It’s crucial to underscore a key concept in creative writing studies: this discipline aims to establish a theory of composition rooted in the perspective of writers. In addition, it represents a new approach to literary theory in the broader sense—a departure from traditional theories influenced by the viewpoints of readers and critics. Instead, it stands in contrast to such perspectives. Consequently, when it comes to writing and reading methods, it differs significantly from traditional literary theory. The writing methods promoted by traditional literary theory—such as realism, romanticism, and expressionism—are all based on the reading perspective. However, since these methods don’t originate from the author’s perspective, they may not effectively inspire or guide an author’s creative process. This is a widely held belief among modern writers. Similarly, traditional reading and critical methods neglect the author’s perspective, often favoring the views of readers or critics alone. What about readers who are both readers and writers—so-called read-writers, individuals who possess dual identities? Creative writing studies advocate for this dual nature of readers based on the principles of “everyone can write”, suggesting that readers possess inherent creative potential. The methodologies of reading from pure readers or critics seem inadequate. This chapter aims to establish a generative narrative theory within “creative writing studies” and “creative ontology”. Its central argument is to explore the creative writing methods of narrative works from the standpoint of the writer and the creative process, emphasizing the aspect of “generation” (generation of world, character, action). More significantly, it introduces the concept of “generative-transitional grammar” in narratology, drawing inspiration from the concept of generative-transitional grammar in linguistics, to elucidate the theory of narrative generation from the writer’s perspective. The core argument posits that narrative is a “generative activity” rooted in creativity. The generation of the narrative is dominated by the original sequence of the world, characters, and actions, ultimately framed by the generation of narrative grammar based on the framework of “action sequence”. The generation of each specific story2 narrative represents a unique manifestation of generative-transitional narrative grammar derived from the basic generative narrative grammar.

Narratives as Products of Creativity

章节
发表日期：

2025年

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Ge Hongbing

摘要

It’s crucial to underscore a key concept in creative writing studies: this discipline aims to establish a theory of composition rooted in the perspective of writers. In addition, it represents a new approach to literary theory in the broader sense—a departure from traditional theories influenced by the viewpoints of readers and critics. Instead, it stands in contrast to such perspectives. Consequently, when it comes to writing and reading methods, it differs significantly from traditional literary theory. The writing methods promoted by traditional literary theory—such as realism, romanticism, and expressionism—are all based on the reading perspective. However, since these methods don’t originate from the author’s perspective, they may not effectively inspire or guide an author’s creative process. This is a widely held belief among modern writers. Similarly, traditional reading and critical methods neglect the author’s perspective, often favoring the views of readers or critics alone. What about readers who are both readers and writers—so-called read-writers, individuals who possess dual identities? Creative writing studies advocate for this dual nature of readers based on the principles of “everyone can write”, suggesting that readers possess inherent creative potential. The methodologies of reading from pure readers or critics seem inadequate. This chapter aims to establish a generative narrative theory within “creative writing studies” and “creative ontology”. Its central argument is to explore the creative writing methods of narrative works from the standpoint of the writer and the creative process, emphasizing the aspect of “generation” (generation of world, character, action). More significantly, it introduces the concept of “generative-transitional grammar” in narratology, drawing inspiration from the concept of generative-transitional grammar in linguistics, to elucidate the theory of narrative generation from the writer’s perspective. The core argument posits that narrative is a “generative activity” rooted in creativity. The generation of the narrative is dominated by the original sequence of the world, characters, and actions, ultimately framed by the generation of narrative grammar based on the framework of “action sequence”. The generation of each specific story2 narrative represents a unique manifestation of generative-transitional narrative grammar derived from the basic generative narrative grammar.