting stories from your imagination involves more than just words on a page. It requires discipline and a deep understanding of language and narrative structure.

Exploring complex characters and themes is also key.

Refining and revising your work is crucial for developing your voice.

The ease of creative writing varies. Some find the freedom of expression liberating.

Others struggle with writer’s block or plot development challenges. However, practice and feedback make creative writing more fulfilling.

What Does a Creative Writer Do?

A creative writer weaves narratives that entertain, enlighten, and inspire.

Writers explore both the world they create and the emotions they wish to evoke. Their tasks are diverse, involving more than just writing.

Creative writers develop ideas, research, and plan their stories.

They create characters and outline plots with attention to detail. Drafting and revising their work is a significant part of their process. They strive for the 5 Cs of compelling writing.

Writers engage with the literary community, seeking feedback and participating in workshops.

They may navigate the publishing world with agents and editors.

Creative writers are storytellers, craftsmen, and artists. They bring narratives to life, enriching our lives and expanding our imaginations.

How to Get Started With Creative Writing?

Embarking on a creative writing journey can feel like standing at the edge of a vast and mysterious forest.

The path is not always clear, but the adventure is calling.

Here’s how to take your first steps into the world of creative writing:

  • Find a time of day when your mind is most alert and creative.
  • Create a comfortable writing space free from distractions.
  • Use prompts to spark your imagination. They can be as simple as a word, a phrase, or an image.
  • Try writing for 15-20 minutes on a prompt without editing yourself. Let the ideas flow freely.
  • Reading is fuel for your writing. Explore various genres and styles.
  • Pay attention to how your favorite authors construct their sentences, develop characters, and build their worlds.
  • Don’t pressure yourself to write a novel right away. Begin with short stories or poems.
  • Small projects can help you hone your skills and boost your confidence.
  • Look for writing groups in your area or online. These communities offer support, feedback, and motivation.
  • Participating in workshops or classes can also provide valuable insights into your writing.
  • Understand that your first draft is just the beginning. Revising your work is where the real magic happens.
  • Be open to feedback and willing to rework your pieces.
  • Carry a notebook or digital recorder to jot down ideas, observations, and snippets of conversations.
  • These notes can be gold mines for future writing projects.

Final Thoughts: What Is Creative Writing?

Creative writing is an invitation to explore the unknown, to give voice to the silenced, and to celebrate the human spirit in all its forms.

Check out these creative writing tools (that I highly recommend):

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Jasper AI
Show Not Tell GPT
Dragon Professional Speech Dictation and Voice Recognition
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Bluehost
Sqribble (eBook maker)

Read This Next:

  • What Is a Prompt in Writing? (Ultimate Guide + 200 Examples)
  • What Is A Personal Account In Writing? (47 Examples)
  • How To Write A Fantasy Short Story (Ultimate Guide + Examples)
  • How To Write A Fantasy Romance Novel [21 Tips + Examples)

Writers' Treasure

Effective writing advice for aspiring writers

  • How to Get Started in Creative Writing in Just Three Steps
  • Creative Writing Tips

For reference, look at Daily Writing Tips’ awesome article Creative Writing 101 . There are quite a few steps given there. I will be adding my own touches to them.

So, without any further ado, here are the three steps for you to climb and emerge as victor (sorry, couldn’t resist it).

Know the Genres and Subgenres of Creative Writing

It might not seem important now, but if you know the genres and subgenres of creative writing, you’ve done yourself a great service. Why? Because many great authors specialize in one big broad genre such as fiction or poetry or non-fiction. That is why… you see that great novelists write only novels, great short-story writers write only short stories, great poets only write poetry and so on. You don’t want to become “Jack of all trades; master of none.” And you can only specialize by knowing all of them.

Note : Now, of course, there are exceptions. Some novelists do write short stories and vice versa. But these types of authors are not common; they are rare. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t step outside of your broad genre and be afraid to experiment with other ones, it’s just to say that you should, first and foremost, go with the one you like most.

So do yourself a favour and read on the creative writing genres. They’re all known, of course. Fiction is branched into four sub-genres, of which only two are really popular: novels, novelettes, novellas and short-stories.

If you want to dig under the surface, you will find more and more sub-genres. Stories under 1000 words are called micro-fiction. Recently a new type of sub-genre has come into light: Twitter fiction , fiction of 140 characters. The people who make such fiction must be talented, because I can’t seem to close up a story under 1000 words. Concise writing , of course, is the issue.

Then there is poetry . I don’t write any poetry now, because I find it harder than writing fiction and hence I specialized and chose fiction as my broad genre. There are many sub-genres under poetry. Sonnet, haiku, ballad, tanka, pantoum, roundel, etc. My head hurts just looking at so many forms. Wow.

Creative Non-fiction . It’s strange that non-fiction is a part of creative writing, but then, as goes a saying, the truth is sometimes better than fiction. Memoirs, autobiographies, biographies, essays and journals, etc are all part of non-fiction.

Pick Out Your Own Genre

This is sometimes easy work, and sometimes hard work. It took me nearly a year to find out my own genre: writing fiction. Before I was experimenting with all forms without success and in vain (yeah they say the same thing). As soon as I started writing only fiction, my writing improved.

Every writer has his own genre of which he seeks to become the master of. It shouldn’t necessarily be fiction or a popular form. It can be as obscure as can be. Only enjoyment should be gained out of it, at least at the beginning. (You’re free to make money from it if you’re really good enough!)

It might be fun sometimes to step out of your genre and write something fun. I tried this with essays and it was a success. But remember that you should first write inside your genre and then after some time do what you like.

Start Writing (Regularly)

If you don’t know how to write for a period of time, check out the Daily Writing Tips article . Their idea of notebooks and finding ideas works for me.

It doesn’t matter whether you write once a day or a week or a month or anything else. Your writing should not be set on a schedule in which you can’t match your other work. “Write Every Day” is outdated advice now… the newer and better advice is “Write Regularly as much as you can inside your genre.” If you continue the practice… you should start seeing results. Never break off from your work. I tried it one time and the results were not uplifting. It took me a whole month to get back to my earlier standard.

Bottom line is: just write (regularly), and you’re started in creative writing! You can say with pride, “I’m a writer.” Just write. That’s it.

But what’s the purpose?

If your purpose is to get published and make money from your writing straight away, I’m sorry to say that you will be bitterly disappointed. Even the best authors’ first novels were proper garbage (not my words; their words) unless they were edited previously. So you might as well give up creative writing if you only want the money.

But if your purpose is to enjoy your ride and perfect your writing and just be pleased by writing, then you are welcome inside the camp of writers. You’re a writer. So you might just as well do—do what?—write.

Tomorrow we will look into the differences between creative writing and technical writing .

This post is the second instalment in the series “Creative Writing 101.”

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Further reading:.

  • Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Creative Writing

19 thoughts on “How to Get Started in Creative Writing in Just Three Steps”

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I am trying to become a writer, and I am in the midst of struggling through a bumpy point right now. I am seeking outlets, other kindred spirits to connect with in order to get into focus with my plans. I am online regularly, seeking information and outlets……

when writing express yourself through your thougt, imagination,feeling or emotion. if it is something on history you make some research work. feel free to write without thinking of what people may say it is your work

I love to see my thoughts turn into words. But for some reason I cannot seem to write any story, just general writing I know and understand. I also have a hugh problem with, what is called, grammar!

I just want to write better to be understood. I have my own writing style because of my serious problem with english grammar, so I created my own way of understanding english grammar.

