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Tips for Creative Writing
- Read creative writing from notable authors
- This will enable you to have references to draw from as you write your piece
- Grab the audience’s attention from the start
- The opening sentence and paragraph are where the audience decides if they want to continue reading. Hook the audience in with a powerful start, such as a vivid story
- Constantly write
- Practice your writing every day or as much as you possibly can
- Anytime you have a writing idea, write down the idea and use this idea to write
- Follow the policy of “show don’t tell”
- Allow your audience to put themselves into the world you created in your writing through your language descriptions. Show the audience the world you created
- Identify and write from a point of view
- A point of view will drive your narrative and give your audience a lens that they can use to understand your writing
- Provide an impactful ending to your writing
- The ending leaves the audience with their final impression of your story and your writing skills
- Provide an ending that leaves the audience without any loose ends or create an ending that leaves the audience on an intentional cliffhanger
- Use strong, descriptive language to emphasize your points
- Follow a logical order throughout your writing
- If your story skips around in time, ensure that these transitions are clear and easy for the reader to follow
- Give your characters “life”
- Describe the characters to the audience in a way that allows them to know what the characters look like, who they are, what they believe and care about, etc.
- Utilize literary devices
- Examples include metaphors, similes, alliterations, consonance, and assonance
- Literary devices will make your writing have more of an impact on the audience and help them visualize the scenes in your writing
- Recognize who your audience is and modify your writing to fit their interests
- Avoid procrastination and begin writing, despite any fears and hesitations you may have
- Do not be hesitant to edit, revise, and rewrite your writing
- The revision process is where your writing is truly made
- Understand that sometimes the revision process calls for an entire rewrite of a portion of your writing
- Understand that it is possible to do “too much” in creative writing
- Avoid overwhelming your audience with too much information and descriptions
- If you are struggling to begin, write about what you know
- Use settings, characters, and backgrounds that you are familiar with
- When you feel ready, use your imagination to write about new settings, characters, and backgrounds that you are not familiar with. Conduct research to fill in the gaps of information you do not know
- Enhance your creative writing skills by constantly challenging yourself to write outside of your preferred genre, style, etc.
- Use dialogue between your characters to make your characters come alive on the page
