Creative Writing Tips

- Actions Speak Louder Than Words
- Also known as show don't tell, the idea here is that you need to convey your message to a reader in more than just the words. Don't just say "Jon was mean" but instead, allow the reader to conclude that based upon Jon's actions in the story.
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- Revision: Proofread Regularly
- Proofreading a piece isn't just a simple read through of the piece you're working on. It's important to proofread your writing on several occassions with different goals in mind. Doing so will enable you to catch different mistakes and to look at your writing with different perspectives.
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- Poetry - Cut the Articles
- In poetry, the articles (the, a) often just slow the piece down and distract from the real visuals. Try removing the articles from your poetry whenever possible.
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- Don't Be Afraid to Stink
- Sometimes your writing isn't going to be the best you want it to be. Your first drafts will almost always come out poorer than you'd like them to be. It's okay! It's part of the process. Look at what you like in the poor material and run with it.
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- Elmore Leonard - Just Use Said
- As Elmore Leonard has said, avoid using anything besides said to carry dialogue. Most other words will just clutter up the dialogue and it's better to let the words and your physical descriptions of people to carry the dialogue.
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Writing Tips