advice creative writing

Creativity Techniques

26+ Creative Writing Tips for Young Writers

So you want to be a writer? And not just any writer, you want to be a creative writer. The road to being a legendary storyteller won’t be easy, but with our creative writing tips for kids, you’ll be on the right track! Creative writing isn’t just about writing stories. You could write poems, graphic novels, song lyrics and even movie scripts. But there is one thing you’ll need and that is good creative writing skills.

Here are over 26 tips to improve your creative writing skills :

Read a wide range of books

When it comes to creative writing, reading is essential. Reading allows you to explore the styles of other writers and gain inspiration to improve your own writing. But don’t just limit yourself to reading only popular books or your favourites. Read all sorts of books, everything from fairytales to scary stories. Take a look at comics, short stories, novels and poetry. Just fill your heads with the knowledge and wisdom of other writers and soon you’ll be just like them!

Write about real-life events

The hardest thing about creative writing is connecting emotionally with your audience. By focusing your writing on real-life events, you know that in some way or another your readers will be able to relate. And with creative writing you don’t need to use real names or details – There are certain things you can keep private while writing about the rare details. Using real-life events is also a good way to find inspiration for your stories.

Be imaginative

Be as crazy and wild as you like with your imagination. Create your world, your own monsters , or even your own language! The more imaginative your story, the more exciting it will be to read. Remember that there are no rules on what makes a good idea in creative writing. So don’t be afraid to make stuff up!

Find your writing style

Thes best writers have a particular style about them. When you think of Roald Dahl , you know his books are going to have a sense of humour. While with Dr Seuss , you’re prepared to read some funny new words . Alternatively, when you look at R.L.Stine, you know that he is all about the horror. Think about your own writing style. Do you want to be a horror writer? Maybe someone who always writes in the first person? Will always focus your books on your culture or a particular character?

Stick to a routine

Routine is extremely important to writers. If you just write some stuff here and there, it’s likely that you’ll soon give up on writing altogether! A strict routine means that every day at a certain time you will make time to write about something, anything. Even if you’re bored or can’t think of anything, you’ll still pick up that pencil and write. Soon enough you’ll get into the habit of writing good stuff daily and this is definitely important for anyone who wants to be a professional creative writer!

Know your audience

Writing isn’t just about thinking about your own interests, it’s also about thinking about the interests of your audience. If you want to excite fellow classmates, know what they like. Do they like football , monsters or a particular video game? With that knowledge, you can create the most popular book for your target audience. A book that they can’t stop reading and will recommend to others!

Daily Exercises

To keep your creative writing skills up to scratch it is important to keep practising every day. Even if you have no inspiration. At times when your mind is blank, you should try to use tools like writing prompts , video prompts or other ways of coming up with ideas . You could even take a look at these daily writing exercises as an example. We even created a whole list of over 100 creative writing exercises to try out when you need some inspiration or ideas.

Work together with others

Everyone needs a little help now and then. We recommend joining a writing club or finding other classmates who are also interested in writing to improve your own creative writing skills. Together you can share ideas, tips and even write a story together! A good storytelling game to play in a group is the “ finish the story” game .

Get feedback

Without feedback, you’ll never be able to improve your writing. Feedback, whether good or bad is important to all writers. Good feedback gives you the motivation to carry on. While bad feedback just gives you areas to improve and adapt your writing, so you can be the best! After every piece of writing always try to get feedback from it, whether it is from friends, family, teachers or an online writing community .

Enter writing competitions

The best way to improve your creative writing is by entering all sorts of writing competitions . Whether it’s a poetry competition or short story competition, competitions let you compete against other writers and even help you get useful feedback on your writing. Most competitions even have rules to structure your writing, these rules can help you prepare for the real world of writing and getting your work published. And not only that you might even win some cool prizes!

Keep a notebook

Every writer’s best friend is their notebook. Wherever you go make sure you have a notebook handy to jot down any ideas you get on the go. Inspiration can come from anywhere , so the next time you get an idea instead of forgetting about it, write it down. You never know, this idea could become a best-selling novel in the future.

Research your ideas

So, you got a couple of ideas for short stories. The next step is to research these ideas deeper.

Researching your ideas could involve reading books similar to your ideas or going online to learn more about a particular topic. For example, if you wanted to write a book on dragons, you would want to know everything about them in history to come up with a good, relatable storyline for your book.

Create Writing Goals

How do you know if your writing is improving over time? Simple – Just create writing goals for yourself. Examples of writing goals might include, to write 100 words every day or to write 600 words by the end of next week. Whatever your goals make sure you can measure them easily. That way you’ll know if you met them or not. You might want to take a look at these bullet journal layouts for writers to help you track the progress of your writing.

Follow your passions

Writing can be tedious and many people even give up after writing a few words. The only way you can keep that fire burning is by writing about your true passions. Whatever it is you enjoy doing or love, you could just write about those things. These are the types of things you’ll enjoy researching and already know so much about, making writing a whole lot more fun!

Don’t Settle for the first draft

You finally wrote your first story. But the writing process isn’t complete yet! Now it’s time to read your story and make the all-important edits. Editing your story is more than just fixing spelling or grammar mistakes. It’s also about criticising your own work and looking for areas of improvement. For example, is the conflict strong enough? Is your opening line exciting? How can you improve your ending?

Plan before writing

Never just jump into writing your story. Always plan first! Whether this means listing down the key scenes in your story or using a storyboard template to map out these scenes. You should have an outline of your story somewhere, which you can refer to when actually writing your story. This way you won’t make basic mistakes like not having a climax in your story which builds up to your main conflict or missing crucial characters out.

It’s strange the difference it makes to read your writing out aloud compared to reading it in your head. When reading aloud you tend to notice more mistakes in your sentences or discover paragraphs which make no sense at all. You might even want to read your story aloud to your family or a group of friends to get feedback on how your story sounds.

Pace your story

Pacing is important. You don’t want to just start and then quickly jump into the main conflict because this will take all the excitement away from your conflict. And at the same time, you don’t want to give the solution away too early and this will make your conflict too easy for your characters to solve. The key is to gradually build up to your conflict by describing your characters and the many events that lead up to the main conflict. Then you might want to make the conflict more difficult for your characters by including more than one issue in your story to solve.

Think about themes

Every story has a theme or moral. Some stories are about friendship, others are about the dangers of trusting strangers. And a story can even have more than one theme. The point of a theme is to give something valuable to your readers once they have finished reading your book. In other words, to give them a life lesson, they’ll never forget!

Use dialogue carefully

Dialogue is a tricky thing to get right. Your whole story should not be made up of dialogue unless you’re writing a script. Alternatively, it can be strange to include no dialogue at all in your story. The purpose of dialogue should be to move your story forward. It should also help your readers learn more about a particular character’s personality and their relationship with other characters in your book.

One thing to avoid with dialogue is… small talk! There’s no point in writing dialogue, such as “How’s the weather?”, if your story has nothing to do with the weather. This is because it doesn’t move your story along. For more information check out this guide on how to write dialogue in a story .

Write now, edit later

Writing is a magical process. Don’t lose that magic by focusing on editing your sentences while you’re still writing your story up. Not only could this make your story sound fragmented, but you might also forget some key ideas to include in your story or take away the imagination from your writing. When it comes to creative writing, just write and come back to editing your story later.

Ask yourself questions

Always question your writing. Once done, think about any holes in your story. Is there something the reader won’t understand or needs further describing? What if your character finds another solution to solving the conflict? How about adding a new character or removing a character from your story? There are so many questions to ask and keep asking them until you feel confident about your final piece.

Create a dedicated writing space

Some kids like writing on their beds, others at the kitchen table. While this is good for beginners, going pro with your writing might require having a dedicated writing space. Some of the basics you’ll need is a desk and comfy chair, along with writing materials like pens, pencils and notebooks. But to really create an inspiring place, you could also stick some beautiful pictures, some inspiring quotes from writers and anything else that will keep you motivated and prepared.

Beware of flowery words

Vocabulary is good. It’s always exciting when you learn a new word that you have never heard before. But don’t go around plotting in complicated words into your story, unless it’s necessary to show a character’s personality. Most long words are not natural sounding, meaning your audience will have a hard time relating to your story if it’s full of complicated words from the dictionary like Xenophobia or Xylograph .

Create believable characters

Nobody’s perfect. And why should your story characters be any different? To create believable characters, you’ll need to give them some common flaws as well as some really cool strengths. Your character’s flaws can be used as a setback to why they can’t achieve their goals, while their strengths are the things that will help win over adversity. Just think about your own strengths and weaknesses and use them as inspirations for your storybook characters. You can use the Imagine Forest character creator to plan out your story characters.

Show, don’t tell

You can say that someone is nice or you can show them how that person is nice. Take the following as an example, “Katie was a nice girl.” Now compare that sentence to this, “Katie spent her weekends at the retirement home, singing to the seniors and making them laugh.”. The difference between the two sentences is huge. The first one sounds boring and you don’t really know why Katie is nice. While in the second sentence, you get the sense that Katie is nice from her actions without even using the word nice in the sentence!

Make the conflict impossible

Imagine the following scenario, you are a championship boxer who has won many medals over the year and the conflict is…Well, you got a boxing match coming up. Now that doesn’t sound so exciting! In fact, most readers won’t even care about the boxer winning the match or not!

Now imagine this scenario: You’re a poor kid from New Jersey, you barely have enough money to pay the bills. You never did any professional boxing, but you want to enter a boxing competition, so you can win and use the money to pay your bills.

The second scenario has a bigger mountain to climb. In other words, a much harder challenge to face compared to the character in the first scenario. Giving your characters an almost impossible task or conflict is essential in good story-telling.

Write powerful scenes

Scenes help build a picture in your reader’s mind without even including any actual pictures in your story. Creating powerful scenes involves more than describing the appearance of a setting, it’s also about thinking about the smell, the sounds and what your characters are feeling while they are in a particular setting. By being descriptive with your scenes, your audience can imagine themselves being right there with characters through the hard times and good times!

There’s nothing worse than an ending which leaves the reader feeling underwhelmed. You read all the way through and then it just ends in the most typical, obvious way ever! Strong endings don’t always end on a happy ending. They can end with a sad ending or a cliff-hanger. In fact, most stories actually leave the reader with more questions in their head, as they wonder what happens next. This then gives you the opportunity to create even more books to continue the story and keep your readers hooked for life (or at least for a very long time)!

Over 25 creative writing tips later and you should now be ready to master the art of creative writing! The most important tip for all you creative writers out there is to be imaginative! Without a good imagination, you’ll struggle to wow your audience with your writing skills. Do you have any more creative writing tips to share? Let us know in the comments!

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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Writing Nestling

How To Improve Creative Writing (18 Effective Ways)

Embarking on the journey to improve one’s creative writing is like setting sail into an uncharted sea of boundless imagination and linguistic exploration.

Creative writing, a realm where words transform into vivid narratives, characters come to life, and emotions are painted across the pages, is a skill that thrives on constant growth and evolution.

In this guide, we will traverse the landscape of creative writing, delving into its various forms, mastering the craft, and unlocking the secrets to becoming a more skilled and imaginative writer.

Whether you’re a seasoned wordsmith seeking refinement or a budding writer just beginning your literary voyage, the path to improvement is a rich tapestry waiting to be woven, where inspiration knows no bounds, and storytelling becomes an art form.

So, fasten your literary seatbelt, for the journey to enhance your creative writing prowess is about to commence.

Table of Contents

How To Improve Creative Writing

To improve your creative writing skills, follow these steps:

Read Widely:

Read a diverse range of literature, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and different genres. This exposure will help you understand various writing styles and techniques.

Write Regularly:

Practice writing consistently. Set aside dedicated time each day or week to write. The more you write, the better you’ll become.

Expand Your Vocabulary:

Work on building a rich vocabulary. Learn new words, their meanings, and how to use them effectively in your writing.

Study Grammar and Punctuation:

A strong grasp of grammar and punctuation is essential. Review the rules and practice to avoid common mistakes.

Create a Writing Routine:

Establish a routine that works for you. Whether it’s early in the morning, late at night, or during lunch breaks, find your optimal writing time.

Outline Your Ideas:

Plan your writing in advance. Create outlines, mind maps, or notes to organize your thoughts before you start writing.

Set Writing Goals:

Define clear goals for your writing projects. Whether it’s completing a short story , novel, or a series of articles, having goals keeps you motivated.

Seek Feedback:

Share your work with peers, writing groups, or mentors. Constructive feedback helps you identify areas for improvement.

Revise and Edit:

Writing is rewriting. After you’ve completed a draft, revise and edit your work for clarity, coherence, and style.

Experiment with Style and Genre:

Don’t be afraid to try different writing styles and genres. Experimentation can help you discover your unique voice.

Read Aloud:

Reading your work aloud can help you catch errors, awkward phrasing, and improve the rhythm of your writing .

Be Observant:

Pay attention to the world around you. Observing people, places, and events can provide inspiration and authenticity to your writing.

Overcome Writer’s Block:

When you’re stuck, try free writing, brainstorming, or taking a break to refresh your creativity.

Stay Inspired:

Surround yourself with inspiring sources, whether it’s art, nature, music, or conversations. Inspiration can fuel your creativity.

Edit and Proofread:

Once you’ve completed your writing, thoroughly edit and proofread it for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.

Publish and Share:

Share your work through blogs, social media, or submit it to publications. Public sharing can provide valuable feedback and exposure.

Learn from Feedback:

Take feedback seriously and use it as a tool for improvement. Analyze critiques to enhance your writing skills.

Keep Learning:

Writing is an ongoing journey. Continuously seek to learn and grow as a writer by attending workshops, reading about writing, and experimenting with new techniques.

Remember, improving your creative writing skills takes time and dedication. Patience, persistence, and a willingness to learn are key to becoming a better writer.

Understanding Creative Writing

Understanding creative writing is like embarking on a journey into the boundless realm of imagination, where words become brushstrokes, painting the canvas of your mind with vivid worlds, complex characters, and emotions that dance off the page.

It’s a realm where you’re the architect of reality, bending the rules of ordinary language to conjure extraordinary stories that tickle the senses and stir the soul.

It’s about wielding the power of narrative to shape destinies, provoke thought, and make hearts skip a beat.

In the realm of creative writing, you’re both the magician and the audience, crafting spells with sentences that transport you and your readers to places unknown, unraveling mysteries, and exploring the infinite possibilities of human expression.

Different forms of creative writing

Creative writing encompasses a kaleidoscope of diverse forms, each a unique facet of the literary universe.

There’s the enchanting world of fiction, where novelists weave intricate plots and multidimensional characters that become your companions on thrilling adventures.

Poetry, a mesmerizing tapestry of words, paints vivid imagery and emotion in the concise space of a few lines.

Non-fiction is a realm of truth and authenticity, where writers illuminate reality with memoirs, essays, and journalistic narratives. Screenwriting brings storytelling to life on the silver screen, capturing the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide.

These forms are but a glimpse into the labyrinth of creative writing, where the only limit is the boundaries of one’s imagination.

Elements of creative writing

The elements of creative writing are the building blocks that breathe life into words , transforming them into vibrant stories.

At the heart of any creative work lies the intricate dance of plot, where conflicts and resolutions unfurl like a well-orchestrated symphony.

Characterization paints portraits of individuals, each with their own quirks and depths, making them unforgettable to the reader.

Setting, a crucial backdrop, provides the stage upon which these tales unfold, influencing moods and actions.

Themes thread through the narrative like a hidden river, adding depth and purpose, while style is the unique fingerprint of the author, infusing the work with their voice and perspective.

These elements, in concert, give creative writing its compelling complexity , inviting readers to embark on journeys that resonate with their hearts and minds.

Cultivating a Creative Mindset

Cultivating a creative mindset is akin to tending to the most wondrous of gardens—the garden of the imagination.

It’s about donning the gloves of curiosity and nurturing the seeds of inspiration, coaxing them to bloom into vibrant ideas that dance in the sun-dappled meadow of your thoughts.

In this garden, writer’s block withers under the warmth of persistence, and the weeds of self-doubt are plucked away with unwavering belief in your creative potential.

It’s a sanctuary where meditation and mindfulness are the water and sunlight, ensuring that the fruits of your imagination grow ripe and abundant.

In this verdant oasis, you are the creator and the caretaker, shaping the tapestry of your mind into a masterpiece of creativity that never ceases to blossom with new ideas.

