Creative Writing Tips

    • Revising - Writing Groups

    • One of the best ways to keep you writing and finishing work is when you have a deadline. If you don't ACTUALLY have a deadline, having a regularly meeting writing group is a great way to impose a deadline on your work. It also allows people to provide input and give you further insight on your writing. As such, by joining a writing group, you're able to get people to edit your work, come up with new ideas, and keep yourself on task.
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    • 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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    • Characterization - Give Your Characters Quirks

    • Think about the people you know. The traits that make each of them stand out in your mind are their nuances and unique tendencies. Don't leave these out of your writing, and instead, give your characters their own unique traits. It will help to make them more memorable and likeable.
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    • Elmore Leonard - Don't Write What People Don't Read

    • Elmore Leonard said "Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip." This is an important lesson. Think about stories you read. Are there any parts you simply skip over? Identify what causes this and avoid doing it in your own writing.
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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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