The logic of the words within the sentence, sentence structure and of course editing. How much do you charge for your service? [email protected]

I love to write my thoughts down, I also have a bad time with grammar. How much do you charge? [email protected]

I’m sorry, I don’t see the point of “picking your own genre”. You don’t really give a reason for this point, other than saying: “As soon as I started writing only fiction, my writing improved.” While I don’t doubt that this is true, it is merely your own personal experience. If I enjoy writing several different genres, why shouldn’t I switch between all of them equally? A bit more explanation on this point would be appreciated, thank you.

Well as they said, “Jack of all Trades, master of none”, it is better to find what you work with best rather than play around with all the genres willy nilly, because using the genre you are best with, will allow you to convey what you want to say more easily and your focus will be on being creative rather than actually trying to figure out how to write a short story or a novel, etc. Similar to how an Artist will stick with particular mediums, Watercolour is far different to Oil paints and so the Artist will stay with they are familiar with, the best way to convey what they feel.

The quoted phrase actually originated as “Jack of all trades, master of none; but better than master of one”, the last bit just being dropped for ease and eventually forgotten and misinterpreted.

Hi haven’t you heard they say little knowledge is dangerous. it is true for the point you are trying to make, since it is never easy for anyone to master a number of genres equally, except to master them all equally poorly. the best thing is what’s been said above; pick your genre and be an expert in it and leave the rest to whom who can make the best out of them.

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those worried about grammar , i think if you read and write more often ….you are likely to improve your grammar

writing down raw thoughts,ideas ,emotions does work .you may refine it later ,but the raw idea in itself is half the work.

regular writing helps one to express ideas more clearly i also think what drives you to write determines the quality of work if you are doing it to get published , you put yourself under pressure you will constantly feel inadequate

I like creative writing but I don’t how to start, please I want someone to guide me how to write please thank you

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Who else wants to master the creative writing skills who else wants to master the creative writing skills.

So you now know about the creative writing skills , and want to master them too, but don’t know how?

Not to worry. These creative writing skills are easy to grasp, easy to know, and easy to master .

(Note: Of course for every person these skills may not be easy to master. Someone will find them easy, and some other person may find them as hard as climbing Mt. Everest. It depends on how hard you are willing to work).

With the disclaimer out of the way, let’s get to the real stuff: let’s learn how to master talent, the most important creative writing attribute!

I hear you saying, “Talent? We can’t master talent. It’s inborn.”

That’s true, but how about a nifty little trick to ensure that you never have to worry about talent even if you don’t have a single ounce of it?

Ready? Let’s get to it, then. 😀

(more…)

  • Creative Writing Skills: Do You Have Them All?
  • Creative Writing vs. Technical Writing
  • How to Master Clarity in Writing
  • An Introduction to Creative Writing

Six causes of a beginner writer’s expressive problem (and what to do about each) Six causes of a beginner writer’s expressive problem (and what to do about each)

This is a guest article by Abraham Adekunle. If you want to submit a guest article of your own be sure to read the guest article guidelines.

Writing can seem liberating at first. You sit down at your computer, smuggle your coffee beside your writing materials, and begin the session with an enthusiastic mind.

You are charged. You can pump out a thousand words in 30 minutes. You’re thinking about how those words will change the world, how your readers will be engulfed in the emotion you want them to be in, and how they’ll swiftly take to the internet to write you an email.

But suddenly, the thoughts are all gone. Your fingers type words but delete them almost as fast as they came. Writing that scene in your novel now becomes something only a genius can do. Where did all that enthusiasm go? Where did the thoughts go?

And the worst part, you are sure it’s not writer’s block , because not that you only write, it’s not just coming from your heart.

“Oh God. I know what to say, but not how.”

  • Top Ten Tips to Fight and Defeat Writers’ Block
  • Six habits of more effective writers
  • Why You Should Write Like You Talk (And How I Defeated Writers’ Block)
  • Demolish your writer’s block
  • Writing Tip: Experiment with Free-writing

Tell a gripping tale, create exhilaration: Writing the conflict of a story Tell a gripping tale, create exhilaration: Writing the conflict of a story

This is a guest article by Erin Scott. If you are interested in submitting a guest article of your own, be sure to read the  guest article guidelines .

Conflicts are vital—they bring the thrilling tide in stories. They bring pressure and tension that make your story worth reading—the so-called engine that keeps your novel running in your reader’s senses.

Without conflict , your story fails.

How do you craft a conflict of a story that not only triggers emotions but also creates an impact? Here are simple tips:

  • What Should Be Told and Shown in the Opening Chapter?
  • Conflict is Necessary to Make it Spicy
  • Fiction Writing 101: The Elements of Stories
  • Why Hunting for Plots is Worthless
  • Nine fiction writing mistakes writers need to stop doing

Stanford Creative Writing Program

The Stanford Creative Writing Program , founded in 1946 by Wallace Stegner, has become one

of the nation’s most distinguished creative writing institutions. After almost 80 years, the

program continues to evolve while also respecting its original vision of recruiting and supporting

talented writers, offering exceptional creative writing instruction and mentorship, and inspiring

undergraduates to develop their own unique creative written expression.

In the 1940s, E. H. Jones generously created the Wallace Stegner Fellowship, now considered

the most prestigious creative writing fellowship in the U.S. for emerging writers. Dr. Jones also

made possible the Jones Lectureships, which are limited, fixed-year teaching appointments,

allowing exceptional Stegner Fellows some time and support to prepare a manuscript for

publication, hone their teaching skills, and transition to a longer-term teaching career elsewhere.

The original framework of term-limited appointments allowed for a consistent flow of selected

Stegner Fellows into the Jones Lectureship. However, over time this framework of term-limited

appointments was not followed.

In the past two years, the School of Humanities and Sciences leadership and the Creative

Writing Academic Council faculty have been working to formulate necessary changes in the

program and to identify additional resources to meet its growing needs. A Working Group of

Creative Writing Academic Council faculty held listening sessions and discussions.

Now, after thoughtful deliberation, the Working Group has recommended restoring the original

intent of the Jones Lectureships: one-year appointments with the possibility of renewal for a

limited term. This change will again allow Stegner Fellows the opportunity to apply to be Jones

Lecturers once they have completed their fellowships.

The university, school, and numerous generous donors are committed to not only the excellence

of the program but also its growth. This means increasing the number of Creative Writing

classes to better meet high student demand as well as ensuring competitive compensation for

both the lecturers and fellows. We will provide more updates in early fall quarter.

We understand that these changes to the Jones Lectureships will be met with mixed reactions.

However, we firmly believe that the changes advance the program’s pedagogical mission and

provide promising writers with the resources to complete their books and obtain appointments at

other colleges and universities.

Throughout the history of the program, the Jones Lecturers—both those who are here now and

those who have been lecturers in the past—have helped make Stanford Creative Writing what it

is today, and we are truly grateful to them for their significant contributions to the program’s

Novlr is now writer-owned! Join us and shape the future of creative writing.

Fija Callaghan

19 August 2024

How do I strengthen my writing?

How do I strengthen my writing? — Ask Novlr

“ How do I strengthen my writing? I tend to fall back on bad habits because I can’t find good habits to replace them. “

It’s a tale as old as cuneiform: you have an amazing idea for a story, but when you look at your inky splotches on the page (or a wall of digital text), it’s not quite like you imagined it would be. Maybe it sounds stilted, or forced, or it lacks the depth and complexity you saw in your head.

