Cainta Catholic College

Cainta, Rizal

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

Academic Year 2020-2021
First Semester

UNIT 1 – CREATIVE WRITING: AN INTRODUCTION

Module 2: Being A Writer

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the end of the module, you should be able to:
1. Understand what it means to be a creative writer.
2. Employ best practices and good working habits of a writer.
3. Become mindful of the process of writing using a journal.

I. WARM UP (PRELIMINARY ACTIVITY)

We have all encountered days where we really cannot get inspiration or drive to write, especially if it
is a requirement we do not enjoy. List top 10 reasons why you do not find writing enjoyable.

10
 How can you overcome these hindrances? Why are some people paralyzed with fear when it comes to
writing?
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II. READING ACTIVITY:

Read the following excerpt from Virginia Woolf’s diary and observe her own struggles while writing
To the Lighthouse.

One thing in considering my state of mind now, seems to me beyond dispute; that I have, at last, bored
down into my oil well, and can’t scribble fast enough to bring it all to the surface. I have now at least 6
stories welling up in me, and feel, at last, that I can coin all my thoughts into words. Not but what an
infinite number of problems remain; but I have never felt this rush and urgency before… Now suppose I
might become one of the interesting – I will not say great—but interesting novelists? Oddly, for all my
vanity, I have not until now had much faith in my novels, or thought them my own expression.
The truth is that writing is the profound pleasure and being read the superficial.

I have made a very quick and flourishing attack on To the Lighthouse, all the same – 22 pages straight off
in less than a fortnight. I am still crawling and easily enfeebled, but if I could once get up steam again, I
believe I could spin it off with infinite relish. Think what a labour the first pages of Dalloway were!  Each
word distilled by a relentless clutch on my brain.

Answer the following questions:

1. How did Woolf view the act of writing? What was her attitude toward working on her novel?
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2. What struggles did she face while writing?
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3. What is the tone of the piece? What do you notice about its sentence construction and syntax?
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III. LEARNING DISCUSSION:
WRITERS ARE READERS
Writers are imitators. At its heart, our job is to watch the world, listen to it, feel it, and then
reproduce it using the tools of language. We writers are readers, too.

That is why we tend to “write what we know.” Human beings

are built for input, and what we put into our minds likely
comes out in our writing.
Writers Are Readers
There’s a cliche that “writers are readers,” and it exists for
good reason. Writers are people who love the cycle of
storytelling. It goes something like this.

Person reads a story and loves it. Person imagines a similar

story in his or her own head. Person sits down to write that
story. New person reads the new story. Repeat. If you are a
writer, you are probably a reader, too. And most writer-readers
look to their literature for inspiration. But you must be cautious when choosing inspiration.

WORKING HABITS
You’re committed to developing your writing voice, improving your skills and working steadily on your
craft. But, sometimes after a day’s writing, you want to pull out your hair. If only you could figure out what
successful writers do every day and then use this insight to get better at your craft and learn how to become
a writer. Because a lot of successful writers are inaccessible (or they’ve passed on). The good news is you
can still learn from them if you put in the work. All you have to do is emulate their writing habits.
In this post, I’ll explain the 7 habits of highly successful writers and how you can cultivate these habits
using practical writing tips.
1. Have an Orderly Daily Routine (That Pays)

The creative process is messy, unordered and demanding, but you’ll find it harder to organise your
writing if your life outside of the blank page is chaos.
The writer George Flaubert argued an orderly daily routine is all writers need to create. He said: “Be
regular and orderly in your life, so you may be violent and original in your work.” For many writers
(particularly new ones), being regular and orderly means keeping a job. When you sit down to write, the
last thing on your mind should be paying the bills. If the prospects of an orderly routine fill you with
boredom, consider T.S. Elliot.

How to Cultivate This Habit

Until your writing is earning you a decent income, don’t quit your job. Instead, create on the margins of the
day by either getting up early or writing after work.
2. Write Every Day

Successful writers sit down in front of the blank page every day, not just at the weekends or when
inspiration strikes. They do the work, because writing is their job, not just a hobby. Consider Anthony
Trollope. This 19th-century English author produced an astonishing 47 novels during his career; two dozen
were published while he worked in the General Post Office.

According to Mason Currey, Trollope said about writing every day:“All those I think who has lived as
literary men, – working daily as literary labourers, – will agree with me that three hours a day will
produce as much as a man ought to write.” If Trollope completed a novel during his three-hour writing
session, he took out a blank sheet of paper and started writing a new one, immediately.

How to Cultivate This Habit

Writing three hours a day is a tall order if you’ve never attempted it. Instead, write for 15 minutes today
and 15 minutes tomorrow. Set an alarm on your phone to remind yourself to write. The following week,
write every day for 30 minutes. Do this until you create a writing routine that sticks.

