Here at the Writing Center, we don’t just encourage you to bring us academic writing; we also ALWAYS encourage you to bring creative writing! While creative writing is all fun and dandy, sometimes it’s difficult to know where to start, especially if you want your work to be seen by others.
Fear not, young grasshoppers! I have compiled a list of different creative writing outlets and opportunities that may interest you if you have a passion for (or just want to take a whack at) writing.
Blogging
Image courtesy of amerinator.blogspot.com
This is a great place to start if you have a certain topic of interest. You can probably find a blog about anything if you search hard enough (like this one about dogs wearing hats). There are a ton of websites you can use to start a blog, but WordPress and Tumblr are among the most popular.
Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org.
WordPress is fairly easy to use. You simply go to the website and click “Create Blog.” Then, you will be asked to choose a template for your content. If you want more photos in your blog, you’ll want to pick a template that allows you to create albums. If you want to have a more writing-based blog, there are templates that highlight that as well. When I studied abroad in Budapest in Fall 2014, I kept a blog about my travels and random thoughts. Here’s the link if you’d like to check it out as an example.
Tumblr is a bit different from WordPress. Users can post seven different types of content: text, photo, quote, link, chat, audio, and video. In addition, users can follow each other to see other content, which is able to be “liked” or “reblogged” (which is Tumblr’s version of a retweet). Users are also able to title their blog and create a theme, much like WordPress. It can even link to Facebook and Twitter so friends on those social networks can see their Tumblr posts. Those are the basics, so here’s a more in-depth how-to for Tumblr.
Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org.
The cool thing about blogging is that sometimes you can actually make money from it! That’s right, people have made careers out of posting their content on the internet. That’s so 21st century, right? If you’re interested in that path, here’s a website that consists of blogs about freelance blogging (blog-ception oooOOOooo).
*Side note: check out this blog run by a McDaniel alum. She gets paid to make fun crafts or recipes with different products. How awesome is that?
Contrast
In case you didn’t know, McDaniel has its own literary/art magazine called Contrast! Students are able to submit their creative works for publication, whether they are short stories, poems, photos, or other works of art. A committee reviews the submissions and votes on which ones should be published. If you are interested in more information, you can come to the Writing Center or contact Shannon McClellan (slm007) or Emma Richard (eir001).
Trouble getting started?
One of the most difficult stages in the writing process, regardless of the style, is getting started. Where do you find that inspiration to write the next great haiku? AdviceToWriters provides daily quotes to get your creative juices flowing. The site even has a post called The Best Writing Advice that compiles quotes from writers about advice given to them over the course of their careers.
If you’re interested in other creative outlets or writing opportunities, check out this list of 100 Best Websites for Writers.