Sound familiar? We’ve all been there. Fortunately, there are ways to improve your writing so that this happens less and less often. Eventually, you’ll be able to spin feelings and images that make your readers forget everything but the story they’re reading. 

How to strengthen your writing

Here are ten (count em!) tips to make your writing the very best it can be. 

1. Clear out your creative faucets

Many people who don’t write as well as they’d like become so resistant to the feeling of dissatisfaction that they don’t write at all. This means they never get any better! What happens when you take a significant break from writing is your creative pathways get backed up, just like rusty old taps that haven’t been used in forever and a day. What emerges isn’t going to be particularly palatable, but it needs to come out in order to access the clear, healthy water behind it.  

This means writing clunky, cringe-worthy prose as long as it takes to clear out your mental blocks and get your ideas flowing smoothly. 

2. Read voraciously

You’ll hear this a lot, because it’s so essential. In the immortal words of Stephen King : “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.” 

Read widely in the genre you’re trying to write in, as well as other genres that you can learn from. Look at the way authors have structured their sentences and their stories, how they make you love or despise certain characters. Prose writing is just like learning a language; the best way to absorb it is through immersion. 

3. Read some bad writing, too

I know, I know, but hear me out. Have you ever read a novel or short story that made your eyes ache from cringing so hard? Maybe it was because their sentences were awkwardly put together, or maybe the plot felt unbelievable or forced. Breaking down exactly why these pieces don’t work for us can be super helpful for understanding what to avoid in our own work. 

For example, maybe you read a romantic relationship and feel like it’s unconvincing because the author didn’t take enough time to develop the characters’ connection. Once you’re able to pinpoint that flawed element, you can give it the attention it deserves in your own work in progress. 

Reading to strengthen writing - Photo by cottonbro studio

4. Try on different writing styles

Not all great writers are great in the same way. Some like long, explorative sentences pulsing with sensory imagery (see: Angela Carter), while others prefer concise, austere sentences that get straight to the point (see: Ernest Hemingway). You might gravitate to one or the other of these extremes, or fall somewhere along the spectrum in between. 

Try out different approaches to storytelling to find the voice that feels most like yours .

5. Explore characterisation 

Breaking: people are messy . Accurately and compellingly conveying this innate messiness is essential to creating a powerful story. 

As a warmup exercise, practice sketching out characters that you could incorporate into your stories. You can do this by looking at public domain photographs, or sitting in a public place and dreaming about who passersby might be. Consider where they’ve come from, what they might be going, and what they’re hoping to find or accomplish along the way. Explore body language, voice, and social cues that might tip off their intentions (but be wary of stereotypes and clichés!). 

6. Make friends with your thesaurus 

A great way to make a piece of prose shine even brighter is to expand your vocabulary . There are a lot of words in the English language that mean similar things, but have slightly different moods and tones. Finding the exact right word to convey what you’re trying to say will help your writing land more emphatically with your reader. 

For instance, if you want to describe a moment that feels a little chaotic, you could call it scattered, unsteady, distorted, unbalanced, cacophonous, pandemonious, discordant, anarchic, fractured, tumultuous, and so forth. Or you could just call it chaotic. Each of these words has a slightly different connotation and lends a different feeling to the sentence it carries.  

7. Banish filtering words

Filtering is one of the most common mistakes new writers make. It involves describing a character’s sensations or feelings with filtering words like felt, saw, heard, knew, watched, or realised. This holds the reader at a distance and makes them feel like they’re hearing a story, rather than living it.

An example of filtering would be, “She watched the sun rise majestically over the mountains”. It would feel more immediate to simply say, “The sun rose majestically over the mountains”. The reader already knows your point-of-view character is watching; now, the reader can watch it with them. 

8. Glare disapprovingly at the passive voice

Passive voice isn’t necessarily wrong all the time , but nine times out of ten, it will slow down the pace of your story and encourage the reader to lose interest in your characters. Passive voice means having something done to a character — “John was punched in the face by Nick” — instead of a character actively doing something: “Nick punched John in the face”.

You can adjust this in your editing process by doing a search for the word “was”. You won’t need to change every single one, but you’ll find it helpful to ask yourself if the sentence is serving the story in the best possible way. 

9. Familiarise yourself with story structure

The best stories follow an established plot structure , and follow it so smoothly that the reader doesn’t even realise there’s an ancient storytelling template behind it. Before you write — especially if you’re attempting a longer-form piece like a novella or a novel — it’s helpful to look over plot structures like the three-act structure, the five-act structure, or Freytag’s pyramid. 

These structures are designed to introduce just the right amount of tension and suspense, and to give the reader the ideal payoff by the end. These predetermined patterns won’t make your work feel formulaic; instead, they’ll resonate with your reader’s inherent storytelling instincts. 

10. Get peer feedback

Finally, the best way to make your work as strong as it can be is to get some feedback from other writers. This can be from a professional editor, a beta reader , or a collaborative writing group . 

When we’ve been spending a lot of time on a big writing project, we can go a bit cross-eyed and lose the ability to see things clearly. Getting a second pair of eyes can help you catch plot holes or inconsistencies before you send your story out into the world.

Great writing abilities aren’t something we’re born with; we earn them through hard work and lots of practice! You can use these tips to take your writing from explorative to sensational. 

creative writing quora

What is Creative Writing? The Ultimate Guide 2024

What is creative writing creative writing is a very celebrated format of content writing. as the name suggests, this type of content writing involves creativity over other writing practices. many people these days aspire to become creative writers, but do you know what is creative writing, what are the job roles in it, career scope, and more in it well, let’s find out through this article..

What is Creative Writing The Ultimate Guide

Creative writing is a very celebrated format of content writing. As the name suggests, this type of content writing involves creativity over other writing practices. Many people these days aspire to become creative writers, but do you know what is creative writing, what are the job roles in it, career scope, and more in it? Well, let’s find out through this article. We all have seen the rise of content writing in recent years which introduced many new formats of professional writing such as technical writing, academic writing, SEO writing, and more. However, creative writing is something that has always existed.

At present, we look at content writing as a digital marketing practice that brings the audience towards the website. The content is usually responsible for the website to rank higher on the Google Search Results Page (SERP) for certain keywords. However, as we go deep into creative writing, we will find that ranking and SEO are not the main priorities of creative writing.

Read about the top 5 Google SEO courses here

Digital Marketing is a very recent addition to the marketing industry after the internet revolution happened. Creative writing existed long before there were any traces of digital marketing and content writing being a mainstream marketing practice.

So, by now you must have understood that creative writing is one of the oldest formats of writing and has been practised long before digital marketing and content writing were introduced. Ranking and SEO are not the prime priority of any creative content. More than the marketing parameters, creative writing focuses highly on relating with the audience’s emotion, may it be humour, sorrow, grief, anger, etc.

Although creative writing doesn’t keep marketing tactics like SEO as their priority, you must not be surprised to know that creative writing is one of the most used types of content by marketers and website owners.

Want to Understand Why is It So?

Well, along with good SEO, quality content that offers value is equally important for a piece of content to work. And creative writing is what keeps the audience hooked as it relates to the audience’s emotions making it interesting to read. As we learn more about creative writing in this article, you will get to know about the exact places where creative writing has a major role to play in digital marketing practices. You will also learn about how a good balance between Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and creativity in content can boost the performance of your content drastically.

