The Creative Writing Dilemma

     Since middle school I have always loved the idea of writing a novel (always a novel never short stories, probably because up until recently all I read was novels) and getting published. Unfortunately that is one of the many things that works better - at least for me- in theory rather than practice. Over the years I started and discarded dozens of stories, some of which I have come across recently and cringe at the mere thought of how dreadful they were and still are (while in middle school I attempted to write a novel on friendship).
      I bring the "creative writing dilemma" up now because I am currently in the process of revising the only story that I have ever been able to finish - cutting it down from four-thousand and sum words to three-thousand - for a creative writing program that I am applying for this year. Suffice to say it is not going well. The more I cut and rework in this story the more I dislike it and the more I just choose not to do it even though the application is due in about a week. In an attempt to free myself from the shackles of this sinking ship of a story I have been considering writing an entirely new one for the application. This has taken me from a sinking ship to a sunk ship.
      I have often heard it said that there are two key things to writing creatively: a) write what you know and b) do not write an autobiography (it was not said so bluntly but it was implied). So to write a story or novel the suggestion is to take something from reality - a messy roommate situation perhaps- and turn it into fiction, or as I prefer to think about it: take a pinch of the real and create an ocean of fiction around it so that the pinch of reality is almost indistinguishable. This theory I understand, but, once again, in practice I flop. For instance, the only completed story that I have (which is only complete because I had to write it for a class) takes the reality of my time as an exchange student in Edinburgh and creates the fiction of a budding romance with an attractive Russian. The entire story reeks of poor development and cliche plot twists, I have obviously watched too many bad romantic comedies ( it cannot possibly be a product of the books that I read since they are by and large magnificent).
     So here is where I write in my review of creative writing. It is wonderful in theory and I am sure once you have taken the time to learn the rules of the creative, consistent writing game you will be able to play wonderfully but until then, in practice creative writing is a painful dilemma. Perhaps by the end of this month I will feel differently having been once again successful with creating an entire world of fiction based off of a small grain of fact but at this moment in time I am dismayed.