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Does Creativity Trump All?

October 7, 2009 by Nathan Bransford 202 Comments

Kia Abdullah suggested this topic a few weeks back.

In her words: “Should writers know their dangling modifiers from their past participles or does creativity trump all?”

In my words: how important is creativity over craft?

And if your answer is “they’re both important,” what’s the mix? Could someone carry a story through sheer storytelling creative genius alone or do they need some adherence to novel-writing conventions?

Filed Under: The Writing Life Tagged With: How to Write a Novel, You Tell Me

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Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    October 14, 2009 at 8:03 pm

    Communicate in an understandable structure. Allow the intent and personality of the writer, characters, narrative, et al. be known. I don't want blue collar to sound like an English professor.

    Reply
  2. Alyssa says

    April 18, 2010 at 7:53 pm

    Look, unless you're James Joyce or Jack Kerouac, don't think you can get so far outside of the box so as not even be able to SEE the box, and still connect with an audience, let alone a publisher. You have to prove a certain level of command over the rules before being permitted to break them.

    Reply
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