Overcoming writer’s block

Overcoming writer’s block is like finding a hidden passage out of a labyrinth of your own thoughts. It’s the art of breaking free from the stranglehold of a blank page and transforming it into an open canvas.

Sometimes, the most formidable adversary is not the lack of ideas but the daunting prospect of beginning. To conquer this nemesis, one must navigate a myriad of techniques, from freewriting and brainstorming to changing the physical environment, in order to unearth the buried treasure of creativity within.

It’s a mental jigsaw puzzle where pieces of inspiration are scattered, and solving it involves patience, resilience, and sometimes simply allowing your mind to wander until it stumbles upon that elusive spark that will ignite your words.

Overcoming writer’s block isn’t just a battle won; it’s a gateway to the ever-expanding universe of storytelling, waiting to be explored with fervor and imagination.

Developing a writing routine

Developing a writing routine is akin to crafting a symphony out of the everyday humdrum. It’s the art of carving out sacred moments in the day, allowing the muse to speak amid the cacophony of life’s demands.

A writing routine is the scaffold that supports the architecture of creativity, providing the structure and discipline necessary for the magic of storytelling to flourish.

Whether it’s the first light of dawn or the stillness of midnight, these designated hours become the writer’s sanctuary, the place where the mind opens up like a treasure chest of ideas, and words flow like a river.

It’s in these moments of consistency that the craft evolves, enabling writers to hone their skills, unravel narratives, and beckon inspiration at will.

Ultimately, a writing routine is a personal ritual that weaves creativity into the fabric of daily existence, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary, one word at a time.

Mastering the Craft

Mastering the craft of writing is like harnessing the mystical forces of language to conjure entire universes from the ink of your pen.

It’s a lifelong journey of delving into the labyrinth of words, where each sentence becomes a brushstroke, and every paragraph a brush dipped in the palette of emotions.

It’s an alchemical process, where you transmute raw ideas into literary gold, refining your art through an unending cycle of creation, revision, and relentless pursuit of perfection.

Every metaphor, every plot twist , and every character’s whisper becomes a note in the grand symphony of storytelling, where the crescendo is the moment you realize you’re not just a writer; you’re a sorcerer, weaving spells with every keystroke, capturing the hearts and minds of readers with the magic of your narrative.

Vocabulary and Language

Vocabulary and language are the enchanting threads that weave the tapestry of storytelling. A writer’s arsenal of words is akin to a painter’s palette, each word a unique hue that, when skillfully blended, creates vivid imagery and evokes powerful emotions.

A rich and varied vocabulary is the cornerstone of effective communication, allowing writers to express the nuances of thought and sentiment with precision and eloquence.

Language, on the other hand, is the vessel that carries these words, shaping the tone and rhythm of a narrative.

The beauty of this interplay lies in the writer’s ability to select the perfect word, the ideal phrase, and the most evocative metaphor, thereby sculpting a literary masterpiece that resonates with readers, captivating their senses, and transporting them to worlds of imagination and wonder.

In the realm of creative writing, vocabulary and language are the keys to unlocking the full spectrum of human experience and imagination.

Writing Techniques

Writing techniques are the chisels and brushes of the wordsmith, essential tools that sculpt and paint the narrative.

They encompass a spectrum of strategies that shape the flow and impact of a piece of writing. “Show, don’t tell” is the art of letting readers experience a story through sensory details and actions, fostering a deeper connection.

Crafting authentic dialogue breathes life into characters, allowing them to converse and reveal their personalities naturally.

The choice of point of view, whether first person, third person, or omniscient, defines the lens through which the reader perceives the tale.

These techniques, like a craftsman’s skills, enable writers to craft stories with finesse, immersing readers in vivid landscapes, relatable characters, and intricate narratives, making the written word a portal to realms of imagination and emotion.

Reading as a Writer

Reading as a writer is akin to peering behind the scenes of a magnificent stage production to witness the magic of storytelling in its purest form.

It’s a journey where the reader transforms into a literary detective, dissecting the prose, unraveling the plot, and examining the intricate brushstrokes of the author’s craft.

With each turn of the page, a writer learns the secret language of pacing, character development, and dialogue that is whispered through the text.

It’s an immersive masterclass that teaches the orchestration of tension, the symphony of foreshadowing, and the art of unveiling mysteries.

In this dual role of reader and writer, one discovers that every book is not just an escape but an invitation to the backstage, where the invisible threads of narrative manipulation are spun, inspiring the storyteller within to reach new heights and craft unforgettable tales.

Analyzing literature

Analyzing literature is akin to embarking on an archeological expedition into the layers of human expression and experience.

It’s a fascinating journey where each page holds the whispers of the past and the echoes of the author’s soul.

As one delves into the intricacies of a literary work, it’s like decoding a cryptic message, revealing the hidden treasures of symbolism, theme, and narrative structure.

Every word, sentence, and character becomes a clue in a grand puzzle, inviting you to explore the profound depths of the human psyche and society.

In the process of literary analysis, readers not only unearth the intellectual and emotional nuances of a text but also gain a profound appreciation for the artistry of the written word, for it is in these revelations that the alchemy of storytelling is unveiled, proving that literature is not merely ink on paper, but a mirror reflecting the intricate mosaic of human existence.

Learning from other authors

Learning from other authors is akin to a masterclass in the art of storytelling. It’s an exquisite journey of exploration, where you walk in the footsteps of literary giants, witnessing their genius unfold across the pages of their works.

These authors, like mentors from afar, offer invaluable lessons in character development, plot structure, and the delicate dance of language.

With each book you read, you glean insights into the diverse ways authors craft their narratives, be it the lyrical prose of one or the gripping dialogue of another.

Their stories serve as templates, guiding you in understanding the subtleties of storytelling, nurturing your creative instincts, and sparking that inner fire of inspiration.

In the pages of their books, you find not just tales, but the wisdom of those who have paved the way, ready to illuminate your path as you embark on your own journey of writing.

Building a personal library

Building a personal library is like assembling a treasury of knowledge, imagination, and soul. Each book, lovingly arranged on the shelves, is a passport to different worlds, eras, and minds.

It’s a sanctuary where you can escape the mundane and embark on an endless odyssey of exploration, enlightenment, and enchantment. Your personal library becomes a reflection of your intellectual curiosity and passions, a curated collection of stories and wisdom that have resonated with you.

Beyond the tangible beauty of bound pages, it’s a space where you can seek refuge, inspiration, and solace.

In this haven, books aren’t just inanimate objects; they are the keepers of dreams, mentors, and the compass that guides you on your own creative journey, whispering their stories and secrets, ready to be discovered anew each time you open their pages.

Research and Fact-Checking

Research and fact-checking are the unsung heroes of the writer’s craft, the secret agents who ensure that the tapestry of fiction and the canvas of non-fiction remain unblemished by errors.

Like intrepid explorers, writers embark on quests for knowledge, sifting through archives, traversing the corridors of history, and plumbing the depths of the digital ocean.

Fact-checking is the lighthouse that guards against the treacherous cliffs of misinformation, ensuring that the narratives we weave are anchored in truth.

It’s not just a scholarly pursuit; it’s the alchemy that transforms a story from mere entertainment into a portal to the worlds, cultures, and ideas it seeks to represent.

In the realm of research, writers become detectives, unearthing secrets, unmasking mysteries, and painting the scenery with the vivid strokes of authenticity.

Without this duo, the magic of storytelling would lose its luster, and readers would be adrift in a sea of uncertainty.

Importance of accuracy in creative writing

The importance of accuracy in creative writing cannot be overstated, for it is the cornerstone upon which the credibility and resonance of a narrative are built.

While creativity allows us to conjure imaginary realms and characters, these creations must find their roots in a foundation of truth.

Factual accuracy in the details of a story, whether it’s historical, scientific, or cultural, lends authenticity to the narrative, enriching the reader’s experience by making the fictional world feel tangible and relatable.

Inaccuracies can disrupt the suspension of disbelief, pulling readers out of the story, and eroding the trust they place in the author.

Moreover, for works that explore complex themes or socio-cultural issues, accuracy is paramount in promoting understanding and empathy.

By upholding the value of accuracy, creative writing can reach its full potential, becoming a powerful vessel for both entertainment and enlightenment.

Finding Your Voice

Finding your voice in the vast wilderness of creative expression is like discovering a hidden gem within your own soul.

It’s not just about words; it’s the symphony of your thoughts, your emotions, and the unique cadence of your experiences coming to life on the page. Your voice is the compass that guides you through the labyrinth of creativity, allowing you to navigate the realms of storytelling with authenticity.

It’s a fingerprint that distinguishes your work from the rest, making your narratives resonate with a singular, unforgettable resonance.

Finding your voice is not just a revelation; it’s a journey of self-discovery, an ongoing exploration of who you are and how you want to connect with the world through the magic of words.

It’s the moment when you realize that your voice, unlike any other, is the key to unlocking the hearts and minds of your readers, inviting them to explore the world as you see it and share in the emotions that define your unique narrative.

Personal style and uniqueness

Personal style and uniqueness in writing are the vibrant colors that distinguish an artist’s canvas from all others.

Your writing style is the echo of your personality, your perspective, and the experiences that shape you. It’s the idiosyncratic rhythm of your sentences, the selection of words that resonate with your soul, and the peculiar nuances that define your narrative fingerprint.

Embracing your uniqueness is not a departure from the norm but a celebration of individuality, an affirmation that your voice is unlike any other.

In a world filled with words, it’s your personal style that makes your work stand out, inviting readers to explore the world through your eyes and experience the emotions that pulse through your stories.

Your style is your signature, and your uniqueness is the spark that ignites the literary world, reminding us that in the realm of creativity, diversity is the catalyst for innovation and the source of endless inspiration.

Authenticity in storytelling

Authenticity in storytelling is the golden thread that weaves a powerful connection between the writer and the reader.

It’s the unwavering commitment to truth, not in the factual sense, but in the emotional and human sense. Authentic storytelling dares to venture into the raw, unvarnished corners of the human experience, revealing vulnerability, joys, struggles, and complexities with unapologetic honesty.

It acknowledges the imperfections of characters, the messiness of life, and the ambiguity of morality.

Authenticity in storytelling is the bridge that allows readers to see themselves in the characters and situations, to empathize, to confront their own truths, and to resonate with the essence of the narrative.

It’s a reminder that, in the world of storytelling, the most profound impact is often not achieved through escapism but through a mirror reflecting the truth of our shared humanity, inviting us to explore, understand, and embrace the beautifully imperfect mosaic of human existence.

Overcoming Challenges

Overcoming challenges is akin to harnessing the fiery spirit of a phoenix, rising from the ashes of adversity with newfound strength and resilience.

It’s the grand adventure of our lives, where obstacles are not roadblocks but stepping stones towards personal growth and transformation.

Challenges are the litmus test of character, the forge where determination is tempered, and where the human spirit finds its true mettle.

In the face of these trials, we discover untapped reserves of courage, creativity, and perseverance that we never knew existed.

Like intrepid explorers charting uncharted territories, we boldly face the unknown, seeking not just victory but self-discovery, for it is in the crucible of challenges that our true potential is revealed, and we emerge as the heroes of our own stories.

Publishing and Sharing Your Work

Publishing and sharing your work is like setting a fleet of paper boats adrift on the vast sea of human connection.

It’s the culmination of the creative journey, where words born in the depths of your imagination finally take flight, finding their way into the hearts and minds of readers around the world.

It’s not just about self-expression; it’s the bridge that unites creators with an audience eager to embark on the emotional and intellectual voyages they’ve crafted.

Sharing your work is an act of courage and vulnerability, inviting both praise and criticism, but it’s also an affirmation that your voice is worthy of being heard.

It’s the act of extending a hand to others, saying, “Come, join me on this journey,” and allowing your stories to become a part of the tapestry of the human experience.

In the realm of publishing and sharing, you become a storyteller not just for yourself but for the world, weaving connections, igniting conversations, and leaving an indelible mark on the shared narrative of humanity.

Traditional vs. self-publishing

The choice between traditional and self-publishing is a crossroads that writers often face, each path offering its own set of opportunities and challenges.

Traditional publishing, akin to the majestic gates of a literary castle, can provide the author with the validation and resources of an established publishing house, offering professional editing, cover design, and broad distribution networks.

It opens doors to bookstores and literary awards, but it also demands patience and perseverance in the face of stringent gatekeepers. Self-publishing, on the other hand, is the democratization of literature, an open road that allows authors to take the reins of their creative destiny.

It offers control and speed of publication but requires authors to take on multiple roles, from editing to marketing.

Ultimately, the decision hinges on individual goals and preferences, as each path holds the promise of sharing stories with the world, whether under the watchful eye of a traditional publisher or the entrepreneurial spirit of self-publishing.

Continuing Education

Continuing education is the compass that keeps the writer’s journey ever-advancing. It’s the symphony of growth in a world that constantly whispers new stories and knowledge.

Imagine it as an uncharted library, where each book holds the key to unlock a new realm of understanding, and each workshop or course is an invitation to dance with different writing techniques.

It’s not just about honing existing skills; it’s about unfurling new horizons and uncovering hidden treasures in the treasure chest of literary prowess.

Continuing education is the echo of the writer’s heartbeat, a reminder that the world of words is boundless and ever-evolving, and that within its embrace, the writer can continue to explore, learn, and craft stories that leave an indelible mark on the literary landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about How To Improve Creative Writing

What is creative writing, and why is it important to improve this skill.

Creative writing is the art of crafting original and imaginative stories , poems, or prose. It’s important to improve this skill because it not only enhances your ability to express yourself but also unlocks the door to a world of creativity, enabling you to engage and captivate readers.

How can I overcome writer’s block and boost my creativity?

Overcoming writer’s block can be achieved through various techniques like free writing, mind mapping, or changing your writing environment. To boost creativity, consider practicing mindfulness, exploring new experiences, and cultivating a daily writing routine.

What are some effective strategies for improving my vocabulary and language skills?

Expanding your vocabulary can be done by reading widely, using a thesaurus, and playing word games. To enhance language skills, study grammar and syntax, experiment with different writing styles, and immerse yourself in literature.

What are some common writing techniques to improve the quality of my creative writing?

Common writing techniques include “show, don’t tell,” crafting compelling dialogue, and mastering point of view. These techniques help to make your storytelling more engaging and immersive.

How can I find my unique voice as a writer?

Finding your unique voice involves experimenting with different writing styles, embracing authenticity, and understanding that your individual perspective is your greatest asset. It’s about being true to yourself and your experiences.

What’s the importance of reading as a writer, and how can I analyze literature effectively?

Reading exposes you to different writing styles and genres, helping you learn and grow as a writer. Effective analysis of literature involves examining themes, characters, and symbolism, and considering the author’s use of language and narrative structure.

What are the differences between traditional publishing and self-publishing, and how do I decide which is right for me?

Traditional publishing involves working with established publishing houses, while self-publishing allows you to independently release your work. The choice depends on your goals, the level of control you want, and your willingness to handle aspects like marketing and distribution.

How can I ensure the accuracy of my work, especially when writing about real-world facts and details?

To ensure accuracy, research extensively using reliable sources, fact-check rigorously, and consider seeking feedback from experts in the field you’re writing about.

What’s the role of continuing education in improving creative writing, and where can I find resources for it?

Continuing education helps you stay updated with the latest writing trends and hone your skills . You can find resources through writing workshops, online courses, writing groups, and literary events.

How do I deal with writer’s rejection and criticism constructively, and stay motivated in my writing journey?

Dealing with rejection and criticism involves developing resilience, learning from feedback, and keeping your passion for writing alive. Staying motivated can be achieved by setting goals, celebrating small wins, and surrounding yourself with a supportive writing community.

In the realm of creative writing, the journey to improvement is an endless odyssey, an ever-evolving expedition into the limitless depths of imagination and language.

It’s a path that weaves through the intricacies of plot, character, and style, as well as the nuances of authenticity and self-expression. Whether you are a seasoned wordsmith or a budding writer, the pursuit of creative excellence is a lifelong commitment to self-discovery, growth, and storytelling.

As you navigate the labyrinth of writer’s block, craft your unique voice, and refine your skills, remember that creative writing is not merely a craft; it’s a journey of self-expression, a gateway to new worlds, and a conduit for shared experiences.

