So you want to improve at creative writing? Here are 3 tips from one of our writers to get you started!
Read, Read, Read
Yes, okay. Every single person in the world will tell you to read. Every. Single. One. Read this, read that… blah blah blah. Surprisingly, it actually works. Here’s a word of advice: Identify your problem. Read to solve it.
Is your problem vocabulary and expression? Do you just not understand how to verbalise your thoughts? You have a beautiful scenario in your head, a flawless plot and intriguing characters, but you don’t know how to express them? Read just above your level. If you’re reading Colleen Hoover and Taylor Jenkins Reed, why not try Kristen Granata or Ana Huang? Then Jane Austen? (Yes, it seems like a big leap. It’s really not.) Read consistently at higher and higher levels. Start with YA, then branch off into genres. Romance. Fantasy. Horror. Thriller. Immerse yourself in the genre, in the works of ancient authors of the genre. No, you don’t have to start with H.P. Lovecraft. Build it up.
Is your problem more to do with writing techniques? You want to write an action scene, but it falls flat with no tension? You want to write a tender romance, but it’s too slow and stiff? Once again, read. Read books of the genre. Go book-hunting. Ask friends and family. Ask librarians, ask online. What books of that genre did they enjoy and why? And find your own taste. Expand and broaden your book choices. Magpie from the authors. Is there a line you particularly loved? Why? Can you replicate those emotions in your own words? Is there a description or a word choice you liked? Something that just completed the scene? Try and replicate it. Try to use that word. Try to mimic what you read until you find your writing style.
Write, Write, Write
The Snowflake Method
The Snowflake Method was created by author Randy Ingermanson in the early 2010s. Since then, its popularity has soared. So much that you may be using it without realising.
Come up with a basic plot. One paragraph of plot. Just one.
Now expand. Make it two paragraphs. Then three. Then four.
Then pages. One page. Two pages. Three pages?
Start adding things. Start adding description. What are your settings?
Start adding character traits. What are your characters like? How do you want your audience to see them? How do you want to see them?
Add movements. Add dialogue. Build up your tension.
And just keep going.
Not so bad, is it? Just give it a go.
Freewriting
This is very literal. Free. Writing. No structure, no flash cards. No outlines. No notes. Forget about everything that matters. Just write. Start with a single point. One point. A piece of dialogue. A movement. A word. And just build it up. Just write. Write what comes from your brain. Write what comes from your heart. Write what comes from your soul. Spill your feelings onto paper. Spill them into the keys of your laptop. Into the screen of your phone. Spill. And just write.
And If Nothing Else Works…
Write one hundred words a day. That’s not a lot. Just one hundred. You can do it. One hundred words a day of anything. Poetry. Prose. Dialogue. Movement. Description. Anything. Write something from your head, something from your heart. Something from a memory. Something from an online writing prompt. Something based on a story, or quote, or anecdote. Just one hundred words a day. And when you’re consistent, try two hundred. Then three hundred. Build it up. And you’ll find yourself becoming a better writer word by word by word.
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