Well, other than that we will also explore how creative writing is used beyond the means of the internet. So, stay hooked as we pour down immensely valuable information throughout the article for you. That was little from a lot about what is creative writing and ahead in this article, we will learn about the types of creative writing, the career scope in this field, the best places to learn creative writing, and a lot more.

Without further ado, let’s jump right into the article and learn every little detail about creative writing.

Job Roles in Creative Writing

Since there is such variety in creative writing itself, it is very evident that there must be several job roles for this kind of writing. Because someone who masters the art of writing humour-based content might not be the best person to write grief or pain-themed content.

Since emotion is one of the most important elements of creative content, the quality of writing to express a certain emotion shall not be compromised to any level. This is the reason; different job roles are offered for different types of creative writing styles.

So, let’s try and learn about the various job roles that an aspiring creative writer can pick professionally to keep propelling their career in this field.

Script Writer:

The video content scene is very evidently booming. The amount of video content we consume is huge and that is the reason, many production houses and individuals also are looking for good scriptwriters who can give shape to a concept by turning it into a script.

A script is the base of any planned and conceptualized video, and thus writing the script becomes super-duper important. Having a script makes it very clear for all the people involved in the video production, starting from the artists, to cinematographers, directors, and the crew to be on the same page and align their efforts in the making of video or film content.

Like it has been mentioned already, creative writing existed long before any digital marketing tactics were introduced. Scriptwriting is one such practice that was being practised ever since the concept of theatre plays and dramas started.

Scripts are not just necessarily needed for just videos and films but for many more purposes. There are many more performing arts that need a script to be performed in front of an audience. Like, it has just been mentioned, theatre plays and dramas are something that demands a script.

Many plays are also based on books that can also be counted as creative write-ups. One of the other very famous performing arts that need a script is “Stand-up comedy”.  It is a very celebrated form of performing arts and involves a good amount of emotional features that the audience can relate to.

Not just stand-up comedy but the domain “comedy” itself needs script because the art of making people laugh has a lot to do with saying and performing the right things at the right time that the audience can relate with. For example, you’ll easily find comedy sketch videos on streaming platforms like YouTube, and the making of such content also requires a script that has to be written by a creative writer who can grasp the theme of the sketch.

Another scenario where we can see a pretty decent need for scripts is Podcasting. The culture of podcasts is booming at an extraordinary pace and therefore, it is a good opportunity for creative writers to showcase their skills and make money as well.

Learn how to start a podcast 

Podcasts are audio alternatives to video content. So, it is either people talking about a subject, giving pieces of advice, opinions, narration and more. Many creators run out of ideas, or at least do not know how to shape their idea into a 40-minute long podcast, and that’s where they need a scriptwriter to develop a podcast script.

So, these were few areas where one as a scriptwriter can work. The craft of writing scripts has certain key features that you must learn about to become a professional scriptwriter. Along with that, the art also demands a good level of creativity for the writer to be able to frame the concept in a way interesting enough to grab the audience’s attention and keep them hooked.

Short Stories/ Comics/ Fiction Writer:

As a kid, you must also have enjoyed the funny comic books, or weekly write-ups that come in the newspaper or magazines as well. Such write-ups are written by creative writers only. Newspapers and Magazines specifically hire creative writers for this purpose.

The write-ups need not necessarily be funny but could also be thrillers, or a crime series and that too would be considered a creative write-up. If you happen to have the kind of creativity that you’re able to frame interesting stories then possibly, you are the right person for such a profession.

The usual process to find a job as a fiction, comic writer at any one of the magazines or newspapers is by applying directly to the organization with writing samples. Getting a column in any newspaper itself is an achievement and many creative writers aspire to find that spot.

If you manage to get the job of a weekly comic writer at one of the reputed newspapers, the payouts are likely to be high since the content will be consumed by lakhs of people across the region. So, it is a good career role as a creative writer to consider and it does need a specific set of skills to write such content and some professional details of the craft that you might need to learn.

Such content is not only limited to physical newspapers, but also e-papers. In the age of the internet, the rise of e-papers and e-magazines is very evident and this signals the increasing flow of opportunities for creative writers to find a job as writers for such magazines and newspapers.

There are several media units as well such as Vice, ScoopWhoop, BuzzFeed, One37pm, PureWow, and more that are not mainstream news blogs and thus they also hire creative writers for developing content for various purposes. So, that was about the job of a fiction, comic, or short stories writer and you must keep the mentioned pointers in mind if you genuinely aspire to become a creative writer or a professional fiction writer for any magazine or newspaper.

Copywriter:

This is one of the most important job roles in creative writing because copywriting deals with the balance of digital marketing and creative writing. As a creative writer, one has to consciously think about how certain content will appear online and frame it accordingly.  In the last few years, copywriting has become very popular among aspiring creative writers as a profession. It is a well-paying profession and has an immensely important role to play in making digital marketing campaigns successful.

For those who have no clue about what is copywriting , it is the craft of creating content that persuades people to take an action may it be subscribing, buying, liking, or sharing a post, etc. Copywriting is used almost everywhere, and most forms of advertising use copywriting in some way.

All the fancy taglines and one-liners that immediately grab attention are nothing but the work of a creative copywriter. Like it has already been mentioned that creative writing focuses slightly less on the SEO part and more on keeping the content creative and engaging. It applies to copywriting as well. Copywriting is more about eye-catching content that has an impact on an emotional or subconscious level that makes the content consumer activities such as make a purchase, subscribe to a service, or anything of that nature.

Copywriting is not necessarily limited to one-liners and taglines but a lot more than that. The radio and Television commercial ads that we see are written or scripted by copywriters only. Other than that, the copywriting practices extend to writing product descriptions, product pages, landing pages and thank you pages as well.

While browsing through the web, it often happens that we come across some content that intrigues us to click a link which then leads us to the actual product. Well, that is exactly what a copywriter aims to do. The job role of a copywriter is to create content that makes an impact on a subconscious level for the reader.

If you are an aspiring copywriter, you must know that the scope for copywriting has grown immensely over the years and there are good opportunities with a decent payout. Since copywriting persuades the reader to perform actions, the ROI on copywriting is more than any other form of content writing which justifies why copywriters are among the highest-paid content writers.

Copywriting is also very valuable because it has a lot more to do than just being creative. Yes, the writer is required to understand the psychology of the audience and create content that is most likely to convince the reader into taking the desired action.

That was all about copywriting and if you have the needed creativity, then you might just try and learn the key elements needed for creating a good copy. It’s not very difficult, however, requires you to understand the reader’s psychology and frame content accordingly for making an impact and getting desired results.

In a broad sense, these are the job roles that any creative writer may aspire to pursue as a professional. Are you aware of the career benefits as a creative? Well, you must know what it is like to have a career in this industry to understand whether or not you can make it big here.

So, let’s now dive and explore the career scope in creative writing.

Check out these courses from IIM SKILLS:

  • Technical Writing Course
  • CAT Coaching
  • Content Writing Course
  • Digital Marketing Course

Career Scope in Creative Writing

  Considering the present conditions. it won’t be very difficult to guess that there is very good potential in the creative writing industry and the career scope is also good. This kind of writing does offer great payout as compared to other forms of content writing.

There are writers actively making 6 figure income solely through creative writing and therefore if you have the slightest bit of creativity, then you must consider learning what is creative writing and try this career path.

How and Where to Learn Creative Writing

Now that we’re clear about the craft of creative writing, the career aspects, job roles, types of creative writing, and all other such details, it’s time we must know from where and how we will be able to learn creative writing.