So, pen in hand and heart afire, continue to embark on this voyage, for it is through the continuous exploration of your own creative depths that you will not only improve your writing but leave an indelible mark on the world of literature.

Your story is waiting to be told, and the pen is your magic wand, the world your canvas.

Happy writing !

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Writers' Treasure

Effective writing advice for aspiring writers

Creative Writing 101

Creative writing is any form of writing which is written with the creativity of mind: fiction writing, poetry writing, creative nonfiction writing and more. The purpose is to express something, whether it be feelings, thoughts, or emotions.

Rather than only giving information or inciting the reader to make an action beneficial to the writer, creative writing is written to entertain or educate someone, to spread awareness about something or someone, or to express one’s thoughts.

There are two kinds of creative writing: good and bad, effective and ineffective. Bad, ineffective creative writing cannot make any impression on the reader. It won’t achieve its purpose.

So whether you’re a novelist, a poet, a short-story writer, an essayist, a biographer or an aspiring beginner, you want to improve your craft. The question is: how?

When you write great fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, amazing things can happen. Readers can’t put it down. The work you wrote becomes a bestseller. It becomes famous. But you have to reach to that level… first .

The best way to increase your proficiency in creative writing is to write, write compulsively, but it doesn’t mean write whatever you want. There are certain things you should know first… it helps to start with the right foot.

To do exactly that, here we have a beginners’ guide from Writers’ Treasure on the subject:

An Introduction to Creative Writing
How to Get Started in Creative Writing in Just Three Steps
Creative Writing vs. Technical Writing
Fiction Writing 101: The Elements of Stories
Poetry Writing: Forms and Terms Galore
Creative Non-Fiction: What is it?
Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Creative Writing
Common Mistakes Made by Creative Writers

For novelists: do you want to write compelling opening chapters?

Are you an aspiring novelist? Will your novel see the light of day? For that, you will need to make the first chapter of your story as compelling as possible. Otherwise, readers won’t even pick up your novel. That chapter can be the make-or-break point that decides whether your novel is published or not. It’s because good editors know how you write from the first three pages… or sometimes even from the opening lines.

To solve this problem, I created a five-part tutorial on Writing Compelling Opening Chapters . It outlines why you need to write a compelling opening chapter, my personal favourite way of beginning it, what should be told and shown in it, general dos and don’ts, and what you need to do after having written it. Check it out for more.

Need more writing tips?

Sometimes you reach that stage when you outgrow the beginner stage of writing but feel that you’re not yet an expert. If I just described you, no worries– Writers’ Treasure’s writing tips are here. Whether you want to make your writing more readable, more irresistible, more professional, we’ve got you covered. So check out our writing tips , and be on your way to fast track your success.

I offer writing, editing and proofreading , as well as website creation services. I’ve been in this field for seven years, and I know the tools of the trade. I’ve seen the directions where the writing industry is going, the changes, the new platforms. Get your work done through me, and get fast and efficient service. Get a quote .

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Creative Writing Tips for Beginners: 10 Top Tips

Hannah Yang

Creative writing can be a very fulfilling hobby.

Writing can help you explore deep questions, use your imagination, and express your thoughts and feelings in a healthy way.

If you want to learn creative writing, you’ve come to the right place. Read on to learn our top ten creative writing tips to help you get started.

How to Write Creatively

10 creative writing tips for beginners, how to get better at creative writing, where to find creative writing help.

Anyone can learn creative writing—all you need is a pen and paper, or your writing software of choice.

Once you’ve got your tools ready, it’s time to think of a story idea. You can draw inspiration from your own life, newspaper headlines, songs you like, or anything else around you.

If you don’t have any story ideas in mind, you can also try starting with a prompt. Here are a few creative writing prompts you can choose from:

Write about someone with a dangerous secret
Write a scene set at your favorite restaurant
Write a story about someone who wakes up with no memories, except for a single name
Write a story from the perspective of someone who isn’t human
Complete the sentence: “It was a completely normal Saturday except for…”

Pick up your pen, choose your favorite prompt, and start writing!

If you’re new to creative writing, here are ten fiction writing tips that you can try.

Tip 1: Read Widely

It’s hard to become a great musician without having heard a lot of great music.

The same is true for writing. Reading a lot of books is a great way to get inspired and to learn more about the anatomy of a story.

It’s important to read in whatever genre you want so you can understand the conventions of that genre. If you’re writing a fantasy story, for example, you should familiarize yourself with popular fantasy novels and short stories so you know what readers expect.

On the other hand, it’s just as important to read a diverse variety of books. Exposing yourself to lots of genres and authors can help you learn about different writing styles and techniques.

Tip 2: Experiment With Different Formats and Points of View

Creative writing can involve countless different formats. You can write a story that looks like a diary entry, a song, or a Charles Dickens novel.

Maybe you want to write a story in the form of a series of instructions to the reader, like a cooking recipe or a how-to manual.

Or maybe you want to write a story in the form of a confession from one character to another, in a mix of first-person and second-person POV.

Try out different styles, even ones that don’t feel like your usual writing style. Doing this experimentation early on in your creative writing journey can help you find your own voice and figure out what works best for you.

Tip 3: Take Inspiration From Many Sources

No story is written in a vacuum. Every artist takes inspiration from other works of art, and you shouldn’t feel bad about writing a story that’s inspired by your favorite book or movie.

At the same time, though, it’s important not to write a story that actually plagiarizes an existing one. Directly copying the work of other creative writers is both unethical and illegal. Plus, it’s much less fun than writing your own stories.

A good rule of thumb if you’re looking for ideas is to take inspiration from many sources rather than a single one.

For example, maybe you like the sarcastic humor of one book, the sweet romance arc of another book, and the Gothic setting of your favorite TV show. When you merge those three things together, you’ll most likely create a story that feels unique and original, even though you took inspiration from existing stories.

Tip 4: Show, Don’t Tell

The phrase “Show, don’t tell” is a popular piece of writing advice that almost every writer has heard before.

Essentially, “show, don’t tell” means that you should immerse the reader in your story through sensory details and descriptive language instead of simply summarizing the story to them.

For example, you could tell someone, “My sister’s room is messy.” That sentence conveys the facts, but the person you’re talking to probably wouldn’t be able to picture your sister’s room in their head.

On the other hand, you could say, “My sister basically uses the floor of her room as a giant laundry hamper—it’s covered with so many sweaters and scarves that I don’t even remember what color her carpet is.” This sentence gives your listener a much more specific idea of what your sister’s room looks like.

Tip 5: Write With Intention

Many newer writers put down words on the page based on what comes to mind first.

For example, let’s say you’re trying to describe a character. A new writer might note down whatever details they visualize right away, like the color of the character’s hair or the type of clothes they’re wearing.

This is a great way to write when you’re just starting out, but if you want to improve your skills, it’s important to learn how to write with intention.

Try to get in the habit of asking yourself: What details does the reader need to know and why? For example, what aspects of this character’s hair color and outfit could tell the reader something deeper about the character’s personality and motivations?

It’s also important to figure out what you want to convey emotionally. What do you want your reader to feel? Excited? Creeped out? Hopeful?

For example, you might describe a sunset as “blood-red” if you want the reader to feel creeped out, or as “glowing and bright” if you want the reader to feel hopeful.

Tip 6: Learn How to Edit

No first draft is perfect, even if you’re a seasoned writer.

Learning how to edit your work is just as important as learning how to write on a blank page. That’s how you can create a creative work you feel proud of.

One helpful tip is to try reading your work out loud. That can often help you spot places where your prose doesn’t flow.

AI-powered grammar checkers like ProWritingAid can also help you identify weaknesses in your prose and learn how to strengthen them. You can catch your grammatical mistakes, avoid unnecessary repetition, choose more evocative words, and more with our powerful tool.

Tip 7: Practice Overcoming Writer’s Block

At some point in their writing journey, every writer has reached a point where writing doesn’t feel fun anymore.

There are lots of different causes for writer’s block. You might be unsure what to write, afraid of failing, or simply burned out from writing too much.

It’s important to find ways to overcome creative blocks, so you don’t end up putting down your pen for good.

One useful technique is to change your environment. If you normally write at home, try writing in a coffee shop or in your local library.

Another technique is to try a different activity for a while. Go for a walk, take a shower, do your dishes, or try another hobby. Before long, you’ll find yourself wanting to write again.

Perhaps the most underrated method is to simply take a break from writing. Give yourself permission to stop for a while—it’s always okay to take a step back.

Tip 8: Study Writing Craft

Many new writers falsely believe that writing can’t be taught; you’re either good at it or you’re not.

But the truth is that creative writing is a craft, just like woodworking, oil painting, or ballet. You wouldn’t expect anyone to be naturally good at ballet without years of training, so why is writing any different?

One way to learn new creative writing techniques is by reading craft books . Some great books to start with include On Writing by Stephen King, Story Genius by Lisa Cron, and The Creative Writer’s Handbook by Philip K. Jason.

These books can help you learn the basics of how to write well. For example, you can learn how to construct high-quality sentences, how to avoid passive voice, and how to use poetic devices.

The more you learn, the more powerful your writing will become.

Tip 9: Invent Your Own Process

When you’re just starting out as a writer, it can be tempting to copy someone else’s writing process.

Maybe you heard an interview with a bestselling author who said you have to outline a story before you draft it. Or maybe you found out your favorite author writes 1,000 words every day, and now you think you have to write 1,000 words every day too.

But it’s important to remember that no two writers have the exact same writing process. What works best for someone else might not work for you.

There’s no right or wrong way to be a creative writer. Your job is to find a writing process that makes you feel fulfilled, productive, and inspired—and if your favorite writers don’t write the same way, that’s perfectly okay.

Tip 10: Don’t Aim for Perfection

There’s a good chance your writing is never going to be perfect. Mine definitely isn’t!

Remember that writing is about the process, not the product. Even if the final product is never perfect, the process has helped you grow as a writer—and hopefully, it’s also been a lot of fun.

You should decide what your main goal for writing is. Maybe it’s writing stories you might be able to publish someday. Maybe it’s telling stories about characters you rarely see in existing stories. Maybe it’s simply a fun new hobby.

Whatever your goal is, remember that you’re already on your way to achieving it. You don’t need to aim for perfection in order to succeed.

There’s no secret to getting better at creative writing. The process is very simple—it just takes a lot of hard work.

All you have to do is follow this two-step process:

Step 1: Write consistently
Step 2: Ask for feedback on your writing

The first step is fairly self-explanatory. Whenever you’re learning a new skill, it’s important to practice it. The more you write, the more you’ll learn about how to be a successful creative writer.

The second step is the one that receives more pushback from writers because it requires a lot of courage and vulnerability, but it’s just as important as the first step.

If you don’t get feedback, you could write every day and still never improve. That’s because most people can’t spot the weaknesses in their own stories.

You can ask for feedback from your friends, family, or writing groups. They can help you see your work from a different perspective and identify areas for improvement.

As long as you write consistently and listen to the feedback on the work you’re producing, you’ll be able to create a positive cycle where you create better and better stories over time.

If you want to improve your creative writing skills, there are numerous resources you can use to find help.

One great method is to join a writing community where you can share your work and get feedback from other writers.

You can look for free critique groups online, on websites such as Scribophile and Critique Circle. Or you can start your own group with your friends.

You can also consider joining a local writing class or retreat. Many schools and community centers offer classes and workshops you can join.

Another option is to use creative writing tools. ProWritingAid can give you AI-powered suggestions about how to improve your prose and make your writing shine.

Good luck, and happy writing!

Be confident about grammar

Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.

Hannah Yang is a speculative fiction writer who writes about all things strange and surreal. Her work has appeared in Analog Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, The Dark, and elsewhere, and two of her stories have been finalists for the Locus Award. Her favorite hobbies include watercolor painting, playing guitar, and rock climbing. You can follow her work on hannahyang.com, or subscribe to her newsletter for publication updates.

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Education and Communications

How to Improve Creative Writing

Last Updated: November 2, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Melessa Sargent and by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Madden . Melessa Sargent is the President of Scriptwriters Network, a non-profit organization that brings in entertainment professionals to teach the art and business of script writing for TV, features and new media. The Network serves its members by providing educational programming, developing access and opportunity through alliances with industry professionals, and furthering the cause and quality of writing in the entertainment industry. Under Melessa's leadership, SWN has won numbers awards including the Los Angeles Award from 2014 through 2021, and the Innovation & Excellence award in 2020. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 34,458 times.

Creative writing is an outlet to express your imagination by putting it onto paper. Many people enjoy creative writing, but some struggle with it because of how unstructured it can feel. If you have been writing creatively and you’d like to improve your skills, try learning grammar rules and receiving feedback on your work to strengthen your creative writing and boost your confidence.

Creating Polished Work

Step 1 Learn the basic grammar and punctuation rules of your language.

Using correct grammar and punctuation will also make your writing seem more polished.

Step 2 Cut down on unnecessary adjectives and adverbs.

For example, instead of saying, “He quickly and quietly ate his food,” try saying, “He gulped down his meal.” This sentence is more interesting, and gives the same effect to the reader.

Tip: Take a break from writing and come back to your piece after a few hours or even days. Mistakes will be easier to spot after you’ve taken a break.

Step 4 Revise your first draft as you need to.

Revising is similar to proofreading, except you are looking for ways to improve your piece, not just correcting mistakes.

Step 5 Join a writing group to get constructive criticism.

Don’t be offended if someone doesn’t like your piece, or has a lot of feedback to give. You can choose whether or not to implement a change that someone else suggests.

Finding Time and Ideas

Step 1 Block off time to write every day.

Tip: If you think you might forget to write, set an alarm on your phone to remind yourself.

Step 2 Read books that you think you will enjoy.

Get a library card so that you can check out books for free instead of buying them every time.

Step 3 Look up writing prompts to give yourself inspiration.

For example, you might start with a prompt like, “Imagine what it would be like to be a plant,” or "Write about a day in the life of Barack Obama.”

Step 4 Practice people-watching to observe interactions and get story ideas.

You can also use people-watching to practice writing down descriptions of behavior and clothing.

Step 5 Write your own take on an existing story.

For instance, try writing a fairytale from another character’s perspective, or setting it in today’s era.

Deadlines that you set for yourself can seem easy to brush off, but you will be disappointed in yourself if you don’t meet them.
Make sure your deadlines are realistic. Don’t plan on finishing an entire book by next week if you’re only halfway through.

Expert Q&A

↑ https://www.luc.edu/literacy/grammar.shtml
↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/
↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/group-writing/
↑ Melessa Sargent. Professional Writer. Expert Interview. 14 August 2019.
↑ https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentID=4552&ContentTypeID=1
↑ https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/why-its-important-to-read/
↑ https://cetl.uconn.edu/about/mission/

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Blog • Perfecting your Craft

Posted on Sep 26, 2019

20 Writing Tips to Improve Your Craft

“The pen is mightier than the sword.” Writer Edgar Bulwer-Lytton made this keen observation nearly 200 years ago, but it remains just as true today. Writing is one of the most powerful forms in existence, and a simple story can change countless lives — which is why so many of us choose to be writers in the first place.

But sometimes it can be difficult to find the right words, to tell the story the way you want, or to start writing in the first place. That’s why we’ve compiled these 20 essential writing tips for writers like you: artists who want to hone their craft to perfection, so they can tell their stories effectively to the world.

Some of these tips are narrative-related, while others are more about the mentality and setting you need in order to write. But all have one crucial thing in common: if you take them to heart, they’ll help you improve your craft — and maybe even pen the book of your dreams .

If you prefer your tips in watchable form, check out this video on great writing tips that no one else will tell you.

1. Even pantsers need to plan

Let’s begin with an age-old question: are you a plotter or a pantser?

If you’ve never heard these terms before, allow us to explain. Pantsers are writers who “fly by the seat of their pants,” i.e. start writing without preparing too much and simply trust that everything will work out. At the other end of the spectrum are plotters , who plan and outline extensively before they begin to write.

Which is the better way forward? Well, it’s different for everyone — what works for you may not necessarily work for another writer you know.

However, experience has taught us that a little bit of planning goes a long way. That’s why we always advise some form of preparation, even if it’s just a few nuggets of your plot, before you dive into writing. So create an outline today , if you haven't already!

2. Keep your outline in mind

Once you’ve prepared that outline, it’s important to actually use it. This may seem obvious, but it's seemingly one of the hardest-to-remember writing tips out there!