3. Leave Yourself Subtle Writing Prompts

Prolific writers know how important it is to get going quickly and efficiently. They leave themselves subtle
prompts that simplify picking up from the previous day’s work. Ernest Hemingway famously stopped
writing in the middle of a sentence so he’d know exactly where to resume the following day. The American
novelist Henry Miller was also a big believer in stopping before he ran out of ideas. He said: “I don’t
believe in draining the reservoir, do you see? I believe in getting up from the typewriter, away from it,
while I still have still things to say.”

How to Cultivate This Habit

Buy a packet of index cards or Post-It notes. When you’re finished for the day, write on a single index card
or Post-It what you want to work on tomorrow. Now, stick this next to where you write.

4. Embrace Research

For a long time, I struggled to accept research as part of the writing process. The contemporary non-fiction
writer Robert Greene spends hundreds of hours researching books like Mastery and The 48 Laws of Power.
Greene typically reads 300–400 books about a particular topic. He annotates what he reads and translates
his notes to a trusted system for organising his ideas. In this Reddit AMA, he said: “I read a book, very
carefully, writing on the margins with all kinds of notes. A few weeks later I return to the book, and
transfer my scribbles on to note cards, each card representing an important theme in the book.”
How to Cultivate This Habit

Review your calendar and block part of your creative time for writing and another part for research. If
you’re worried about getting stuck and endlessly researching your work, set a hard deadline for when
you’ll stop researching and start writing.

5. Work Without Distraction

Successful writers know quietness and being alone are triggers for deep thinking that supports the creative
process. Perhaps, this explains why pictures of writer’s offices and workspaces are so popular with other
writers and creative people? The American novelist behind Freedom and the Corrections seeks solitude by
disconnecting himself from the internet. During a book tour for his 2012 novel Freedom, Jonathan Franzen,
told a journalist he wanted to write more each day. So, he physically removed his Wi-Fi card from his
computer and permanently blocked his machine’s ethernet connection with Super Glue.

How to Cultivate This Habit

Create a place where you can work uninterrupted on your ideas for at least an hour at a time. This could be
a small room in your house or apartment, a quiet table in your local favourite coffee shop or a seat at the
back of the train where you can sit and write wearing noise-cancelling headphones. The location is less
important than having a place your brain associates with writing at length without interruption.

6. Practice being physically healthy

Sitting at a desk, hunched over an old manuscript or your keyboard for hours at a time isn’t good for your
physical health, and writing in pain isn’t conducive to creativity.
Successful writers go to great lengths to keep themselves physically healthy so they have the strength to
come up with new and better ideas. The British writer Charles Dickens was a prolific walker. On a given
day, Dickens walked 12 or more miles around Kent or through the streets of Victorian London. He used
many moments from these walks as inspiration for his novels. “There are details in Dickens’ descriptions—
a window, or a railing, or the keyhole of a door—which he endows with demoniac life. The things seem
more actual than things really are,” says critic G.K Chesterton in Charles Dickens: A Critical Study.

How to Cultivate This Habit

Keep a pair of trainers next to where you write as a visual reminder to exercise. Even walking (or running)
for 30 minutes at the end of the day will help you sleep better and give you more energy to write tomorrow.
If you exercise for several days in a row, reward yourself with a healthy treat.

7. Don’t Wait for Inspiration to Arrive

Accomplished writers are fastidious about recording ideas throughout the day. Mark Twain carried a
pocket notebook with him for his ideas. Thomas Jefferson jotted down notes about everything from the
growth of plants and flowers to observations about daily life. Even George Lucas keeps a notebook with
him when he’s shooting a film.
My favourite story about a writer who made it a point to write things down involves the children’s author,
Roald Dahl. One day, Dahl found himself stuck in traffic. Suddenly, he thought of a breakthrough for a
story he was working on. Having no notepad or pen, he grew afraid he’d forget his idea before getting
home. So, Dahl got out of the car and with his finger, he wrote the word ‘chocolate’ into the dirt on his
vehicle. This idea later became Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Dahl said about his ideas:“You work it
out and play around with it. You doodle… you make notes… it grows, it grows…”

How to cultivate this habit

Commit to writing down 5–10 ideas (it doesn’t matter how outlandish) in a notebook you carry around
every day. You can use digital tools, like an app on your smartphone, or you can buy a small notebook that
fits in your pocket.

Your Creative Path is Clear

If you’ve been writing for a while, you’ll recognise these 7 habits as proven writing advice.
That shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Becoming a successful writer doesn’t mean discovering a great secret. Instead, walk the path of the literary
betters who came before you.

Do what they do, and you’ll discover how they work.

Then, you’ll be able to use this new insight into your creative life to improve the quality of your writing
and strike out on your own.

JOURNAL WRITING
We keep a lot of things in our heads, but we put less down on paper. All those thoughts and ideas bouncing
around can sometimes feel overwhelming. You have to-do lists, hopes, dreams, secrets, failures, love, loss,
ups and downs. Ideas come and go, feelings pass. How do you remember all of them? How do you keep
them organized? A great way to keep your thoughts organized and clear your mind is to write them down
in a journal. Writing is a great exercise for anyone and by expressing yourself in a personal place is a
wonderful way to stay sane.