You must be wondering that, if this kind of writing only demands creativity, then why would one need to learn it. Well, like it has been mentioned already, creative writing isn’t merely writing but a combination of a lot of things, and more importantly, every piece of creative content has a motive.

The motive could be to make someone laugh, feel grief or sadness, express or increase awareness, or persuade the reader to perform a certain action. All these goals cannot be achieved with mere writing with creativity, but it also takes format, structure, layout, and use of words, keyword density, and much more for one to create a wonderful copy.

So, without this knowledge, you might write creative pieces, but chances are they won’t get approved. You’ll have to know about minute details that shall be taken care of such as not overstuffing keywords because then it looks spammy.

Each type of creative content has a format that appeals to the target audience hence, you need to learn those formats to be able to write effectively. Let’s now try and understand how and from where we’ll be able to learn creative writing.

At present, it is not difficult at all to assume that the internet is by far the best means to learn absolutely anything. Every piece of information about creative writing, types of creative writing, and the very details of it is available on the web.

However, one must know what to look for to be able to learn from the web.  If you don’t have any knowledge about the fact that a concept like a keyword research exists, then you definitely won’t search it up on the web.

This is the reason some courses have been created in a way that they cover all the little details of creative writing to help you master the craft. IIM SKILLS happens to be the best course out there for learning what is creative writing. This statement is backed with several solid reasons, facts, and statistics.

Let’s explore a few details about the course to help you understand why you must go for this one if you ever choose to go for a course.

Expert Trainers:

The lessons are taught to the students by some of the most credible and qualified trainers who have more than 10 years of experience. These trainers have worked for some of the biggest companies before switching their profession of guiding thousands of students about the best content writing practices and career assistance through this wonderful course. The institution is led by Mr Vaibhav Kakkar, one of the most renowned content writers and digital marketers in the world. He’s listed among the best content writers in the world and understands the core terminologies of the craft which helped him develop one of the finest, comprehensive, practical, industry-oriented professional content writing courses that also covers creative writing and certain aspects around it.

Practical and Industry Oriented Course:

These are two different yet very important aspects that one must be aware of while trying to understand what is creative writing. The content writing master course by IIM SKILLS is 100% practical, meaning the institute doesn’t believe in just theoretical education, rather they believe learning becomes most effective when the theory is practised in real by the learner. This is the reason the course allows the students to have their hands on every module from the very first day.

It can be very well explained with the example of learning a bike. Just like we cannot learn to ride a bike until we have our hands on the vehicle and try it out, similarly, creative writing or just content writing isn’t possible entirely through theory and thus needs practical learning.

The other highlight of this point is that it is an industry-oriented course. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that content writing is very closely associated with digital marketing and the trends in digital marketing keep changing from time to time.

For example, the way SEO used to operate a few years ago is not at all the way it works these days, keywords are no longer the only deciding factor for search engine results page rankings and therefore, one needs to stay updated with the present norms and standards of the course.

The course is structured and designed in a way that it contains modules and lessons that match the present standards and practices of the content writing industry. Almost all the companies looking for a professional content writer expect the candidate to know the latest industry practices and this is where the course turns out to be super useful.

The course is constantly updated so that the students are aware of the latest practices making it easier for them to find content writing jobs.

Placement Assistance:

The students are also provided with placement assistance through this course. Not just those who wish to learn what is creative writing, but everyone else who joins the course, joins it for a purpose, and most of the time the purpose is to find content writing jobs.

To help the students with kickstarting their professional careers as content writers, IIM SKILLS through the content writing master course offers a 100% placement assistance program where the students get to learn about the best career path to follow to succeed in this field. The guidance is offered by the experts themselves, and the reviews suggest, the students are quite impressed and satisfied with the kind of assistance they received.

The placement assistance program has worked well for many students helping them start their content writing agency, raise different start-ups, and crack high-paying content writing jobs at reputed firms. They also guide the students about best practices to follow to scale your freelancing business as a professional content writer.

This was little from a lot about the amazing placement assistance that students get through this content writing master course by IIM SKILLS.

Certification:

What is the first thing that an employer would want to see before hiring any candidate? The qualification, right? Well, then what can be the documents that authenticate the mentioned qualification of the candidate? A certificate.

Yes, a certificate is one of the most important documents when you’re going for an interview or even applying for a job. When the certificate is issued by a reputed organization, the value of the issued document increases tremendously.

IIM SKILLS offers 2 highly valuable and internationally recognized certifications through the content writing master course. The two certifications offered are, the IIM SKILLS content writing master course certification and HubSpot Content Marketing Certification.

Tools happen to be one of the most useful resources when it comes to content writing or even digital marketing as well. As of now, we have tools that have the outstanding capacity to scrape through millions of websites and gather website metrics in a matter of seconds.

These tools can be very useful while trying to find the right keyword for the article while trying to do a competitor analysis, and more. Well, such tools are useful and at the same time, they are expensive since they provide such premium services.

IIM SKILLS provides free access to premium tools worth INR 35,000. This is one of the major highlights of the course as getting the opportunity to use such tools would help the students become properly versed with the operations and application making it easier for them to effectively use the tools when they work for any organization.

Companies want candidates to have such skills to operate tools to make the best strategies and marketing campaigns as well and align their content according to the campaign. Some of the tools are UBERSuggest, SEMrush, Ahref, etc.

Lifetime Access:

Upon completion of the course, the students get free lifetime access to the course resources including the video lecture and study material. This is one of the very highlighting features of the course and very assuring that even after you’re done with the course, you will always have access to the material in case you need any kind of assistance.

Let’s suppose after completion of the course you managed to find a job, and while you are on an assignment, you doubted the keyword density or conducting research, you can immediately refer to the video lectures and materials to get your doubts solved. This feature of the course by IIM SKILLS has been accepted very positively by the students and has proved to be very helpful for many.

Alumni Status:

The students who have completed their content writing training from IIM SKILLS are now working at some of the finest organizations out there. The alumni status of any institute speaks about the quality of training students to go through. Many students kickstarted their freelancing career in content writing right after completion of the course and have managed to scale it well with a good number of high-paying clients.

Several others started their content marketing agency or created some kind of start-up and used the knowledge from the course to fuel their online presence. One of the most interesting facts about IIM SKILLS is that many students who completed their content writing training from IIM SKILLS managed to crack jobs at companies like BMW, Accenture, American Express, Barclays, and more.

Opportunity to Intern:

Upon completion of the course, given a student has performed up to the standards, IIM SKILLS offers them a guaranteed internship of 3 months. In this internship, they get industry experience and become comfortable with professionally performing the practices they have learned from the course.

On top of that, the candidate becomes well versed with the core terminologies of content writing. The internship is a valid experience and once you have earned experience from an organization like IIM SKILLS and have become good to some extent, you may then find it easier to get through job applications and interviews for well-paying jobs.

Get Your First Article Published in the Times of India:

It goes without saying that it is not easy for just anyone to go ahead and publish their article on the Times of India blog. One needs to keep their write-up aligned with the standards set by the organization. So, IIM SKILLS through their course helps you to get your very first article published in the Times of India blog.

This can actually be the highlight of your profile or resume while starting your career and can help you find freelance clients to kickstart your career in the content writing industry.

Get Your First E-book Published:

E-books are a great way to building credibility for your profile as a professional. If you’ve managed to build a strong personal brand, then you might as well generate a good passive income from books however writing and publishing a paperback version of your book is very complex and the process is hectic as well.