Many writers find themselves led astray by subplots and secondary characters, wandering into rambling chapters that don’t really go anywhere. Then when they try to get back to the main plot, they find they’re already too far gone.

Keeping your outline in mind at all times will help you avoid these disastrous detours. Even if you stray a little , you should be able to look at your outline and articulate exactly how you’ll get back to what you planned.

This is especially crucial late in the writing process, when it can be hard to remember your original vision — so if you have doubts about your ability to remember your outline, definitely write it down.

3. Introduce conflict early

Of all the core elements in your story, conflict is perhaps the most important to emphasize. Conflict lies at the heart of every good narrative, so make sure readers know what your conflict is within the first few chapters!

The best way to do this is through an early inciting incident , wherein the main character has a revelation and/or becomes involved in something big. For example, in The Hunger Games , the inciting incident is Katniss volunteering for the Games — which kicks off her personal and political conflict with the Capitol.

Finally, remember that there are many different types of conflict . So if you have no idea what your conflict, it’s probably just unconventional. For instance, your conflict might be one that unfolds within your narrator (character vs. self), or against some larger force (like character vs. technology). Once you do figure it out, try to introduce it early!

4. Control the pacing

Nothing ruins a good book like poor pacing. So make sure you control the pacing in your story, lest readers lose interest and put down your book in frustration!

In order to combat slow pacing , you’ll need to increase the tempo by:

A) Cutting down lengthy sentences and descriptions, and B) Increasing action and dialogue.

The first strategy works for one simple reason: it gets rid of filler and fluff. In extreme cases, you may have to cut a great deal of exposition in order to get to the beating heart of your story. (See writing tip #18 to help you with this.)

As for the latter, it might seem like adding more content is counterintuitive to a quicker pace. But because action and dialogue move the story forward in a concrete manner, you can always rely on them to improve slow pacing.

5. Fine-tune your dialogue

Speaking of dialogue , it's pretty critical to most stories, both in terms of plot and drawing in readers. Indeed, a conversation between characters is usually much more impactful than a narrator relaying similar information.

But dialogue loses its impact if the conversation goes on for too long — so for better, sharper dialogue, be concise . Say you’re writing a story in which two characters have an argument. You might be tempted to go on for paragraphs to convey emotion, tension, and meaning, but all this can fit into just a few sentences. Like so:

“Nice of you to show up. What were you doing, if not getting groceries?” “Thanks for the warm reception. I had a meeting. Kind of an important one.”

For more dialogue-specific writing tips, check out this post — or the video below!

6. Show, don’t tell

In a similar vein, while you may have already heard this advice , it bears repeating: show, don’t tell as often as possible. For those who aren’t really sure what that means, it’s easiest for us to, well, show you! Here’s a passage from Sally Rooney’s Normal People that exemplifies this rule:

He wakes up just after eight. It’s bright outside the window and the carriage is warming up, a heavy warmth of breath and sweat. Minor train stations with unreadable names flash past… Connell rubs his left eye with his knuckles and sits up. Elaine is reading the one novel she has brought with her on the journey, a novel with a glossy cover and the words "Now a Major Motion Picture" along the top.

As you can see, it’s pretty hard to completely eliminate telling from your prose — in fact, the first sentence in this passage could qualify as “telling.” But the rest is “showing,” as it paints an evocative picture of the scene: the bright, warm carriage in the train that's rushing past other stations, the girl reading the glossy novel in the opposite seat.

If you can use all five senses to convey the scene, all the better. Tell us not just what the central character sees, but also what they hear, smell, taste, and feel in order to truly immerse the reader in the scene.

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7. But don’t reveal TOO much

While you want your scene-by-scene descriptions to be as “showy” as possible, don’t reveal too much to readers about your plot and characters. This is the idea behind Hemingway's “Iceberg Theory,” which posits that you should only provide readers with “the tip of the iceberg” — the most essential part of the story.

Many writers create elaborate histories for their characters, or have long-reaching plans for them beyond their current works. But readers only need to know the “here and now,” so to speak. Giving them too much information will overwhelm them, and likely cause them to put your book down in favor of something simpler.

So while you might include a bit of backstory or foreshadowing every so often, it’s best to keep most of this info to yourself. This also works on another level, in that you can reveal tantalizing drips of information as the story progresses, which will pique readers’ interest rather than lose it. (Two writing tips for the price of one!)

8. Consider your themes

On a related note, the underwater part of the “Hemingway iceberg” not only consists of backstory, but also important themes. This is another aspect to contemplate during the writing process: what are you trying to say about society and/or the human condition? And how can you convey those themes in a subtle yet effective way?

Common literary themes include love, loss, and the importance of doing the right thing. Your themes will depend on your genre and subject material, but they may also relate closely to your personal beliefs and experiences. Try to embrace this, as writing what you know is a great way to infuse your story with genuine emotion.

9. Be careful with POV

Your narrator is your reader’s gateway into the story, so be careful with point of view. Don’t make your narrator’s voice too specific, as they need to speak in an accessible and relatable way for readers — and a non-stereotypical way if they happen to speak in a certain dialect. (For help with this, you might consider getting a sensitivity reader .)

Also remember that, while omniscient narration is the most flexible way to tell your story, it also requires the most discipline as an author. An omniscient narrator can easily move too rapidly among storylines, causing mental whiplash for readers.

To avoid this , remember our tip about having your outline in mind at all times! That way, even if you have an omniscient narrator, they shouldn’t get too far off track.

10. Write as often as you can

Now we’re getting into the more process-based writing tips. Write as much as possible is one of those tips you’re surely tired of hearing, but the reason it’s so common is because it works!

The only way you’re ever going to finish writing a book is by sitting down and writing it , so work on your story as often as you can. Write whenever and wherever you have a bit of downtime — on the bus, in a long line at the grocery store, waiting for your laundry, etc. It might feel strange to write on your phone rather than on a laptop at your desk, but you’ll get accustomed if you do it often enough.

If you can't figure out what to write, we have some awesome writing prompts , writing exercises , and even writing scholarships (if you're a student) to help you out! You can also check out these great opening lines , our guide to getting started with creative writing or watch the video below to inspire you.

11. Ask yourself questions

One way to ensure you’re doing your best, most creative writing is to question yourself constantly. It’s easy to get complacent with your writing, even if you’re technically meeting your word count goals . But if you’re always challenging yourself, you’ll see every bit of potential in your story and fulfill it as you progress.

A few good questions to ask yourself might be:

Have I given my characters realistic motivations that manifest throughout the story?
How does each scene contribute to either character development or plot?
Is there a big reveal , and if so, am I building toward it sufficiently?
Does the POV /narration style feel true to the story I’m telling?

12. Write now, edit later

That said, don’t challenge yourself so much you become too paralyzed to write. When in doubt, just skip over it, or write a crappy version of it for now. Write now, edit later is the approach of countless authors, and if it works for them, it can work for you too!

We won’t really touch on editing here, since this is a list of writing tips, not editing tips. But if you’re interested in the “later” part, you can check out this guide on how to edit a book . And remember: you don't have to go it alone — the Internet is chock full of writing groups willing to give you constructive criticism , not to mention great editing tools to get the job done.

13. Read your work out loud

Many of the best writers' and editors' writing tips include reading aloud what you write in order to check it for inconsistencies and awkward phrasing. This tactic particularly helps weed out long, unwieldy sentences, and it's a godsend when you're working out how to write dialogue that sounds true to your characters..

For bonus points, you might even stage a reading with a group of friends (or fellow writers) where each person reads the dialogue of a different character. This will give your writing more “distance” and help you see its flaws more easily. If you do stage a reading, remember to take notes, so you can remember what to fix afterward!

14. Make it short and sweet

As Polonius said, brevity is the soul of wit, so keep your writing as short and sweet as you can. This will both entice readers and help you avoid purple prose , which tends to be a dealbreaker for readers and agents alike.

Of course, if you’re writing literary fiction, you do want your writing to sound intelligent. How can you do this without going on for paragraphs at a time? The answer is by making strong word choices, especially when it comes to verbs . Don’t dilute your story with adverb-y sentences — get down to business and tell us what the characters are doing.

15. Get rid of distractions

Yes, this is probably one of the hardest writing tips to follow — especially for those of us who enjoy working from noisy coffee shops and taking frequent Netflix breaks . But the more you eliminate distractions, the better your writing will become. Here are some ideas on how to enter deep focus mode:

Write on a computer with no WiFi
Use the Pomodoro technique
Set your phone to airplane mode or put it in a different room
Work in a quiet space, like your local library
Avoid working alongside friends, unless they really do increase your accountability (but be honest with yourself about this!)

16. Work through crises of confidence

In every writer’s life, there comes a point where they second-guess their entire endeavor. This will no doubt happen to you, too — maybe you’ll notice a major plot hole halfway through, a theme you have no idea how to incorporate, or you'll simply hit a creative wall .

Fear not: every writer who’s ever completed a book has gotten through this. But how can you work through such writerly crises without bashing your head against the wall?

If you ask us, the best solution is to return to your early notes and original outline. Look back to see if there’s anything there that can help you — you may have forgotten about some critical component, or it may help you see things in a new light.

And if that doesn’t work, you might just need some time away from this particular project. Take a break for a day or two, then come back to it with fresh eyes. But whatever you do, don’t give up! Remember, every writer’s been through this same thing. Think of it as your initiation, and refuse to let it break you.

17. Listen to feedback

Now for another one of those writing tips that we all struggle with. Throughout the process of writing, and definitely after you’re finished, you should share your work with other people: your friends, family, writers’ groups (both in person and on the Internet ), and your editor(s).

Accepting and actioning critical feedback is one of the most difficult parts of being a writer. Yet it’s also one of the most important skills to have. Because the feedback you receive from friends and beta readers is the only window you have into other people’s views — until you publish and it's too late.

So try not to view criticism as harsh, but as helpful. It might just save you from literary infamy later! On that note…

18. Kill your darlings

Sometimes you’ll pen a passage that’s so beautiful, so nuanced, so masterfully constructed that you want to frame it — but it doesn’t really contribute anything to the larger work. It’s a distraction, and you know in your heart that your book would be better off without it.

What to do now? You probably know the answer, even if you don’t want to admit it: you have to kill your darlings. This most often refers to removing an irrelevant or otherwise distracting passage, but it may also be your title , an element of your narration, or even an entire character.

In any case, if it doesn’t add to the story, consider dropping it. Of all our writing tips, this one is perhaps the most important for writers of short stories and flash fiction , since you don’t have any room to waste! Remember, you can always save it to re-use later.

19. Just keep writing

How do prolific, successful authors manage to turn out so many books? Basically, by keeping calm and carrying on. Stephen King writes 2,000 words every single day, even on holidays. Jane Austen wrote each day just after breakfast without fail. Kafka wrote in the wee hours of the morning, barely sleeping as a result.

Now, Jane Austen never had a smartphone distracting her, so that was kind of an unfair advantage. But you do still need to at least attempt a similar lifestyle, and keep writing with as much consistency and focus as possible!

This is one of the best writing tips we can give any author, fiction or non-fiction, short-form or long. Remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and keep your head down until you hit that final blessed page.

20. Keep publishing in mind

Last but certainly not least on this list of writing tips, we’ll cover the potential of publishing your book once it’s finally finished. Though it's the final step in the process, thinking about it as you write can really motivate you! Not to mention it's good to have some idea of your plan when you cross that finish line.

For example, if you go the traditional publishing route , you should consider how you might pitch your book to agents. What makes your story unique, and why would they want to represent it? If you start writing with the aim to publish, you can consciously highlight these elements in the story.

On the other hand, if you’re thinking about self-publishing , the adventure truly does begin once you’ve finished the manuscript ! After a round or two of editing and getting a book cover, you should be set to put your book up on Amazon and start selling.

There are pros and cons to both these sides. Luckily, if you’ve gotten to this point, the hard part is over; you’ve managed to write the book of your dreams, and now what you do with it is up to you!

And if you haven't quite gotten there yet, know that it's never too late. Writing is a lifelong challenge, but it's also one of the most rewarding things you can pursue. So go forth and tell the story you've always wanted to tell — we believe in you. ✍

Did we miss anything? Tell us your best writing tips in the comments below!

3 responses

Kalyan Panja says:

03/08/2019 – 07:19

Thanks for sharing this inspiring article which can help many to decide on the choices they make to write better and engaging articles.

Lost-Identification says:

13/08/2019 – 12:16

Do you have any recommendations for a book to help improve writing? I've been reading books like, "The Anatomy of Story" by John Truby, "Dialogue: The art of verbal action for the page, stage, and screen" by Robert Mckee, and just reading a wide genre of books.

↪️ Phil Slattery replied:

16/10/2019 – 04:32

Read The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. It has been a Bible for some great writers since the 1930's. It's updated periodically. It is short, concise, and clear; exactly what writing should be. It helped me immensely. A very concise guide that helped me immensely with punctuation is Webster"s New World Guide to Punctuation. Wonderfully concise and clear work. This won't cover every debatable nuance of punctuation, but it will cover everything you need to write well.

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Creative Writing Tips from Harvard’s Faculty

Claire Messud teaches fiction writing at Harvard.

Harvard’s English faculty hosts a powerhouse of acclaimed creative writers. As lecturers and professors, they devote countless hours to passing on the skills of their craft to students. The Crimson asked four faculty members who teach fiction-writing classes to share their creative writing wisdom.

“You can make an entire world up in your head and transmit it to other people with scribbles on a page,” said Claire Messud, a Senior Lecturer. “Making up stories is open to all of us.” While not every Harvard student will have the opportunity to take their classes, anyone can try their hand at creative writing.

Start small, and make time to write.

Paul Yoon, Briggs-Copeland Lecturer, in an email: Start small. Oftentimes when we have an “idea” to write something, we’re operating on a level that is somewhat abstract and leans on the bigger picture. How to begin a story you want to tell? I like starting with just one sentence or focusing on an object or a specific detail, like describing setting or one character trait. Just that. Go micro, focus. Start small. And go step by step from there.

Claire Messud, Senior Lecturer: Learning the habit of making time for writing is the challenge for many people. Almost everybody makes time to exercise now. It’s just the same—you can say, I’m going to sit at my desk for an hour, or write until I have 200 words. You just make a plan. If you do something several times a week for weeks and months, you will get better at it.

Imagine the iceberg, not just the tip.

CM: It isn’t just about figuring out a plot and characters. It’s about really imagining the world, circumstances, and particularities of those characters and that situation—not just what’s going to appear on the page, but the entire world. Hemingway speaks about the tip of the iceberg. The tip of the iceberg is what the story is, but there’s an entire iceberg under the water. You have to make the iceberg to make the story.

Revise for clarity.

Laura M. van den Berg, Briggs-Copeland Lecturer, in an email: In my experience, a common struggle for students is the discomfort of sitting with the uncertainty of the first draft—i.e. I’m not sure where this story is going, I don’t know what this character is up to, I don’t know how it will end . Sometimes students worry that this not-knowing is a sign that they’re doing something wrong, when the not-knowing is very often an essential part of the process.

I tend to write my own drafts very quickly and messily and intuitively—and then spend a lot of time re-shaping and re-casting and re-imagining. In the first draft, the most important question I ask myself is “Why not?“ For every draft after the first, the question is, “Why?”

CM: Revision is really at least 50 percent of the work. Some of the things to think about: How much of what’s in my head have I conveyed on the paper? Have I been clear? It’s great to be beautiful or lyrical or inventive, but none of it matters if you haven’t expressed clearly what you wanted to express. The process of revision is about a clarification and a distillation. If you have three scenes, each of which does one thing, can you figure out a way to have one scene that will do all three things?

Read as if living depended on it.

Jamaica Kincaid, Professor of African and African American Studies in Residence, in an email: It is more important that you read than to write because when you are writing you have first read what you are writing before you write it. So the best thing, so it seems to me, for a writer is to read as if living depended on it. Nothing else really matters.

LMV: If you want to write poems or short stories or essays or novels, it is critically important to have read deeply in the genre—from the canon to what the canon has missed to what’s being written right now to everything in-between. And of course writers should also read expansively, roaming outside the genres they themselves work in.

PY: Always be open to inspiration. “Best American Short Stories” is a fantastic anthology. In terms of literary magazines, I think my current favorite, the ones that feel bold and ambitious and the ones I consistently want to pick up are: Tin House, A Public Space, and Ecotone. Books and stories are our best teachers.

