Creative Writing Tips

    • Elmore Leonard - Don't Waste Reader's Time

    • Make sure to write so that your reader feels like their time is being well spent. Cut out the filler words that drag the story and clog up your sentences and spare the details that your reader would skip anyway.
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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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    • Characterization - Build a Backstory

    • As you write a story, take time to build out a sketch of each of your characters. Think about what they like, what has happened in their lives, where they come from. Even if all of these details don't make it into the actual story, they might help influence how your characters act and give you a better understanding of who they are.
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    • 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.
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    • 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.
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