At this point, e-books are the new normal, and people now prefer to read more e-books than normal ones and therefore, IIM SKILLS helps you publish your first e-book. Isn’t it great? It can be a major factor in your CV to help you crack job interviews, find clients, and much more.

Media Mentions and Features:

IIM SKILLS has always remained a symbol of authenticity and quality and several features validate how authentic and good any organization is. One such factor is the media mentions and features. As one of the leading ed-tech companies, IIM SKILLS has been constantly featured on several media networks such as Times of India, DNA, India Today, The Statesman, Mid Day, Prime Time, and more.

Reviews and Ratings:

Last but not the least, IIM SKILLS content writing course has the finest reviews and ratings as compared to any other course. You’ll easily find the reviews on several social and review platforms such as Quora, Trust Pilot, Google Reviews, and more. The students seem very satisfied with their decision of going with this course and spending their valuable time, energy and money on this course.

Many show their gratitude for the trainers and instructors who very patiently addressed all the queries and confusion of the students. The ratings and reviews very clearly reflect the nature, of course, quality of training, and student’s experiences, and considering all the mentioned details it seems a fairly good option to consider learning what is creative writing and the professional aspects of it.

You may also read  IIM SKILLS content writing course review here , or just try watching this video of a demo session conducted by IIM SKILLS to help you understand the very details of the course.

creative writing quora

Frequently Asked Questions- FAQs

Q1. what is creative writing.

The process of developing content is entirely meant for the purpose of keeping the audience engaged. This practice involves more creativity and less SEO as the focus is less on making the content rank and more on making the content readable and interesting.

Q2. What are some examples of creative writing?

There are several forms of creative writing and some of them are scriptwriting, copywriting sketch and short story writing, and more.

Q3. How is the career scope in creative writing?

Considering the present status of the industry, creative writing can be a very profitable career option however unlike other forms of content writing this involves a lot of creativity as well as a good understanding of how content is perceived online.

That was little from a lot about what is creative writing and the professional aspects to it. Overall, creative writing is the simple process of developing content that is purely created to keep the audiences hooked rather than making the content rank and this is one of the prime reasons why a lot of SEO practices are not followed when it comes to creative writing.

There is a good scope in creative writing since the content developed actually engages with the audience and persuades them to perform and action may it be subscribing, clicking a link, liking a post, sharing, commenting, buying a product, trying a demo or even a service.

There are several types of creative writing and it wouldn’t take a lot of effort to find examples of creative writing in our daily lives. The commercial ads we see on television and radio are actually written by a copywriter and the performing arts like stand-up comedy, theatre, and video sketches we see are also written by creative writers only. Other than that, the product pages and landing pages which spice up the specification of any product and make us want to buy it is also the work of a creative writer. The several types of creative writing include copywriting, script and sketch writing, etc.

If you wish to learn creative writing then certainly the internet is the right place to do so, however, you must know what to look for. Anyways, there are several courses that can help you through learning and mastering the craft of creative writing. IIM SKILLS is one such course that helps you not only master the craft but offers several other features like placement assistance and more.

The least you can do is try attending the free live online demo sessions by IIM SKILLS on their website and see if the course details are appealing to you or not. You may get in touch with the team directly over e-mail and phone, however, the website and the course page contain enough details to make you understand what the course is going to be like.

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South florida crime drama ‘m.i.a.’ from ‘ozark’s bill dubuque gets straight-to-series order at peacock, breaking news.

‘Industry’ Creative Team Talk “Broadening The Canvas” On Season 3 & “Reminding Broadcasters That New Writing Doesn’t Have To Be Marginalized” – Edinburgh

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Industry Kit Harington

The creators of HBO / BBC smash Industry have talked up how Season 3 “broadens the canvas” to show how “finance sits within a larger ecosystem of politics, the media and how it all actually works.”

Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Mickey Down and Konrad Kay opened up about some of the mistakes they feel they made on the first two seasons of the hit banking drama, with Konrad Kay saying “we were naive and arrogant” when forging the first, which he described as a “toxic combination” of traits.

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Vince Gilligan praise

The creators heaped praise on Breaking Bad auteur Vince Gilligan, who they said had inspired them to broaden the show’s scope and shoot for the stars with plot points. “Vince says that if you use your best ideas and give the audience a satisfying conclusion you might give yourself the challenge of saying, ‘This will be even more fun’,” added Kay, citing the decision to fire main character Harper, played by Myha’la, at the end of Season 2.

“By the nature of renewal and jeopardy of getting another season you can’t take anything for granted,” added Kay. “The most satisfying way to tell a story is to make sure each season comes to a heavy period.”

The third season of the Bad Wolf -produced drama introduces new character, Henry Muck, played by Kit Harington, the British CEO of an environmental, social and governance (ESG) outfit in the midst of going public. It focuses on the growing trend and discussion point of ‘woke investing’.

“New writing doesn’t have to be marginalized”

In Down and Kay, the show’s exec Jane Tranter said having two young showrunners “reminds broadcasters that new writing doesn’t have to be marginalized.”

“When the industry is contracting and going through a crazy time, we remind broadcasters of this,” she added. “You can give people a chance and this is how to do it. Mickey and Konrad started as good writers and then became really good EPs. This is what we should do to keep the ecology of our industry fresh and percolated.”

Thinking back to the start of Industry, Tranter said she had “taken for granted” being given a shot by the HBO and BBC on a drama that felt niche at the time. She implied it may not have been commissioned today.

“A TV drama commission is the stuff of dreams but particularly now it is so much harder because so much less is being done on both sides of the Atlantic and it’s so much harder to get work by new voices done,” she added.

She described former banking intern duo Down and Kay’s first draft as “like a flatline on a heart monitor,” but with “the most distinctive voice.”

“I’d never had a piece of work come in from writers who’d never written for TV before that was as strong as that,” added the His Dark Materials and Doctor Who exec. “I said to HBO, ‘Give us three years and they will be the best showrunners you have,’ and it took eight years.”

Down said his first draft was “almost documentarian, a reflection of our experiences of banking which was mainly monotony and the minutest drama.” “It was soulless and lifeless,” he said. “We didn’t have any of the humor.”

The panel was speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival , which will see talks from Warren Littlefield, Anne Mensah and singer will.i.am tomorrow.

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Is a Creative Writing degree worth it?

18 year old aspiring writer here. I'm beginning to question whether it is worth the money, time, and effort to go through college and perhaps grad school for a degree, or just get involved in the industry now, with hopes of working my way up. I know the answer to the question is different for everyone, but I guess I just wanted to hear from those who went through college and those who didn't and hear their thoughts.

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What Can You Do With a Creative Writing Degree?

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What are good careers for creative writing majors? originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights .

Answer by Brad Porter , on Quora :

What are good careers for creative writing majors? When you're talking about being able to make a career out of doing your own creative writing, that's a hard thing to manage, and very few do, if what you're talking about is essentially being a paid novelist or screenwriter or poet or whatever. 10% in fact seems high to me, in terms of the percent who make a living at it -- I'd have guessed closer to 1.

However, if what you're asking is just "what are good careers for creative writing majors," there are many where you can earn very good livings from writing all day long and where your degree will have at least some value/pedigree. There is a lot of written word out there (even more when you expand out to include other mediums), and somebody has to write it. And that person can be you!