Take your time during the publishing process.

LMV: Take your time getting to know the landscape. Read literary magazines and get a feel for who regularly publishes work that you love. Pay attention to where writers you admire have published/are publishing their work. Make sure you have given your work everything you have before you send it out into the world—an editor (almost always) is only going to read the piece once. Mightily resist the urge to rush.

No writing is wasted.

CM: No writing is a waste of time. You can always write better, and any writing you do is going to teach you how to write. You just have to dive in. You have to be unafraid. The language is ours. What a great freedom.

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When You Write

Essential Creative Writing Tips and Techniques

Creative writing has no written formula and no immutable laws, you just need a good imagination and good writing skills.

And you’re good to go!

Creative writing presents us with fewer tethers than other forms of writing. This means that we have more liberty when we want to express our imagination artistically.

With all this freedom, defining and serving creative writing techniques is a bit hard, and some tips are frowned upon as they seem to infringe upon the liberties of some creative writers.

Still, some writers need guidance.

So, I have taken it upon myself to be this guide and dish out much-needed tips and discuss some creative writing techniques.

If you’ve been looking for guidance and insight, here’s a no-frills article full of practical tips on creative writing for you.

What Is Creative Writing?

Creative writing is writing that uses imagination , creativity, and mastery of the art of writing to evoke emotion in a reader.

It could be a fictional story, a nonfiction piece, or movie script, a play, a poem, et cetera. Creative writing oftentimes springs up from experimentation and good, imaginative use of knowledge and ideas.

One of the things that make creative writing different from other forms of writing is the underlying message or theme. Unlike other forms of writing, creative writing sometimes hides a message under the entertaining, saddening, or horrifying part of the written content.

Other archetypal elements of creative writing include creating an emotional connection with the reader (and sometimes evoking a response), having a deliberate point of view, using a narrative structure, and use of imaginative and descriptive language.

What Isn’t Creative Writing?

Whatever lacks the elements I just listed isn’t creative writing. Written pieces such as company reports, statements, and other professional communications aren’t regarded as creative writing.

Similarly, personal documents and communications such as emails, social media content, and personal communications all fit in the non-creative writing category.

In addition to that, research papers and pieces that are in the “Academic Writing” category do not qualify as creative writing.

Most often the type of content that I have listed is devoid of deliberate themes. Often, these types of pieces have goals similar to those prevalent in creative writing, but they’re presented differently.

But—as a reminder to myself or you, the reader—I would like to say that they’re blurred boundaries in some forms of content. For example, we can’t outrightly classify content such as blog posts as creative writing non-creative. Blog content belongs to a broader category that is as flexible as creative writing itself.

Therefore, you would have to analyze the elements of each blog post to see if they fit a particular category.

Forms of Creative Writing

Given the freedom that creative writing gets, it is just right that it takes many forms.

Here are some of the forms of creative writing:

This is one of the most popular forms of creative writing. Novels are also the first thing people think about when it comes to books (apart from academicians who are religiously into textbooks).

Novels are extended fictional works in prose that usually (or always?) come in the form of a story.

Most of them are in the range of 50,000 to 150,000 words, but some are told in less than 50,000 and others extend beyond 150,000.

Pieces that are too short to qualify as novels and too long to qualify as short stories automatically qualify as novellas and novelettes.

Novellas often fall in the range of 10,000-40,000 words, while novelettes generally have a word count of 7,500-19,000 words.

Word count boundaries are usually varied—and they are oftentimes at the discretion of the publisher or competition organizers.

Short Fiction

Short stories as the name suggests are on the other end (the shorter word count end) of the fiction word count spectrum.

Short stories generally fall between 2,500 and 7,500 words but sometimes extend to 10,000 words.

Unlike novels, short stories tell stories with fewer characters, details, and backstories, among other deficiencies.

Then there are other forms of short fiction told in 1,000 words, and they’re called flash fiction and micro-fiction.

The unrestricted and spontaneous nature of poetry embodies the artistic multifariousness of creative writing.

Poetry is as emotional as it is rebellious—and word counts and rhyming rarely matter for poems, i.e., those in the free verse category.

There are different types of poems such as sonnets, haikus, sestinas, limericks, and free verses.

The spontaneous nature of poetry does connote lawlessness. The thing is, the different types of poetry originated from different cultures around the world and many come with rules.

However, for most of these types of poetry, the rules are adaptable. A few types such as haikus have specific rules on the number of lines or structure.

Plus, just because there aren’t many rules governing the structure, content, and length of poetry it doesn’t mean that you can brush aside the use of perfect grammar, the importance of POV, the need for a theme, and the need to evoke the reader’s emotions.

TV scripts, stage play scripts, and screenplays

This category comprises stage plays and scripts for films, television programs, and other types of video content.

A majority of content in this category has a lot in common with novels and short stories. Although different scripts have different formatting requirements, they carry a message or central theme and try to appeal to their audience’s emotions.

In a way, these scripts depart from the highly descriptive nature of novels and short stories. There’s much more dialogue in scripts with a bit of stage or scene directions in stage plays screenplays.

Creative Nonfiction

Creative writing doesn’t always have to be works of fiction, some nonfiction also qualifies as creative writing.

Here are some of the works that can be called creative nonfiction:

Lyric essays
Autobiographies
Humor Writing
Literary Journalism

Tips and Techniques for Creative Writing

1. read widely and learn from other writers.

You can improve by focusing on looking at your writing only. If you want to be a good creative writer, you have to read.

When you read other people’s work, you discover other writing styles and get inspired in the process.

There are lots of reading resources on creative writing out there. You can find books, essays, blog articles, and video content covering different aspects of creative writing.

Some works will comprise fiction and nonfiction pieces (novels, short stories, poetry, lyrical essays. Et cetera) while others seek to cover interviews and personal essays that talk about the authors’ creative processes.

2. Benefit from Your Imagination

A wild imagination represents superiority for creative writers, especially fiction writers.

This is the only time you’re allowed to play god!

By using a crazy imagination you can conceive an exciting story, build a unique world, and come up with convincing, never-imagined-before characters.

Heck! You can even create your own language!

Be as imaginative as you can be, even going into a trance, and create a creative piece using your own rules!

3. Focus on Understanding and Improving Yourself as a Writer

You cannot improve something you don’t fully understand; therefore, you have to understand your strengths and weaknesses as a writer to become a better writer.

I wrote an article on this, explaining some general strengths and weaknesses that writers have. As a creative writer, you have to identify problem areas such as bad sense of rhythm, dodgy flow, lack of creativity, et cetera.

As a creative writer, there are things you must have in your armory, such as a rich and relevant vocabulary, organized writing, and a unique writing style (which also happens to be the next tip on the list).

4. Develop or Discover a Unique Writing Style

Creative writers are better off seeking inspiration from other creative writers while trying to follow their path.

In short: study other writers, but develop your writing style. Take a look at all the best, and you’ll discover that most of them developed a unique style.

So, have your writing style. And, it should fit the niche you want to specialize in—if it’s horror, a befitting style. You could also focus on developing vibrant writing full of eccentric characters.

Likewise, you could become a writer who always writes in a specific POV.

5. Create Space for Creative Writing and Stick to a routine

Writing routinely and total focus are tremendously important for creative writers. If you’re a spontaneous writer who scarcely writes and only writes whenever they feel like it, you’re bound to fail as a writer!

You need to have a schedule and some working space. The ideas might come spontaneously and anywhere, but it’s hard to write without proper planning and a distraction-free setting.

It’s unproductive trying to squeeze writing into your day.

When you start writing routinely, in a ‘comfortable’ place, creative writing becomes natural. Even when you’re out of ideas experiencing writer’s block, you have to practice the habit of writing stuff daily—just write some fluff if you’re bored.

6. Know your audience

“Why do you write?”

The most popular answer to the question is, “because I love it!”

But if the question was rephrased and we asked “why do you publish your works?” the previous answer would be ‘half true.’

You write because it’s the love of your life and you publish for your audience. So, creative writing isn’t always about you, but your fans too.

You have to know what your readers are like. Even when you haven’t published a single piece, it’s easy to research readers’ interests using web-based analytics resources.

Armed with this knowledge, you can craft a piece that strikes a chord with your target audience, with a high potential of becoming a bestseller.

7. Always Start and End Strong

Our English teacher constantly reminded us that when she was going through our essays, she started with the introduction and summary before moving to the body.

“They’re the most important parts of your essay.” She’d always say.

Later, I found out that this applied to almost every form of writing.

Your readers want your piece to either start with a bang or catch their attention. Once the reader feels underwhelmed, they won’t read all the way through.

Strong endings are just as important, but it doesn’t mean that you always have to end on a happy note. You can close on a sad note or give them a cliffhanger.

As long as you effectively use your imagination and the end doesn’t turn out to be a clichéd one.

The Best Books on Creative Writing

1. Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot that Grips Readers from Start to Finish by James Scott Bell
2. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
3. The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
4. On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser

Final Words

Writing—whatever form it takes—isn’t a simple chore, but as hard as it is, it is also fun!

The goal is always to become a better writer and learn different techniques that will make our content impactful.

Every writer should fear stagnation and continue learning. Utilize today’s easy access to resources, read, ask for help, and let your wild imagination run loose.

While there’s no fixed formula in creative writing, tips from experienced writers will help you improve in some areas.

So, always be inquisitive and reach out to other writers.

Crafting an original work of fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction takes time, practice, and persistence.

11 Creative Writing Techniques

Learn how to add pizzazz to any type of writing.

The articles below show you how to use creative writing tools in fiction or non-fiction. Each article features a series of examples so it becomes easier to apply the technique.

List of creative writing techniques

Click the links below to go to a specific section:

Personification

Show don’t tell

Repetition in writing

Contrast in writing

The rule of three in writing

Parallelism

1. Metaphors

Learn how to use metaphors and get inspired by these examples …

Learn how to use metaphors >>

Metaphor examples >>

Get inspired by over 10 simile examples by various authors …

Simile examples >>

3. Analogies

Get inspired by these analogy examples …

Analogy examples >>

Improve your writing style

Learn how to write better and find your voice. Get free writing tips in your inbox.

Get free writing tips >>

Get inspired by these imagery examples …

Imagery examples >>

5. Personification

Learn how to use personification to make your writing sparkle …

Personification examples >>

6. Show don’t tell

Get inspired by these examples of “show, don’t tell” …

Show don’t tell examples >>

7. Repetition in writing

Get inspired by these examples of word repetition …

Examples of repetition in writing >>

8. Contrast in writing

Discover how to use contrast in your writing …

Examples of contrast in writing >>

9. The rule of 3 in writing

Get inspired by these examples of the rule of 3 …

The rule of 3 in writing >>

10. Parallelism in writing

Get inspired by these examples of the parallelism …

Parallelism examples >>

11. Switch the point of view (POV)

Discover how to switch the point of view …

Point of view examples >>

Creative writing examples

Learn how to inject creativity in any writing.

Creative writing exercises

Try these exercises to add a touch of creativity to your writing.

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Home › Study Tips › Creative Writing Resources For Secondary School Students

11 Creative Writing Tips To Help Unlock Your Creativity

Published October 31, 2022

Creative writing is hard. It’s hard enough to come up with an idea, but it’s even harder to execute in a way that engages and entertains the reader.

Many people think they don’t have what it takes to be a creative writer. They believe that only certain people are born with the talent to write well.

We’re here to tell you that’s not true. Anyone can be a great creative writer if they learn how to tap into their creativity and use practical writing tips.

Our creative writing summer schools give students access to 1:1 personalised tutorials with expert creative writing tutors. To help them unlock their inner potential.

This guide will discover practical Creative Writing tips to help you write better and more easily.

1. Hook Readers With Your Character’s “Why” At The Very Beginning

Great stories are not wild creations. Instead, they follow a specific formula that works. For instance, did you notice how record-breaking stories often show their main characters’ motivations and dilemmas within the first few scenes?

Simba is declared the future King of Pride Rock. But there is one who refuses to bow to this acknowledgement. Will Simba succeed in taking his rightful place in the Circle of Life?
The arrival of Mr Bingley, a single young man with good fortune, is announced in the relatively poor Bennet household. Will any of the Bennet sisters succeed in alluring him to marriage, inadvertently saving them from destitution?
Humanity is under threat due to a powerful stone called the “Tesseract.” Are there heroes powerful enough to save them from extinction?
Elsa accidentally hits Anna with her frozen power. Must she hide forever for fear of hurting those she loves most?
Planet Earth is dying due to dwindling resources and overpopulation. Jake Sully is called to replace his brother on a mission to take a promising energy source from another planet. But, will Jake allow the genocide of an innocent, native race to save his world?

If you keep your readers confused and wondering, “Why am I reading this book in the first place?” They’ll most likely lose interest. Or if they stay hooked due to curiosity, they won’t have an emotional connection with your main character.

Because they have no idea why they should care about your main character in the first place!

So let your readers relate to your character’s motivations. And they’ll be eager to walk with your characters through the ups and downs of the story.

2. Get Into The Habit Of Reading (If You Haven’t Already)

It’s not enough to keep writing. You also need to keep reading different types of creative writing to improve your skills. Reading can help you:

Understand how different writers tell their stories.
Learn new words and how to use them in sentences.
Become familiar with sentence structures, grammar rules, and punctuation.
Get different ideas on how to start and end your story.
Understand what works and what doesn’t work in a story.

Creative writers are also great readers! If you want to dig deeper and love reading then make sure to flick through our creative writing examples so you can pick up more knowledge and skills.

3. Dissect Good Stories To Imitate Good Practices!

You read a story. After finishing it, you couldn’t get it out of your head. And you ruminate over it days, and even weeks, after.

What’s the secret sauce?

The only way to find out is if you dissect it. So answer these follow-up questions to help you create your inspiration board.

Who is your favourite character? List down the essential points of their character development.
What are your Top 10 favourite sentences/lines? Why did it strike you? Why is it unique?
List down your Top 3 scenes. How did it contribute to the story? Why are they your favourite?
What similes and metaphors added the most flavour to the scene/dialogue?
Who is the side character you relate to the most? What characteristics do they have that show their humanity? How did they reveal it?
What are your favourite chapters? How were they structured?
Do you notice a similar formula at the beginning and end of each chapter? How do they flow smoothly from one to the other?
What’s the first and last sentence of the entire story? Did it help in hooking the reader and in delivering a lasting effect? If yes, how so?

The more you answer these questions, the better you can detect subtle patterns and formulas that work together in bringing the characters and their stories to life. If you’re looking to further your university knowledge, browse the best UK universities for creative writing .

4. How Would You Rewrite Badly Written Stories?

You let a book down. You’re frustrated because the character wasn’t as developed as you wish they were! Or that the ending was way too illogical to make sense of.

Do you feel you’ve just wasted N number of hours reading a sub-par story? Your reading efforts don’t have to go to waste! Why? Because you can learn from other people’s mistakes.

In fact, it’s a better, less-damaging way of learning than having to learn the hard way from your own mistakes! These guide questions can help you in this task:

How would you go about it if you could rewrite a scene, character, or story?
What are the missing details that you would’ve added?
Do you feel there were too many unnecessary subplots or characters in the story? How would you have trimmed it down to focus on the essential plot points?
Did the author try to stuff in too much information all at once without pacing it out well? What would you have done differently to make the story flow better?
Do you feel that the story was too predictable or even unbelievable? If so, how would you have made it more interesting and believable?

5. Make Your Characters Relatable

We read stories because we can sympathise with the characters. They allow us to see ourselves in their situations and how they handle their woes and joys.

So write your characters in a way that makes them relatable. Make your reader root for them.

It doesn’t matter if your characters are animals, inanimate objects, or aliens. What matters is the humanity at heart. These are some of the attributes that make a character relatable:

They have believable flaws and strengths (e.g., they can’t be superhumanly perfect or mind-numbingly stupid all the time).
Your characters need to grow and change as the story progresses (e.g., they overcome their weaknesses or learn from their mistakes).
Do they exhibit human emotions (e.g happiness, sadness, anger, love, fear) in response to the events that happen to them?
Give your character realistic motivations and goals. If they’re willing to risk their lives, there must be a convincing motive.
Make realistic and consistent interactions between the character and the world around them. Don’t make them walk long distances without signalling their exhaustion, thirst, etc. Unless they have abilities to bypass such weaknesses.
Each of your characters needs to have a backstory, even if you don’t share it with your audience. This way, your characters come alive independent of you!

