Difference between Creative Writing and Content Writing

We often hear “creative and content writing” and how people cant d but did you know both are different? Often people use these terms interchangeably. Amazingly, people can’t differentiate between things they read daily. All the forms of fictional content we consume, with some creation from the writer’s side, are termed creative. On the other hand, content writing is a more market-driven form that relies on information written in a specific manner. The article is about the two most influential forms of writing today. Now let’s dig deep and discover what aspects separate creative and content writing and their key characteristics.

Creative Writing – A personal vision

Creative Writing is something you grow up with, be it poems from school, stories from your grandmother or movies you see with your friends. It’s all part of creative writing. Interestingly, the term has been coined recently. Earlier, all forms of creative writing was predominantly called literature. The most essential part of creative writing is that it has a personal voice to it. It represents the thoughts of the writer. Creative Writing has been there since the discovery of the printing press and has transformed itself from print to television to now the web. The best part is that it has evolved with time and still has the spark to entice the reader or viewer to read or watch something.

Key Features of creative writing-

  • Ideation

It’s the most critical part of any creative writing, as the core of any story or creation is an exciting idea.

  • Storytelling

You should be able to weave a story the reader can enjoy. The art of creative writing is reflected in such a fascinating story that hooks the reader or the viewer.

  • Vision

It is the vision of the writer that gives originality to his story and where the writer brings it to life.

  • The Appeal 

Creative writing is a very personal form of writing as the writer gives life to his vision or dreams, but without the appeal to a reader, all the hard work will be lost.

  • Entertainment

With the attention span getting shorter and with a plethora of options available, it is vital for the writing to be entertaining for the reader or the audience to want to read or see it to the end.

Types of creative writing

  •  Novel
  • Short Story
  • Scripts 
  • Journals 
  • Editorials

Content writing – a professional presentation

Content writing has jumped from being nowhere to being everywhere in twenty years. From the beginning of the twenty-first century, as the internet storm took us all by surprise, it brought a whole new world. With the introduction of social media platforms, content writing has become an essential part of practically all businesses and even individuals. Earlier, all information about current affairs, sports, and entertainment was consumed through a handful of newspapers, while information about the world of finance, health etc, was received through magazines. Later with the introduction of cable TV we started receiving world news through different international channels And now, with Google, just a click of a few buttons on your palms. Everyone and anyone is online, and content writing has become essential to increase visibility. Everyone wants information from all sectors of society with just a click of a button, and yours has to be the first to bring the much-needed sales boost.

Key Features of Content Writing

    • Target audience

    Content writing has to be undertaken, keeping the target audience in mind. Your content has to be developed keeping in mind your consumers. 

    • Readability

    Your content should be in a language that any layperson can easily understand. In the current competitive world where there is a plethora of online content, yours should resonate with your consumers for them to open and read it. 

    • Meeting deadlines

    One of the most important aspects of being a content writer. Especially for clients who depend on reaching their audience with current affairs or trends. If it is old news, no one wants to read it anymore.  

    • Factual information 

    You must write things with facts to back your information. It is not creative writing. Here factual information has to be supported by a research report or source of the research. 

    • Market-driven 

    With AI technology taking the market by storm, staying with the current trends is essential to remain at the top of your game.

    Types of content writing 

  • SEO friendly blogs
  • Website content 
  • Social Media content
  • Advertisement copy
  • Emails 
  • B2B, B2C content

Significant Differences between creative writing and content writing

  1. Personal Vs Professional motives

While writing a short story or novel, the writer is not liable to any firm/person. A writer is just looking to tell a story from a personal point of view, with his only motive being to entertain his or her readers or viewers. In contrast, content writing is more professional, with the writer liable to produce quality content that resonates with the company’s target audience. In creative writing, the writer can let their imagination fly with words. In comparison, content writing has to be easily readable by its audience.

2. Universal Vs Trending

No one needs an introduction to Harry Potter. It connects with people across the globe with age, not being a bar. This quality of creative writing is termed universal, as magic has universal appeal and audience. Everyone wants to believe that magic is real, and that’s where it resonates with the audience. Then comes the trending factor, which is associated with content writing. Trends are hallmarks of what is going on in the market and change from time to time. Content writers have to be up-to-date with it to shell out fantastic write-ups. In comparison, creative writers can weave the age-old formula in a new bottle and still come out as best sellers as long as they have universal appeal.

3. The tone of writing

It’s the essential part of writing as it decides the effect of your content on the reader. Depending upon the content, the tone changes. A factual report or write-up needs a formal tone for the readers to take the information seriously. For a content writer, it is imperative to keep the tonality of the piece the same throughout. Again formal or informal will depend on the target audience. Whereas for a reader to read a story end to end without wanting to keep the book aside is where formal tonality is useless. An exciting story will have different tones in a single book depending on the story to keep the reader engrossed till the end.

How to find your style

If you are a writer or budding writer, you should look at the style of writing that you associate yourself with. If you like to create a world driven by a vision or want to tell a story, you are the creative one. If you are good at research and collecting data, you can be fit for content writing. It’s essential to understand you can adapt to both writing styles. You can also write professional content and still write your stories or personal blogs and vice versa. It’s vital to understand the distinguishing features of both styles of writing. Many content writers have blogs exploring their creative side, and many creative writers adopt content writing to have financial security.

These creative and content writing fields will be at the pinnacle of this virtual world. From influencers to big tech companies to funny YouTube sketches, all fall under the name of content. It’s about finding your flair for writing and let those words peak for your abilities. 

We hope this overview of creative and content writing must have given a basic idea of the difference in the writing style. 

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