I myself earned my degree in Creative Writing, and make an upper middle class living writing professionally. I write all day long, in addition to doing a lot of what you might more broadly call communications work (strategic messaging, institutional marketing, speech writing, etc.). And similarly, I work with a lot of writers in varying degrees of employ, from professionals to freelancers and everything in between. And I think it sometimes surprises Creative Writing majors to know that their skills and degrees can be put to good and lucrative use in ways that don't involve either: 1. being a successful published author, or 2. being an English professor. There is no need to box yourself into that paradigm if you don't want to and are open minded about ways to support yourself with your talents and experience as a writer.

You'll notice I'm going well beyond just "creative writing" here because that's a fairly reductionist label that isn't really used outside of the college major paradigm. Really what I'm talking about are people who are skilled writers and storytellers.

So just a few big buckets worth mentioning:

Journalism / freelance article writing: I am using the slash because I think most people, when they hear "journalism," think "newspaper reporter" or some variation of that. But in truth, think of all the many many platforms you encounter on a daily basis - from websites to newsletters to institutional publications to content aggregators to whatever - and for every one of them there is a huge need for content to feed the beast. I wound up starting, in all places, by picking up work at my university's alumni magazine, and from there expanded out to other institutions and organizations who did their own institutional publications, dabbled in some media publications or like free City View papers, and it was great fun and once you're plugged in a little, can be pretty lucrative. Of course, in some cases it is actual journalism, writing for newspapers or magazines for the sole purpose of public information, and in other cases it is much the same kind of work but towards a different end (i.e. an institution hires you to write a good article about it for their own use). But there is a constant need in the world for good freelance writers or stringers who you can say "hey, this guy at our organization just made a great breakthrough in such such field and we'd like to write a story about it and feature it in our channels" and who know how to do it and do good work. And, like journalism, it typically involves interviewing, doing research, crafting a compelling narrative, etc. Sometimes it's bylined sometimes it's not, sometimes it's freelance or sometimes it's agency-related or sometimes it's an actual staff position somewhere, but if all you wanted to do in life was to be handed subjects and go off and write compelling articles about them, you certainly can do that in thousands of ways in basically every field and subject area.

Marketing / advertising: The prior category was a lot more about long-form narrative pieces, but the world is also awash in marketing and advertising, and behind all of it there are incredibly creative people doing the conceiving, the writing, the design, the production, etc. I do a lot of institutional marketing myself, and I am constantly working with writers, illustrators, graphic designers, multimedia specialists, photographers, videographers, boutique programmers, etc. They come from the professional world but they also come from art schools from random passion backgrounds from writing programs from all kinds of places. And, while it's institutional in nature and marketing in form, it can still be fun, creative, and rewarding stuff. Sometimes this is an in-house capability for a particular product or company, sometimes it's in an agency that does that work on contract basis, sometimes it's freelance or for-hire work, but there's a lot of it, and many people who make great careers doing it.

Strategic / institutional communications: Typically, just straight writing - as in being a writer, that's what you do all day - maxes out at some point as a career path. Above it on the totem poll will be the people who manage communications for institutions and organizations. Name any company, nonprofit, associations, whatever, and chances are if they have more than 20 people, they have a staff member devoted to helping managing the communications needs. It could be a single individual, or it could be a 100 person shop, but being a communications manager or executive is a career path unto itself. It involves some writing, or it involves managing writing projects, and it also entails thinking strategically about how to position an organization or what kind of stories to tell about it or how to articulate its vision. This is basically the sort of work that I do for a living, and it is wildly varied, challenging, and exciting. You have to think of great stories but also ways of talking about things so that people hear you through the noise, or ways of differentiating your organization or product from everybody else's. And it goes beyond just writing, although there is a lot of that too. It can involve crisis communications, media placement, marketing, fundraising, all kinds of stuff. I might be writing a speech for a public figure one day and directing a video shoot the next, or I might be creating a fundraising appeal one day or overhauling a website the next. I might be pitching something to media in the morning and helping problem solve some new initiative in the afternoon. It's all over the place, but every organization needs a good, creative, nimble person who oversees or assists their communications. Note, similar to marketing, there are also plenty of agencies that just do this, just work as for-hire communications experts.

Education: Beyond joining the academy, there is a lot of need in education for people who know how to write and how to communicate effectively and can help teach, tutor, or mentor others in that regard. You might not think of this as "creative writing", but sitting with a student and helping them learn the rules of writing and then learn how to start putting themselves into it is something that is very rewarding, and very marketable. My sister, for instance, teaches English abroad, and makes a great living at it despite not having a background in either language or teaching. It could be private tutoring, test prep, writing center sort of stuff, continuing education, whatever, but people who can help others gain a fluency and mastery of written communication are always in demand somewhere.

Content specialists: A sort of a grab-bag bucket, but in essence if there's a topic or subject area you are particularly taken with, you can often earn money by being a sort of roving expert, a sort of professional explainer. I work with a lot of people who just specialize in writing about medicine, for instance - they might freelance for a medical school one day, pitch an article on the subject to a local newspaper the next, or offer their services to a trade publication or whatever another day. They might come in as ringers to help script or consult on a television project, they might be hired to be a talking head, they might be in the rolodex of people in the field as a possible ghostwriter or collaborator. But really, for basically any subject you can think of, you can find a way to scratch out a living simply learning everything you can about it, telling great stories about it, translating it for the common man. Often times, of course, the people that fill these roles are actual working experts in the field, but you'd be surprised how often those guys kind of suck at explaining in a compelling way what it is they do or why it matters. If you're somebody who can, you can make a good living selling that expertise and storytelling ability, in anything from medicine to ornithology to politics to tupperware, you name it.

Being You: A final bucket perhaps worth mentioning is, depending on how good you are, it is perfectly possible to essentially build a brand around yourself and start profiting from it in a myriad of ways. In this day and age, everybody has a platform, and everybody has at least the potential to reach anybody else. If you have a strong voice and something of value in your creative writing to add, you can just start shouting into the wind and, with any luck and a lot of hard work, might start catching some ears. Maybe you start a blog about a baseball team, maybe you start publishing fan fiction about Doctor Who that starts morphing into an original voice with actual fans, maybe you start creating YouTube videos about makeup, really the possibilities are limitless. But if you are a good writer - especially if you are a good storyteller - you can always essentially just try and blaze your own trail, create your own career. Note, the odds here aren't any better than being a bestselling author, at least in terms of "hitting it big", but there are tens of thousands of people who find ways of making money just by, in essence, being themselves and sharing their passions or insights in compelling ways to audiences who are interested in it.

Ultimately, it's less about what the degree immediately suggests, and more what you want to do and how you want to/have to make a living. Creative Writing, like many artistic majors, isn't so much about directly training for a career; rather it's about giving you the protected time and the space to engage exclusively in the work you're passionate about and develop and hone your skills as a writer. And, ultimately, like many artistic majors, coming out of it you should not only have the degree itself but also the beginnings of some kind of portfolio or a string of impressive samples.

Creative writing is both bad and good in that it in no way operates on an apprenticeship sort of model, or where you get such and such degree that leads to such and such graduate degree that leads to the standard "ground floor" position that you work your way up from (in the way that law, or business, or medicine might). After you graduate with a Creative Writing degree, there is no standard career template - which is why working writers have to learn not only to be good writers, but also to be good entrepreneurs. You have to make your own way, and you have to find ways to both save some creative space for yourself but also get along in a world where things like income and health insurance are important. I'd encourage any Creative Writing major though to be open minded and not box yourself into the "I'm either a successful writer or a writing professor and if I'm not one of those two things my degree was worthless" trap.