If you want to enhance your writing skills, navigate to our 308 creative writing prompts , which should come in handy!

6. Don’t Try To Get It Perfect When Writing The Draft

Not even the greatest creative writer in the world publishes their first draft. But wait, isn’t this common sense? So why is it important to reiterate?

To eliminate the fear of the blank page.

Although everyone knows the first draft is never the final product for publishing, we act as if it is . We want to get it perfect, and this is what paralyses us from writing altogether.

The goal of the first draft is to get your story down on paper (or computer). Then, you can fix all the errors later. Just let the words flow without much worry about spelling or grammar.

You can always get back to it later during the editing phase. For now, keep writing and let your story unravel itself from within your imagination.

7. Incomplete Idea? Write It Down Anyway!

A great story can come from a simple news article you read this morning. Or from a creative writing prompt that stimulated your imagination. So always keep a writing pad or app around.

Whenever something pops up in your mind, jot it down. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a good or bad idea. The present moment is hardly the best judge to make the distinction. Write it down anyway! You can always revise it. Or add to it later.

You never know when inspiration might hit and help you complete that story!

8. Identify Your Purpose

What message are you trying to express? At the end of the day, readers will want to learn something after reading your story. So if you wish to raise awareness about a social issue or promote a cause, your story should have a purpose.

Your message doesn’t need to be in-your-face obvious. It could be subtle and woven into the fabric of the story.

A story without a message will feel empty. And you may feel flat writing it because there’s no personal conviction behind it. So self-reflection is paramount when writing creatively.

9. Determine Your Audience

As you write your story, taking a step back and thinking about your audience is essential. This will help you determine the following:

The tone of your story
The level of detail to include
The type of language to use
What information to share (and what to leave out)

Who is your audience? If you’re writing a children’s story, you’ll want to use simple language and avoid violence or other mature themes.

On the other hand, if you’re writing for a more general audience, you have more freedom to explore different topics and use a variety of language styles.

Keep your audience in mind as you write to better engage them with your story. Remember, if you try to write for everybody, you’ll end up writing for nobody!

10. Learn From Expert Tutors

One of the best ways to improve your creative writing skills is to get feedback from an expert. Creative writing tutors can help you with the following:

get inspiration from other writers
develop your ideas further
structure your story
create your characters
find the right words to express your thoughts
create tension and turning points in your plot
publish your work (if you’re planning to)

If you’re serious about improving your creative writing skills, consider getting professional help. You may want to check out our Creative Writing Summer School .

Here you’ll experience 1:1 tutorials in prestigious universities such as Oxford and Cambridge.

Creative writing tutors can provide massive acceleration in your creative writing journey!

11. Get Feedback From Others

Aside from professional feedback, feedback from friends, family members, and other writers is beneficial. Here are some things to keep in mind when getting feedback:

Be open to constructive criticism. Don’t take it personally if someone points out flaws in your work. Instead, use their feedback to help you improve your story.
Don’t be afraid to ask for specific feedback. If you’re unsure what areas need improvement, ask your reader to focus on a particular aspect of your story (e.g., the plot, characters, dialogue, etc.).
Be aware of bias. Someone you’re close to may be more likely to praise your work than give constructive feedback. So take their input with a grain of salt.
Don’t take too long to revise. After you’ve received feedback, it’s essential to act on it quickly. If you wait too long, you may forget what was said or lose motivation to make changes.
Be selective with who you take feedback from. Not everyone will have helpful things to say. So it’s important to choose wisely when seeking feedback for your story.

After getting feedback, you’ll better understand how your audience might react to your story. Therefore allowing you to revise as needed.

What Makes an Excellent Creative Writer?

Here are 3 easy and practical tips on what makes an excellent creative writer:

An excellent creative writer practices regularly. Writing is a skill, and like any other skill, it takes time and practice to master. The more you write, the better you’ll become at it. So make use of creative writing exercises!
Creative writers need to love experimentation. Don’t be afraid to try new things and explore different styles. The only way to find your voice as a writer is to keep writing.
And finally, an excellent creative writer is always learning. Whether it’s attending workshops, reading books on writing, or taking online courses, there are many ways to improve your craft.

So if you want to be a good writer, start by committing to lifelong learning. Creative writing is a journey, not a destination. There’s always room for improvement!

What Are The 6 Characteristics of Quality Creative Writing?

1. focus for clarity.

The first characteristic of creative writing is focus . An excellent writer knows how to focus on their story. Excluding anything that doesn’t contribute to the plot.

In other words, they know how to edit out the “fluff” and get straight to the point. This can be difficult, especially if you’re attached to your story. But if you want to improve your writing, it’s important to learn how to focus on the essentials.

Creative writers also have a good sense of what their readers find important. As a result, they know how to prioritise information so that their story is clear and concise. This is especially important when writing for a specific audience or market.

2. Emotionally Captivating

The second characteristic of quality creative writing is emotion. A good creative writer knows how to stir emotions in their readers. They create characters and situations that the reader can relate to.

They also use descriptive language to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. This allows the reader to feel like they are part of the story. As if the reader is right there in the character’s shoes.

It makes the story memorable and enjoyable.

3. Development For Engrossing Read

The third characteristic of creative writing is development. A good writer knows how to develop their characters and story so that reading is engrossing and satisfying.

They do this by creating believable and well-rounded characters. They also craft a plot that is both compelling and credible. And they use dialogue and description effectively to bring their story to life.

4. Coherence For Smooth Flow

The fourth characteristic of creative writing is flow. A good writer knows how to create a cohesive story that flows smoothly from beginning to end.

This means using transitional phrases and sentence structures effectively. It also means choosing the right words to express your thoughts and ideas. So that the readers feel the story sticks together as one logical whole.

5. Language

The fifth characteristic of creative writing is language use. A good writer knows how to use language effectively to create the desired effect.

They know which words to use and when to use them. They also know how to put together sentences excitingly and creatively. This allows the writer to communicate their thoughts and ideas clearly and engage the reader on a deeper level.

6. Error-Free

The sixth and final characteristic of creative writing is accuracy. A good writer strives for perfection and pays attention to detail. They proofread their work carefully to ensure no grammar or spelling errors.

This attention to detail shows in the quality of the finished product. Hence, it’s essential to take the time to revise and edit your work before you publish it.

Creative writing is a skill that can be learned, honed, and mastered with practice. You don’t need to have a natural gift for storytelling – you need patience and the willingness to learn from your mistakes. And if creative writing is something you’re looking to take further, then check out the a-level requirements for creative writing at top UK universities.

By following our creative writing tips and practising regularly, you, too, can write stories that engage and entertain your readers. So what are you waiting for? Start writing!

Read, Read, Read

Read a LOT of Chekhov. Then re-read it. Read Raymond Carver, Earnest Hemingway, Alice Munro, and Tobias Wolff. If you don’t have time to read all of these authors, stick to Chekhov. He will teach you more than any writing teacher or workshop ever could. -Allyson Goldin, UWEC Asst. Professor of Creative Writing

2. Write a Catchy First Paragraph

In today’s fast-moving world, the first sentence of your narrative should catch your reader’s attention with the unusual, the unexpected, an action, or a conflict . Begin with tension and immediacy. Remember that short stories need to start close to their end.

“It is important to understand the basic elements of fiction writing before you consider how to put everything together. This process is comparable to producing something delectable in the kitchen–any ingredient that you put into your bowl of dough impacts your finished loaf of bread. To create a perfect loaf, you must balance ingredients baked for the correct amount of time and enhanced with the right polishing glaze.” -Laurel Yourke

3. Developing Characters

Your job, as a writer of short fiction–whatever your beliefs–is to put complex personalities on stage and let them strut and fret their brief hour. Perhaps the sound and fury they make will signify something that has more than passing value–that will, in Chekhov’s words, “make [man] see what he is like.” – Rick Demarnus

In order to develop a living, breathing, multi-faceted character, it is important to know way more about the character than you will ever use in the story . Here is a partial list of character details to help you get started.

Name Age Job Ethnicity Appearance Residence Pets Religion Hobbies Single or married? Children? Temperament Favorite color Friends Favorite foods Drinking patterns Phobias Faults Something hated? Secrets? Strong memories? Any illnesses? Nervous gestures? Sleep patterns

Imagining all these details will help you get to know your character, but your reader probably won’t need to know much more than the most important things in four areas :

Appearance. Gives your reader a visual understanding of the character.
Action. Show the reader what kind of person your character is, by describing actions rather than simply listing adjectives.
Speech. Develop the character as a person — don’t merely have your character announce important plot details.
Thought. Bring the reader into your character’s mind, to show them your character’s unexpressed memories, fears, and hopes.

For example, let’s say I want to develop a college student persona for a short story that I am writing. What do I know about her?

Her name is Jen, short for Jennifer Mary Johnson . She is 21 years old . She is a fair-skinned Norwegian with blue eyes , long, curly red hair , and is 5 feet 6 inches tall . Contrary to the stereotype about redheads, she is actually easygoing and rather shy . She loves cats and has two of them named Bailey and Allie. She is a technical writing major with a minor in biology. Jen plays the piano and is an amateur photographer . She lives in the dorms at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She eats pizza every day for lunch and loves Red Rose tea . She cracks her knuckles when she is nervous. Her mother just committed suicide.

4. Choose a Point of View

Point of view is the narration of the story from the perspective of first, second, or third person . As a writer, you need to determine who is going to tell the story and how much information is available for the narrator to reveal in the short story. The narrator can be directly involved in the action subjectively, or the narrator might only report the action objectively.

Yourke on point of view:

First Person. “Unites narrator and reader through a series of secrets” when they enter one character’s perceptions. However, it can “lead to telling ” and limits readers connections to other characters in the short story.
Second Person. “Puts readers within the actual scene so that readers confront possibilities directly.” However, it is important to place your characters “in a tangible environment” so you don’t “omit the details readers need for clarity.”
Third Person Omniscient. Allows you to explore all of the characters’ thoughts and motivations. Transitions are extremely important as you move from character to character.
Third Person Limited. “Offers the intimacy of one character’s perceptions.” However, the writer must “deal with character absence from particular scenes.”

5. Write Meaningful Dialogue

Make your readers hear the pauses between the sentences. Let them see characters lean forward, fidget with their cuticles, avert their eyes, uncross their legs . – Jerome Stern

Dialogue is what your characters say to each other (or to themselves).

Each speaker gets his/her own paragraph , and the paragraph includes whatever you wish to say about what the character is doing when speaking. (See: “ Quotation Marks: Using Them in Dialogue “.)

Write Meaningful Dialogue Labels

“John asked nervously” is an example of “telling.” The author could write “John asked very nervously” or “John asked so nervously that his voice was shaking,” and it still wouldn’t make the story any more effective.

How can the author convey John’s state of mind, without coming right out and telling the reader about it? By inference. That is, mention a detail that conjures up in the reader’s mind the image of a nervous person.

6. Use Setting and Context

Setting moves readers most when it contributes to an organic whole. So close your eyes and picture your characters within desert, jungle, or suburb–whichever setting shaped them. Imagining this helps balance location and characterization. Right from the start, view your characters inhabiting a distinct place. – – Laurel Yourke

Setting includes the time, location, context, and atmosphere where the plot takes place.

Remember to combine setting with characterization and plot .
Include enough detail to let your readers picture the scene but only details that actually add something to the story. (For example, do not describe Mary locking the front door, walking across the yard, opening the garage door, putting air in her bicycle tires, getting on her bicycle–none of these details matter except that she rode out of the driveway without looking down the street.)
Use two or more senses in your descriptions of setting.

7. Set Up the Plot

Plot is what happens, the storyline, the action. Jerome Stern says it is how you set up the situation, where the turning points of the story are, and what the characters do at the end of the story.

A plot is a series of events deliberately arranged so as to reveal their dramatic, thematic, and emotional significance. – Janet Burroway

Understanding these story elements for developing actions and their end results will help you plot your next short story.

Explosion or “Hook.” A thrilling, gripping, stirring event or problem that grabs the reader’s attention right away.
Conflict. A character versus the internal self or an external something or someone.
Exposition. Background information required for seeing the characters in context.
Complication. One or more problems that keep a character from their intended goal.
Transition. Image, symbol, dialogue, that joins paragraphs and scenes together.
Flashback. Remembering something that happened before the short story takes place.
Climax. When the rising action of the story reaches the peak.
Falling Action. Releasing the action of the story after the climax.
Resolution. When the internal or external conflict is resolved.

Brainstorming. If you are having trouble deciding on a plot, try brainstorming. Suppose you have a protagonist whose husband comes home one day and says he doesn’t love her any more and he is leaving. What are actions that can result from this situation?

She becomes a workaholic.
Their children are unhappy.
Their children want to live with their dad.
She moves to another city.
She gets a new job.
They sell the house.
She meets a psychiatrist and falls in love.
He comes back and she accepts him.
He comes back and she doesn’t accept him.
She commits suicide.
He commits suicide.
She moves in with her parents.

The next step is to select one action from the list and brainstorm another list from that particular action.

8. Create Conflict and Tension

Conflict is the fundamental element of fiction, fundamental because in literature only trouble is interesting. It takes trouble to turn the great themes of life into a story: birth, love, sex, work, and death. – Janet Burroway

Conflict produces tension that makes the story begin. Tension is created by opposition between the character or characters and internal or external forces or conditions. By balancing the opposing forces of the conflict, you keep readers glued to the pages wondering how the story will end.

Possible Conflicts Include:

The protagonist against another individual
The protagonist against nature (or technology)
The protagonist against society
The protagonist against God
The protagonist against himself or herself.

Yourke’s Conflict Checklist

Mystery. Explain just enough to tease readers. Never give everything away.
Empowerment. Give both sides options.
Progression. Keep intensifying the number and type of obstacles the protagonist faces.
Causality. Hold fictional characters more accountable than real people. Characters who make mistakes frequently pay, and, at least in fiction, commendable folks often reap rewards.
Surprise. Provide sufficient complexity to prevent readers predicting events too far in advance.
Empathy. Encourage reader identification with characters and scenarios that pleasantly or (unpleasantly) resonate with their own sweet dreams (or night sweats).
Insight. Reveal something about human nature.
Universality. Present a struggle that most readers find meaningful, even if the details of that struggle reflect a unique place and time.
High Stakes. Convince readers that the outcome matters because someone they care about could lose something precious. Trivial clashes often produce trivial fiction.

9. Build to a Crisis or Climax

This is the turning point of the story –the most exciting or dramatic moment.

The crisis may be a recognition, a decision, or a resolution. The character understands what hasn’t been seen before, or realizes what must be done, or finally decides to do it. It’s when the worm turns. Timing is crucial. If the crisis occurs too early, readers will expect still another turning point. If it occurs too late, readers will get impatient–the character will seem rather thick.- Jerome Stern

Jane Burroway says that the crisis “must always be presented as a scene. It is “the moment” the reader has been waiting for. In Cinderella’s case, “the payoff is when the slipper fits.”

While a good story needs a crisis, a random event such as a car crash or a sudden illness is simply an emergency –unless it somehow involves a conflict that makes the reader care about the characters (see: “ Crisis vs. Conflict “).

10. Find a Resolution

The solution to the conflict . In short fiction, it is difficult to provide a complete resolution and you often need to just show that characters are beginning to change in some way or starting to see things differently.

Yourke examines some of the options for ending a story.

Open. Readers determine the meaning. Brendan’s eyes looked away from the priest and up to the mountains.
Resolved. Clear-cut outcome. While John watched in despair, Helen loaded up the car with her belongings and drove away.
They were driving their 1964 Chevrolet Impala down the highway while the wind blew through their hair.
Her father drove up in a new 1964 Chevrolet Impala, a replacement for the one that burned up.
Monologue. Character comments. I wish Tom could have known Sister Dalbec’s prickly guidance before the dust devils of Sin City battered his soul.
Dialogue. Characters converse.
Literal Image. Setting or aspect of setting resolves the plot. The aqueducts were empty now and the sun was shining once more.
Symbolic Image. Details represent a meaning beyond the literal one. Looking up at the sky, I saw a cloud cross the shimmering blue sky above us as we stood in the morning heat of Sin City.

Got Writer’s Block?

