Creative Writing Tips

    • Try Out National Novel Writing Month

    • The non-profit organization, National Novel Writing Month, known as NaNoWriMo can be found at http://www.nanowrimo.org/. The organization is for writers and works to get people writing. The objective is to get a novel written in a month, from November 1st to November 30th. Having these deadlines will help keep you focused and get you working hard to get your writing out there.
    • Comments()

    • Elmore Leonard - Never Start With Weather

    • It's the classic awkward conversation piece. Talk about the weather because you have nothing else to say. It's also an easy thing to describe. However, when opening a story, nothing ostracizes a reader more than starting with the weather. Talk about something relevant to the story, or something that will lure them into it. Don't tease them with useless information.
    • Comments()

    • Writing Ideas - Read Everything

    • A lot of people learn by example and why should writing be any different? Read other peoples stories and you can get a feel for what they do that works and doesn't work. It also might help you think of your own ideas that spin off from what they do.
    • Comments()

    • Elmore Leonard - Don't Use "Suddenly" or "All Hell Broke Loose"

    • While you might feel like something suddenly happened, it's a waste of space in writing. Suddenly gives the reader no visual understanding of what is being described, it makes something sound magical. Use more thorough descriptions of things and the reader will piece together what happened. Likewise, "All hell broke loose" gives no true visual of what's happening in the story. Don't rely on cheap phrases but instead, provide the visual imagery that will cause the reader to make that conclusion on his or her own.
    • Comments()

    • When to Use Flashbacks

    • Flashbacks can be a great tool. They add clarity to your writing and can provide the background information that will explain your character''s motives. However, before you can provide the WHY of the story (seen in a flashback), you need to make sure people know the WHO and the WHAT. Give people a good understanding of your character before providing flashbacks or else the reader will lack any interest in the flashback''s content.
    • Comments()


View all creative writing tips