Because make no mistake - creative writing is everywhere, and wherever you find it, there's a writer behind it somewhere, getting paid (mostly).

This question originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights. You can follow Quora on Twitter , Facebook , and Google+ .

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Kemerovo Oblast—Kuzbass

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Kemerovo Oblast—Kuzbass is situated in southern central Russia. Krasnoyarsk Krai and Khakasiya lie to the east, Tomsk Oblast to the north, Novosibirsk Oblast to the west, and Altai Krai and the Republic of Altai to the south-west. Kemerovo was founded in 1918 as Shcheglovsk. It became the administrative centre of the Oblast upon its formation on 26 January 1943. The city is at the centre of Russia’s principal coal mining area. In 1998 Tuleyev signed a framework agreement with the federal Government on the delimitation of powers, which was accompanied by 10 accords aimed at strengthening the regional economy. The Oblast’s main industrial centres are at Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk, Prokopyevsk, Kiselyovsk and Leninsk-Kuznetskii. Kemerovo Oblast’s agriculture consists mainly of potato and grain production, animal husbandry and beekeeping. The Oblast is the largest producer of coal among the federal subjects, and a principal producer of steel.

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Kemerovo Oblast, Russia

The capital city of Kemerovo oblast: Kemerovo .

Kemerovo Oblast - Overview

Kemerovo Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in the south-east of Western Siberia, part of the Siberian Federal District. This region is also known as Kuzbass . In 2019, “Kuzbass” officially became the second name of Kemerovo Oblast. Kemerovo is the capital city of the region.

The population of Kemerovo Oblast is about 2,604,300 (2022), the area - 95,725 sq. km.

Kemerovo oblast flag

Kemerovo oblast coat of arms.

Kemerovo oblast coat of arms

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Kemerovo oblast latest news and posts from our blog:.

11 February, 2019 / Kemerovo - the view from above .

21 April, 2016 / The carnival-parade at the festival GrelkaFest in Sheregesh .

2 June, 2013 / Summer snowfall in Kemerovo .

9 February, 2012 / "BelAZ 75600" - the biggest truck in the former USSR .

31 October, 2010 / The ship-house in Kemerovo oblast .

History of Kemerovo Oblast

People began to settle in what is now the Kemerovo region several thousand years ago. The indigenous peoples of the region were Shortsy and Teleuts. In 1618, Russians founded Kuznetsky stockaded town in the south of the present region to protect Russian lands from the raids of the Mongols and Jungars. In 1698, Mariinsk was founded.

In 1721, Mikhailo Volkov found “burning mountain” (a burning coal seam) on the banks of the Tom River and thus became the person who discovered the Kuzbass coal deposits. Industrial development of this land started at the end of the 18th century.

During the 19th century, the territory of the Kemerovo region was part of the Tomsk province. During this period, the first industrial enterprises appeared here: Tomsk ironworks, Gavrilovsky and Gurievsky silver plants, Suharinsky and Salairsky mines. Construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway was one of the main reasons for the rapid development of the local industry.

More historical facts…

In Soviet times, the region became part of the West Siberian krai, and then - Novosibirsk oblast. The development of the coal, metallurgical and chemical industries continued: Kemerovo Coke Plant, Kuznetsk Metallurgical Plant, a lot of new mines. The workers’ settlements built near the industrial enterprises quickly obtained the status of towns: Kiselyovsk, Osinniki, Krasnobrodsky, Tashtagol, Kaltan, Mezhdurechensk and others.

During the Second World War, this region was a major supplier of coal and metal. More than 50 thousand tanks and 45 thousand aircraft were produced using steel from Novokuznetsk. 71 industrial enterprises were evacuated to Kuzbass from the occupied regions, most of them remained in the region after the war.

In 1943, Kemerovo Oblast became a separate region that included 17.5% of the territory and 42% of the total population of Novosibirsk Oblast. After the war, the region continued to grow rapidly. On September 18, 1984, about 100 km from Kemerovo, a peaceful underground nuclear explosion was carried out, the power of the explosive device was 10 kilotons.

In the 1990s, the region’s economy declined. However, by the end of the 20th century, there were some positive developments - the development of the coal industry in the first place. Special attention was paid to the development of open-pit coal mining, as a more effective and safe way.

Beautiful nature of Kemerovo Oblast

Mountain stream in the Kemerovo region

Mountain stream in the Kemerovo region

Author: Sergey Timofeev

On the shore of a small lake in Kemerovo Oblast

On the shore of a small lake in Kemerovo Oblast

Kemerovo Oblast landscape

Kemerovo Oblast landscape

Kemerovo Oblast - Features

Kemerovo Oblast is one of the few Russian regions that has a recognized and well-known alternative name “Kuzbass” - the abbreviation of “Kuznetsk coal basin” occupying a large part of the territory of the region.

It is the most densely populated part of Siberia. The length of the region from north to south is about 500 km, from west to east - 300 km. Russians make up more than 90% of the population. There are small nations of Shortsy, Teleuts, Siberian Tatars who have preserved their cultural traditions.

The climate is sharply continental with long cold winters and warm short summers. The average temperature in January is minus 17-20 degrees Celsius, in July - plus 17-18 degrees Celsius.

Today, about 86% of the population of Kemerovo Oblast lives in cities and towns making it one of the most urbanized regions of Russia. The largest cities are Kemerovo (548,000), Novokuznetsk (540,000), Prokopievsk (185,000), Mezhdurechensk (95,400), Leninsk-Kuznetsky (91,600), Kisilyovsk (83,700), Yurga (79,700), Belovo (70,100), Anzhero-Sudzhensk (65,700).

Sheregesh, a village located at the foot of Zelenaya Mountain in Tashtagol district, is one of Russia’s most popular ski resorts. The ski season lasts from November to May. Kuznetsky Alatau Reserve and Shorsky National Park are the main natural attractions.

Kemerovo Oblast plays a significant role in Russian industry. The following mineral resources are mined here: coal, gold, silver, iron ore, manganese ore, aluminum, nepheline ore, lead, zinc, barite, quartz, limestone, clay, dolomite, sand.

Kuznetsk coal basin is one of the largest coal basins in the world. The most important centers of the local coal industry are Prokopyevsk, Mezhdurechensk, Belovo, Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk, Osinniki, Leninsk-Kuznetsky. Coal mines can be found almost everywhere in the Kemerovo region. About 180 million tons of coal is mined annually.

Rail transport is well developed in the region. The Trans-Siberian Railway, the South Kuzbas branch of West Siberian Railway cross its territory. There are large airports in Kemerovo (Kemerovo International Airport) and Novokuznetsk (Spichenkovo Airport).

Kemerovo oblast of Russia photos

Pictures of kemerovo oblast.

Kemerovo Oblast scenery

Kemerovo Oblast scenery

Author: Sergey Ustuzhanin

Autumn in Kemerovo Oblast

Autumn in Kemerovo Oblast

Winter in Kemerovo Oblast

Winter in Kemerovo Oblast

Author: Max Palchevsky

Landscapes of Kemerovo Oblast

Kemerovo Oblast landscape

Churches in Kemerovo Oblast

Orthodox church in Kemerovo Oblast

Orthodox church in Kemerovo Oblast

Author: Yury Marchenko

Church in the Kemerovo region

Church in the Kemerovo region

Author: Ludmila Boriskina

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