The Writer’s Block Comprehensive Web site that offers solutions to beating writer’s block such as various exercises (not necessarily physical), advice from prolific writers, and how to know if you really have writer’s block.

Overcoming Writer’s Block Precise, short list of ways to start writing again.

Learn through Schooling Some online colleges and universities offer creative writing courses. Look for ones that offer creative writing courses that cover the plot and structure of short stories.

Regular access to an instructor who is a published author, and a peer group that is motivated to read your drafts, might just be the extra motivation you need to develop your own skills.
If you are counting on the credits transferring to help you complete an academic program, check with your university registrar.

Dec. 2002 — submitted by Kathy Kennedy, UWEC Senior (for Jerz’s Advanced Technical Writing class) Jan 2003 — edited by Jamie Dalbesio, UWEC Senior (for an independent study project with Jerz) May 2003 — edited by Jerz and posted at Seton Hill University Jan 2007 — ongoing edits by Jerz May 2008 — reformatted Sep 2010 — tweaked Writer’s Block section Mar 2011 — reformatted and further tweaked Jun 2017 — minor editing. Are “Keds” still a recognizable brand of kids shoes? Feb 2019 — Removed “Keds” reference, beefed up the “bad” shoes example; tweaked formatting.

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Archived discussion of “Short Stories: 10 Tips for Creative Writers”

852 thoughts on “ Short Story Tips: 10 Hacks to Improve Your Creative Writing ”

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gorgeous gorgeous girls struggle to write short stories

bro what LMAOOOO

Wow. This was super helpful. I’m a writer myself and this was all very fun to read for me.

This really helped, Thank you

Thanks so much for this very informative article! It was exactly what I looking for today. These hacks will definitely help me to become a more creative writer online. Thanks for sharing :)

This is really helpful

i want to make an story

Could someone answer what was they made them a memorable?

Great job on theses tips. These will be with me for generations.

wow i love this

fishman is here to go fishing yeah yeah

Yes this is pretty cool, cool

Such helpful tips. Thank you.

ok yall, I need help with a school assignment.I have to write a story abouth anything and I don’t know how to start, can someone tell me how to start a story.

IDK, right here on this page I’ve put my “emergency tips,” which is the best advice I have to offer.

You have to come up yourself with what it is your protagonist wants and all the other details. One theory is “write what you know,” so that if you are a cancer survivor or grew up in a military family or you spend time around horses or at steel mills or playing basketball, then it makes sense to write a story that includes the details you already know.

Great writers steal. Find a story that you like, and mix it up to make it your own.

Pls help me I’m about to write a book the title “school day “help me with some content an stories. Thanks

i can tell you how to

Daniel thanks for insightful tips

hey anybody interested? to make a movie on me

Professional have to do that, plus you aren’t famous and nobody can reallly make a documentary on someone who hasn’t even shown their face on here

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So amazed by the info and help of this site. Well done to you all and thank you for furthering my knowledge of writing! Thank you again and great work!

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Some great tips and advice here. I’ve been reading several websites about advancing ones creative writing career. Some blogs, websites and forum’s offer very different views on self-publishing. I’ve noticed websites and publishers with authority in the industry, strongly argue that a serious writer should not enter into self-publishing. This can be damaging and seen as vanity. What are your views on this? Thanks!!

Thank you so much! These tips are awesome. I’m planning on writing a short book and this cleared up a lot of what I needed.

I am happy. It’s Give me good information and tips about how to write a short stories.

Based on how many times I had to say, “OMG, that’s so truuuue!”, this one’s a really great article. Worth the read!

I am a compassionate interested person wanting to engage in writing i have always had this itch if you like to write stories from the early twenties in my life this itch to write has always been there about stories that the average person can relate to and therefore become an interested reader , however , i am now at a point in my life that i am in a position to put more time into learning the craft of writing stories that have a mixture of fiction and fact and that i may also write a memoir because that is the one thing i know will be interesting . Kind regards Mark

Quite helpful ideas. The site is shown on html though, is it right? Creative writing techniques are helpful ways to write, but more important thing is to acquire a writing habit.

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Very educative Thanks

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this is ssoo cool le epic le epic

hey, hope everyone is copacetic. have been trying to improve my writing but still don’t see any improvement in my struggle, is there anyone who help me to overcome my this issue, hope you people will help me because most of you have experience. keen to write as good story writter and also interested in writing novels but suffering from writing. help me

I am elated that I have come across this.

way of navegating around. The concept of a short story is that something goes wrong and the character must fix it, even if it is a Utopian world. There has to be something that goes wrong or has been wrong the entire time. Examples of this is that the authority that everyone trustic began putting random people in prison. Another would be that everyone relies on th main character for protection becuase he or she has a special ability but the main character doesnt know how to use this ability.

oh great. it’s NAVIGATING, by the way.

I make typographical errors, too.

I am mark thank you

Gave me a really good help …… thanks a lot

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thanks so much! its verry help full.

I have a love story which is inspired every people like any age in human life but skill is concurrence and disburse with sparrow and peacock animals situation and also crow life…… I just want to know the right concern person email ID to send the story details and further I suggest a song like tital song & stage show song, said song.

Thanks & regards Dhananjay bathe

now this is epic

Thank you Kanye very cool

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hey who are u cool?

this is so very cool i cannot believe it

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Mary became a workaholic which made her.children unhappy.so they went to live with their dad. Then Mary moves to another city and got a new job. Her ex-husband and Mary agreed to sell their old house. Mary then met a psychiatrist and fell in love with him. But then her ex-husband came back to her and she accepted him back- at first – but then rejected him.

So she committed suicide. Then her ex-husband commited suicide. Her parents buried her corpse in the basement.

I dont think this form of the making a character really helps. First off, people dont like characters who are strong and can do anything, they like characters that have weaknesses that slow them down such as being blind or not being able to walk. They idea must be something that uses this weakness. The character must also be or become more capable of doing things towards the end. Such as if they couldnt see, they would develop a way of navegating around. The concept of a short story is that something goes wrong and the character must fix it, even if it is a Utopian world. There has to be something that goes wrong or has been wrong the entire time. Examples of this is that the authority that everyone trustic began putting random people in prison. Another would be that everyone relies on th main character for protection becuase he or she has a special ability but the main character doesnt know how to use this ability.

Hope this helps anyone that is still confused!

Re #7: 1. Your quote by Burroway should be Janet Burroway not Jane. Fact-checking us vital. 2. Story elemrnts for developing actions and their end results should be Exposition, not explosion. As it stands this is false and misleading information that will trip many unsuspecting/new writers up.

Thanks for noting the typo — I fixed it. I am not sure that exposition is, by its nature, very hooking, so I’m leaving that as is.

I really like and value this page, I my self a middle school-er found it helpful w/ saying that i already new all the tips, but alas it was still a great reminder. Also remember to keep you sentence, punctuation and dialog varied. This will help keep the reader interested

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Just about to create a short story and it has been a while, great advice to get me back in the mood.

Would love to write short stories but just can’t get myself started. Needing an affordable directed course with assignments and deadlines and tutorial comment feedback. OU looks good but WAY beyond my means. Have plenty of ideas and have read copiously (and still am). This site particularly helpful, thank you. Ray

It is all quite informative.

Filled with error Syed.

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With creative writing, as with any kind of writing, your reader is your most important consideration. You need to know and understand whom you’re writing for if you’re to do a good job of keeping them interested. Thanks for sharing a great post.

I think you should think about what your characters very well and not try to change things about them.

I have my english term exam tmrw and these tips have givn me a good idea of short story writing~though I m good at writing but short story was not my speciality… So, thanx for these excellent tips… You r jst gr8!!!

A good writeup. Love it.

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Great! Thanks so much! This will help me in my Creative Writing class I am taking this summer!

Terrible advice

To what, exactly, are you referring Tyler?

Dennis you’re the writer now?

I did assign the topic and format to a student in my technical writing class, I served as the student’s client, and I have been updating and maintaining this document since 2002.

Noice? Ohhh Marilyn

Really helpful

Elated??? Look at # 7 haha shd commits duicide but moves back with parents lol Also re resolution lol. Conflict is resolve not resolved lol. These are jyst drongos copying and plagiarising other peoples’ work and not getting it right.

It was informative and educating.

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RT @Chris_Oldham: Need a hand polishing up your short story? Try these emergency tips! https://t.co/5XrFzKU5rH #amwriting https://t.co/Dgfb…

Need a hand polishing up your short story? Try these emergency tips! https://t.co/5XrFzKU5rH #amwriting https://t.co/DgfbrqAotX

10 ways to improve your short stories. https://t.co/UJMpkku02Y #writing #amwriting #shortstory

cannot read so much but i think its good for the ones who have so much time to read.

The blank page is not taunting me any more, thank you. PS have you ever read Amanda McKittrick Ros – the greatest worst writer who ever lived? I think she should be added to every creative writing curriculum.

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You spelt a couple of words wrong mate

It’s possible. If you spotted any errors, I’d welcome specific notes. Which words?

Ur dumb Rohan

lien delicieux >> Short Story Tips: 10 Ways to Improve Your Creative Writing https://t.co/YAOYCeD4xJ

RT @carolinezoids: Looking for #shortStory tips, I found this great article by @DennisJerz: 10 ways to improve your #creativeWriting: https…

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10 Great Writing Tips for Fiction Writers

Fiction writers, when in the throes of creativity and busily working away on their story, don’t want to interrupt “the flow” by stopping and searching for grammar help online or thumbing through a stack of books. If they need an answer to a puzzling problem, they’d like the answer quickly—so they can get back to writing. And they’d like the answer to be simple to understand.

There are few things more intimidating to a fiction writer than a litany of the names of the parts of speech and the usages thereof. Who has the time (or interest) to memorize all those terms—such as “nominal clause” and “past perfect indicative”—and exactly what they mean?

Yet, writers do need to have a good grasp of the English language (if they write in English) and understand the basics of proper grammar, punctuation, and usage. There’s just no getting around it.

For years I’d kept a notebook by my desk, and every time I researched a grammar question and found the answer I needed, I jotted it in my notebook. Although I tried to enter these in some kind of order, it was inevitable that my notes would end up in a haphazard mess. I thought that one day I would type them all into a document so I could organize them, but that seemed tedious and a waste of time. So I kept scribbling, and when I needed to find that grammar rule again, I would thumb through my notebook, which was growing more and more disorganized the longer it got.

I thought: Why couldn’t someone put out a handy guide to grammar that I could keep at my desk, and that would organize the mess for me? I wondered. Hence, the idea for my blog column Say What? and the compilation of the first three years’ posts into that handy guide.

When I started my blog twelve years ago, I planned to focus primarily on grammar and editing tips. After all, I made my living as a copyeditor and writing coach, and I felt that fiction writers were in great need of grammar help and great writing tips.

Of course writers always need help with editing, but times have truly changed. With the advent of AI and software programs that promise to do all your editing and grammar corrections for you, writers are relying on tech to make them better writers.

Tech is great, and I am grateful for it, but we writers need to use these tools to give us knowledge and insight and not become reliant on them to make our writing better. The more we can apply and integrate what we learn about writing mechanics and rules, the less dependent we will be on others—whether artificial or human—to point out our mistakes.

All this to say: spend time learning grammar and punctuation and syntax rules. Words are a writer’s tools to build stories and poems and portray life in all its nuances. I’m always urging writers to strive for mastery in all facets of writing. Grammar is just one facet.

Over four years, weekly, I posted grammar tips on my blog, then compiled them into my first writing craft book: Say What? It’s a handy book you can still buy as a compact paperback (to carry it around with you) and in ebook format.

I wanted to put a book out on grammar and syntax that was entertaining, full of short, concise (and humorous) explanations of word usage and all things grammarly, specifically for fiction writers. So, in addition to the entries, I added a bunch of fiction tips that I had gleaned from other writers, literary agents, and writing instructors over the years.

Here are 10 great writing tips I’d like to share with you. May these nuggets of wisdom and instruction help you improve your writing.

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug,” so said Mark Twain. The task of a good writer is to make sure every word is the right word. Make every word count, and use a dictionary if you’re not absolutely sure of a word’s meaning.
A good way to help you catch mistakes, repetition, or awkward writing in your manuscript is by changing the font of your document. Pick a completely different font style and even a larger point size. Sometimes the different look of your words will help you see mistakes you overlooked when editing.
Poet Andrew Motion gives these tips on writers’ work ethics: “Let your work stand before deciding whether or not to serve. Think big and stay particular. Write for tomorrow, not for today. Work hard.” Writing is work. To become good at your craft, you have to put in time and effort. You can’t become a heart surgeon just by watching TV shows about doctors, and you can’t become a great writer just by reading books.
When the same articles ( a/an and the ) could be repeated in the same noun phrase, delete all instances of this article except for the first one. Otherwise, readers may become annoyed by your repetition: “Sally is writing a novel about her cat, her dog, and her mouse.” This reads cleaner: “Sally is writing a novel about her cat, dog, and mouse.”
When writing fast-action scenes, you want the reader to read fast and feel the story is speeding up. To help do this, trim down sentences to make them as short as possible, leaving only the most essential words. Keep paragraphs short—two to three lines at most, wherever you can. You can pare down even more by replacing long words with shorter ones. Think about using incomplete sentences, or even single-word sentences.
Be sure to set off direct address with a comma, whether it’s a proper name or a generic term. Look at the difference in meaning between “Let’s eat Grandpa” and “Let’s eat, Grandpa.” That comma placement is crucial. Also, use a pair of commas where needed. Example: “Hey, everyone, let’s go.”
Cutting lines, paragraphs, and even whole scenes is a vital and powerful skill for writers to develop. A writer needs to look at each section and ask, “Do I need this?” Overly wordy sentences, extended paragraphs, and repetition should all be removed. Any section that fails to move the plot forward should be cut. Cutting back the work is painful, but if done correctly will improve your book tenfold.
To keep your scenes from being tedious to read, break up long paragraphs. Every time there is a shift in focus, such as the character’s attention moving from one person or thing to another, use a paragraph break. A variety of paragraph lengths will help with pacing.
Repetition of words and phrases within close proximity occurs a lot. Our brain sometimes defaults to a word we just used when we’re writing without careful examination of our word choice. When editing, check paragraphs for these repetitions, then rewrite to eliminate them. Your prose will be fresher, stronger, and more creative.
And, finally, William Faulkner said, “There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no shortcut. The young writer would be a fool to follow a theory. Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error.” Learn from your errors and push to become a better writer.

My aim in compiling this guide was and is to help you write the beautiful stories you yearn to tell—and to tell them in your own unique style while skillfully wielding language so that you will say what you mean and don’t say what you don’t mean. Learning the craft of writing includes learning correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word usage, but it shouldn’t painful or boring.

If you realize you need help with your grammar and word usage, and you want a solid way to improve without continually asking AI to fix everything (and often with bad or weak suggestions), then get Say What and start learning. You may even do what one writer did, to my surprise—read the book from cover to cover!

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Some real gems here! Grammar can be an intimidating topic; these bite-size bits of advice are spot-on and super helpful.

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100 Creative Writing Prompts for Middle & High School – 2024

April 15, 2024

creative writing prompts for high school and middle school teens

Some high school students dream of writing for a living, perhaps pursuing an English major in college, or even attending a creative writing MFA program later on. For other students, creative writing can be useful for school assignments, in English and other subjects, and also for preparing their Common App essays . In a less goal-oriented sense, daily freewriting in a journal can be a healthy life practice for many high schoolers. Not sure where to start? Continue reading for 100 creative writing prompts for middle school and high school students. These middle/high school writing prompts offer inspiration for getting started with writing in a number of genres and styles.

Click here to view the 35 Best Colleges for Creative Writing .

What are Creative Writing Prompts?

Similar to how an academic essay prompt provides a jumping-off point for forming and organizing an argument, creative writing prompts are points of initiation for writing a story, poem, or creative essay. Prompts can be useful for writers of all ages, helping many to get past writer’s block and just start (often one of the most difficult parts of a writing process).

Writing prompts come in a variety of forms. Sometimes they are phrases used to begin sentences. Other times they are questions, more like academic essay prompts Writing prompts can also involve objects such as photographs, or activities such as walking. Below, you will find high school writing prompts that use memories, objects, senses (smell/taste/touch), abstract ideas , and even songs as jumping-off points for creative writing. These prompts can be used to write in a variety of forms, from short stories to creative essays, to poems.