Starting a Journal
To start a journal, you just need to be willing to write. You don’t have to write well, you just need to want
to do it. You don’t even need to decide what to write, you just need to let your words flow. Once you’ve
decided you want to create a journal, here is a long list of instructions to guide you:

Set up a schedule of when you play to write in your journal. You want to turn your writing into a habit, so
create a schedule. Pick a time and the days of the week you will want to write and create a timely calendar
reminder, so you don't forget. By scheduling the same times, journaling will become a natural and regular
part of your agenda that you can look forward to.
 1. Find the right space to write.
When you’re writing, it is helpful to be in a space where you can focus and concentrate. A quiet
room with no distractions works best. Allow yourself to focus on your writing, without any
interruptions. Make sure you are able to sit upright and are comfortable. An office or a study room
is always great.
2. Close your eyes and reflect on your day.
You may not know what to write about and that’s okay. Your journal can be about anything you
want. A good way to begin writing is to close your eyes and think about what you’re feeling.
3. Ask yourself questions.
What has happened that day? How did that make you feel? Are you excited about anything? Why?
Reflect on the thoughts and feelings you’ve been having.
4. Dive in and start writing.
It is easy to begin sentences with, “I feel,” or “I think,” or “I wonder.” Don’t feel pressured to stick
to any particular form or topic. The beginning of your journal writing can just be an introduction to
your thoughts at the time. This is your personal space, so you should feel comfortable writing. 
5. Time yourself.
Set a time for how long you want to write. Somewhere between 5-20 minutes is ideal, depending on
how much you want to jot down. Setting a time will help you stay focused and stop you from
getting carried away. It is easy to feel like you need to write down every detail and this will help
prevent that. 
6. Re-read your entry and add additional thoughts. 
7. When you are finished writing a journal entry, go back and read through it. Once you have
reviewed what you have written, add a couple sentences at the end about what you noticed or
thought about your words. If you can, summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two. That is a great
way to narrow in on topics.

10 Tips When Writing a Journal

Here are some tips to get started properly and consistently writing in your journal.
1. Set a schedule
As we mentioned earlier in the article, setting a schedule is a great first step. Decide how many
times you want to write and set a schedule. Whether it be once a day, or once a week, decide on a
time you want to write and don’t skip it.
2. Keep it private
A journal is personal and should be a place you feel comfortable expressing yourself honestly and
truthfully. Penzu keeps your journal safe and secure, with all your entries made private by default,
only made available to share under your command.
3. Meditate
Any journal entry will benefit from some moments of reflection before you begin writing. Before
you start writing, go to a quiet place and focus on your breath for a few minutes. This is a
wonderful exercise to clear your head and settle your thoughts.
4.Brainstorm
If you want your journal to be about something specific, brainstorm ideas to write about. You can
write a bible journal, a dream journal, cooking, work, school, anything you want! Feel free to start
writing down ideas of what you are interested in or feel you should be writing about. This is the
perfect place to get your creative juices flowing.
 5.Date your entry
It is important to keep each journal entry dated, so you know when you wrote it. You will want to
go back through your journal at some point and see when the entries of the topic you’re writing
about were added. 6.Title your entry
If you can, try and title your entries. This will help you navigate your journal and keep your
writings focused. You don’t need to title it before you start writing though. A great way to think of
a title is after you’ve written, but it is something to keep in mind.
7.Write naturally
When writing, don’t feel like you have to follow any form or structure. Just do what comes
naturally. Follow your train of thought and see what kind of writing follows.
8.Write quickly
Don’t let writer’s block get in your way. Just keep writing whatever comes to mind. It is always
hard to stop and start again, so keeping writing. It doesn’t have to make sense. Don’t think too
much about the words you are putting on the page. You can make sense of them later.
9.Write honestly
Your journal is for your eyes only, so be honest. You don’t want to lie to yourself. Be real with
your thoughts, feelings and opinions. Be as candid as you can. You want your journal to be an
honest representation of yourself and the times you’re writing in.
10. Have fun
Writing a journal should be an enjoyable experience. Have fun with your writing and take pleasure
in it. Writing in your journal shouldn’t be a chore. It should be something you look forward to
doing, so make it a fun exercise.

IV. ACTIVITY

1. Write a journal entry about the topic you want and love. Be creative in your title (You may use
an extra sheet for this)

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REFERENCES:
Vasquez, LMV., Lee, G., Creative Writing. Manila City: REX Book Store. 2017
Kamras, Sam (2020) “Excerpts of the Diary of Virginia Woolf”. Retrieved from
http://creativelifestyleblog.com/diary-virginia-woolf-notable-excerpts/
Collins, Bryan (2020) “7 Habits of a good writer” Retrieved from https://becomeawritertoday.com/7-
habits-of-highly-succesful-writers/
Penzu Incorporated (2020) “Journal Writing” Retrieved from https://penzu.com/how-to-start-and-write-a-
journal