How to use Creative Writing Prompts

Before we get started with the list, are a few tips when using creative writing prompts:

Experiment with different formats : Prose is great, but there’s no need to limit yourself to full sentences, at least at first. A piece of creative writing can begin with a poem, or a dialogue, or even a list. You can always bring it back to prose later if needed.

Interpret the prompt broadly : The point of a creative writing prompt is not to answer it “correctly” or “precisely.” You might begin with the prompt, but then your ideas could take you in a completely different direction. The words in the prompt also don’t need to open your poem or essay, but could appear somewhere in the middle.

Switch up/pile up the prompts : Try using two or three prompts and combine them, or weave between them. Perhaps choose a main prompt, and a different “sub-prompt.” For example, your main prompt might be “write about being in transit from one place to another,” and within that prompt, you might use the prompt to “describe a physical sensation,” and/or one the dialogue prompts. This could be a fun way to find complexity as you write.

Creative Writing Prompts for Middle School & High School Students (Continued)

Write first, edit later : While you’re first getting started with a prompt, leave the typos and bad grammar. Obsessing over details can take away from your flow of thoughts. You will inevitably make many fixes when you go back through to edit.

Write consistently : It often becomes easier to write when it’s a practice , rather than a once-in-a-while kind of activity. For some, it’s useful to write daily. Others find time to write every few days, or every weekend. Sometimes, a word-count goal can help (100 words a day, 2,000 words a month, etc.). If you set a goal, make sure it’s realistic. Start small and build from there, rather than starting with an unachievable goal and quickly giving up.

100 Creative Writing Prompts for Middle School & High School Teens

Here are some prompts for getting started with your creative writing. These are organized by method, rather than genre, so they can inspire writing in a variety of forms. Pick and choose the ones that work best for you, and enjoy!

Prompts using memories

Begin each sentence or group of sentences with the phrase, “I remember…”
Describe a family ritual.
Choose an event in your life, and write about it from the perspective of someone else who was there.
Pick a pathway you take on a regular basis (to school, or to a friend’s house). Describe five landmarks that you remember from this pathway.
Write about your house or apartment using a memory from each room.
Write an imaginary history of the previous people who lived in your house or apartment.
Write about an ancestor based on stories you’ve heard from relatives.
What’s your earliest memory?
Who was your first friend?
Write a letter to someone you haven’t seen since childhood.
Write about yourself now from the perspective of yourself twenty, or eighty, years from now.
Write about the best month of the year.
Write about the worst day of the year.
Rant about something that has always annoyed you.
Write about the hottest or coldest day you can remember.
Visualize a fleeting moment in your life and as though it’s a photograph, and time yourself 5 minutes to write every detail you can remember about the scene.
Draw out a timeline of your life so far. Then choose three years to write about, as though you were writing for a history book.
Write about a historical event in the first person, as though you remember it.
Write about a memory of being in transit from one place to another.

Objects and photographs as creative writing prompts

Describe the first object you see in the room. What importance does it have in your life? What memories do you have with this object? What might it symbolize?
Pick up an object, and spend some time holding it/examining it. Write about how it looks, feels, and smells. Write about the material that it’s made from.
Choose a favorite family photograph. What could someone know just by looking at the photograph? What’s secretly happening in the photograph?
Choose a photograph and tell the story of this photograph from the perspective of someone or something in it.
Write about a color by describing three objects that are that color.
Tell the story of a piece of trash.
Tell the story of a pair of shoes.
Tell the story of your oldest piece of clothing.

Senses and observations as creative writing prompts

Describe a sound you hear in the room or outside. Choose the first sound you notice. What are its qualities? It’s rhythms? What other sounds does it remind you of?
Describe a physical sensation you feel right now, in as much detail as possible.
Listen to a conversation and write down a phrase that you hear someone say. Start a free-write with this phrase.
Write about a food by describing its qualities, but don’t say what it is.
Describe a flavor (salty, sweet, bitter, etc.) to someone who has never tasted it before.
Narrate your day through tastes you tasted.
Narrate your day through sounds you heard.
Narrate your day through physical sensations you felt.
Describe in detail the physical process of doing an action you consider simple or mundane, like walking or lying down or chopping vegetables.
Write about the sensation of doing an action you consider physically demanding or tiring, like running or lifting heavy boxes.
Describe something that gives you goosebumps.
Write a story that involves drinking a cold glass of water on a hot day.
Write a story that involves entering a warm house from a cold snowy day.
Describe someone’s facial features in as much detail as possible.

Songs, books, and other art

Choose a song quote, write it down, and free-write from there.
Choose a song, and write a story in which that song is playing in the car.
Choose a song, and write to the rhythm of that song.
Choose a character from a book, and describe an event in your life from the perspective of that character.
Go to a library and write down 10 book titles that catch your eye. Free-write for 5 minutes beginning with each one.
Go to a library and open to random book pages, and write down 5 sentences that catch your attention. Use those sentences as prompts and free-write for 5-minutes with each.
Choose a piece of abstract artwork. Jot down 10 words that come to mind from the painting or drawing, and free-write for 2 minutes based on each word.
Find a picture of a dramatic Renaissance painting online. Tell a story about what’s going on in the painting that has nothing to do with what the artist intended.
Write about your day in five acts, like a Shakespearean play. If your day were a play, what would be the introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution?
Narrate a complicated book or film plot using only short sentences.
Read a short poem. Then write a poem that could be a “sister” or “cousin” of that poem.

Abstract ideas as creative writing prompts

Write about an experience that demonstrates an abstract idea, such as “love” or “home” or “freedom” or “loss” without ever using the word itself.
Write a list of ways to say “hello” without actually saying “hello.”
Write a list of ways to say “I love you” without actually saying “I love you.”
Do you believe in ghosts? Describe a ghost.
Invent a mode of time travel.
Glass half-full/half-empty: Write about an event or situation with a positive outlook. Then write about it with a miserable outlook.
Free-write beginning with “my religion is…” (what comes next can have as much or as little to do with organized religion as you’d like).
Free-write beginning with “my gender is…” (what comes next can have as much or as little to do with common ideas of gender as you’d like).
Write about a person or character that is “good” and one that is “evil.” Then write about the “evil” in the good character and the “good” in the evil character.
Write like you’re telling a secret.
Describe a moment of beauty you witnessed. What makes something beautiful?

Prompts for playing with narrative and character

Begin writing with the phrase, “It all started when…”
Tell a story from the middle of the most dramatic part.
Write a story that begins with the ending.
Begin a story but give it 5 possible endings.
Write a list of ways to dramatically quit a terrible job.
Write about a character breaking a social rule or ritual (i.e., walking backwards, sitting on the floor of a restaurant, wearing a ballgown to the grocery store). What are the ramifications?
You are sent to the principal’s office. Justify your bad behavior.
Re-write a well-known fairytale but set it in your school.
Write your own version of the TV show trope where someone gets stuck in an elevator with a stranger, or a secret love interest, or a nemesis.
Imagine a day where you said everything you were thinking, and write about it.
Write about a scenario in which you have too much of a good thing.
Write about a scenario in which money can buy happiness.
Invent a bank or museum heist.
Invent a superhero, including an origin story.
Write using the form of the scientific method (question, hypothesis, test, analyze data conclusion).
Write using the form of a recipe.

Middle School & High School Creative writing prompts for playing with fact vs. fiction

Write something you know for sure is true, and then, “but maybe it isn’t.” Then explain why that thing may not be true.
Write a statement and contradict that statement. Then do it again.
Draft an email with an outlandish excuse as to why you didn’t do your homework or why you need an extension.
Write about your morning routine, and make it sound extravagant/luxurious (even if it isn’t).
You’ve just won an award for doing a very mundane and simple task. Write your acceptance speech.
Write about a non-athletic event as though it were a sports game.
Write about the most complicated way to complete a simple task.
Write a brief history of your life, and exaggerate everything.
Write about your day, but lie about some things.
Tell the story of your birth.
Choose a historical event and write an alternative outcome.
Write about a day in the life of a famous person in history.
Read an instructional manual, and change three instructions to include some kind of magical or otherwise impossible element.

Prompts for starting with dialogue

Write a texting conversation between two friends who haven’t spoken in years.
Write a texting conversation between two friends who speak every day and know each other better than anyone.
Watch two people on the street having a conversation, and imagine the conversation they’re having. Write it down.
Write an overheard conversation behind a closed door that you shouldn’t be listening to.
Write a conversation between two characters arguing about contradicting memories of what happened.
You have a difficult decision to make. Write a conversation about it with yourself.
Write a conversation with a total lack of communication.
Write a job interview gone badly.

Final Thoughts – Creative Writing Prompts for Middle School & High School

Hopefully you have found several of these creative writing prompts helpful. Remember that when writing creatively, especially on your own, you can mix, match, and change prompts. For more on writing for high school students, check out the following articles:

College Application Essay Topics to Avoid
160 Good Argumentative Essay Topics
150 Good Persuasive Speech Topics
Good Transition Words for Essays
High School Success

Sarah Mininsohn

With a BA from Wesleyan University and an MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Sarah is a writer, educator, and artist. She served as a graduate instructor at the University of Illinois, a tutor at St Peter’s School in Philadelphia, and an academic writing tutor and thesis mentor at Wesleyan’s Writing Workshop.

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Lectures/Literary

Shut Up & ‘Speak’: Ways to shut down the noise and write your next best thing A MASTER CLASS WITH JAMI ATTENBERG

What does it take to lead a creative life every day? New York Times bestselling author Jami Attenberg offers a workshop on how to carve out a creative life for yourself. The author of seven novels and the 2022 memoir I Came All This Way To Meet You, as well as the new motivational creativity book 1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round, Jami is a “writer’s writer,” with decades of experience in pursuit of a creative life.

This workshop will share ideas and perspectives for putting your own creativity first: How can writers best serve their own creative processes? Where do you go for inspiration? How important is community to our writing lives? And how can you create a life in this business of art? It will include a talk, a writing prompt with a group write-along. Jami will share how the #1000wordsofsummer became a worldwide literary movement in a collaborative environment.

Her wildly popular, grassroots movement inspired the 1000 Words collection, the book-length extension of it, about becoming and staying motivated, discovering yourself and your creative desires, and approaching your craft from a new direction. It features advice from more than fifty well-known writers, including New York Times bestsellers, Pulitzer Prize winners, and stars of the literary world, such as Roxane Gay, Lauren Groff, Celeste Ng, Meg Wolitzer, and Carmen Maria Machado. Paired with vibrant word art illustrations, 1000 Words is an accessible and motivational craft book that allows you to open any page and get a quick and fulfilling hit of inspiration.

CityLit Festival offers this Master Class giving attendees 90 minutes to engage with a celebrated author about writing. Meaningful discussions about craft combined with a lecture, Q & A, exercises, and handouts are provided by some of the greatest authors of our time. Past presenting authors include Kiese Laymon, George Saunders, Susan Straight, Dinaw Mengestu, Kia Corthron, and Yrsa Daley-Ward. They have all graced our stage in virtual and live platforms.

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IMAGES

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COMMENTS

8 Tips for Getting Started With Creative Writing
Action: In creative writing, action should occur for a reason—characters' actions should be based on their motivations, their points of view, and their previous choices. A protagonist's actions should always propel them toward their main goal in a way that is related to the plot events at hand. A character's goals affect their character ...
26+ Creative Writing Tips for Beginners ️
The road to being a legendary storyteller won't be easy, but with our creative writing tips for kids, you'll be on the right track! Creative writing isn't just about writing stories. You could write poems, graphic novels, song lyrics and even movie scripts. But there is one thing you'll need and that is good creative writing skills.
How To Improve Creative Writing (18 Effective Ways)
Continuously seek to learn and grow as a writer by attending workshops, reading about writing, and experimenting with new techniques. Remember, improving your creative writing skills takes time and dedication. Patience, persistence, and a willingness to learn are key to becoming a better writer.
Creative Writing 101: A Beginner's Guide to Creative Writing
Creative Writing 101. Creative writing is any form of writing which is written with the creativity of mind: fiction writing, poetry writing, creative nonfiction writing and more. The purpose is to express something, whether it be feelings, thoughts, or emotions. Rather than only giving information or inciting the reader to make an action ...
Creative Writing Tips for Beginners: 10 Top Tips
Tip 4: Show, Don't Tell. The phrase "Show, don't tell" is a popular piece of writing advice that almost every writer has heard before. Essentially, "show, don't tell" means that you should immerse the reader in your story through sensory details and descriptive language instead of simply summarizing the story to them.
Creative Writing: 8 Fun Ways to Get Started
2. Start journaling your days. Another easy way to get started with creative writing is to keep a journal. We're not talking about an hour-by-hour account of your day, but journaling as a way to express yourself without filters and find your 'voice in writing'. If you're unsure what to journal about, think of any daily experiences that ...
Easy Ways to Improve Creative Writing: 11 Steps (with Pictures)
Download Article. 1. Block off time to write every day. Your writing skills will improve with practice. Set aside 20 to 30 minutes (or longer, if you can) to write about anything you want to. Try keeping a journal and writing about your day, or use a notebook to sketch out character ideas and book plots.
20 Writing Tips to Help You Improve Your Craft Today
Don't dilute your story with adverb-y sentences — get down to business and tell us what the characters are doing. 15. Get rid of distractions. Yes, this is probably one of the hardest writing tips to follow — especially for those of us who enjoy working from noisy coffee shops and taking frequent Netflix breaks.
Creative Writing Tips from Harvard's Faculty
Creative Writing Tips from Harvard's Faculty. Claire Messud teaches fiction writing at Harvard. Harvard's English faculty hosts a powerhouse of acclaimed creative writers. As lecturers and ...
Essential Creative Writing Tips and Techniques
Creative writing is writing that uses imagination, creativity, and mastery of the art of writing to evoke emotion in a reader. It could be a fictional story, a nonfiction piece, or movie script, a play, a poem, et cetera. Creative writing oftentimes springs up from experimentation and good, imaginative use of knowledge and ideas.
What Is Creative Writing? Types, Techniques, and Tips
Types of Creative Writing. Examples of creative writing can be found pretty much everywhere. Some forms that you're probably familiar with and already enjoy include: • Fiction (of every genre, from sci-fi to historical dramas to romances) • Film and television scripts. • Songs. • Poetry.
The Best Creative Writing Prompts and Practice Tips
The demand for creative writing on college campuses is on the rise: A 2017 report from the Associated Press reveals that in the last 40 years, more than 700 schools have started creative writing bachelor's programs for students who want to learn how to write fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and work for the stage and screen. Though overall enrollment in English majors has declined in recent years ...
100 Creative Writing Prompts for Writers
100 Creative Writing Prompts for Writers. 1. The Variants of Vampires. Think of an alternative vampire that survives on something other than blood. Write a story or scene based on this character. 2. Spinning the Globe. Imagine that a character did the old spin the globe and see where to take your next vacation trick.
16 Writing Tips for Fiction Writers
16 Writing Tips for Fiction Writers. Writing a fictional story is an adventurous undertaking that allows your imagination to run wild as you create characters and build worlds. While there is no definitive list of rules you should follow for fiction writing, there are a number of widely-used techniques to help you start writing, write better ...
11 Creative Writing Techniques: Explanation + Examples
6. Show don't tell. To let readers experience your story, show don't tell. Showing means using sensory details and describing actions to direct a mental movie in your reader's mind. Get inspired by these examples of "show, don't tell" …. Show don't tell examples >>. 7. Repetition in writing.
14 Creative Writing Tips (Plus 5 Jobs in This Career Field)
14 creative writing tips Here are some creative writing tips to help you with your next project: 1. Read often Most writers are also avid readers. Reading regularly can help you build your vocabulary, discover new writing techniques and explore different genres. Reading can also help you develop new ideas for stories, find writers who inspire ...
18 Writing Tips That'll Actually Make You a Better Writer
But it's vital. Learn More: Proofreading: 7 Editing Tips That'll Make You a Better Writer in 2024 will show you how to proofread and edit like a pro. And if you need some tools to help you fix your writing, Grammarly and the Hemingway App are two good grammar checker options. 4. Supercharge Your Subheads.
Creative Writing Tips To Become A Better Writer
Our creative writing summer schools give students access to 1:1 personalised tutorials with expert creative writing tutors. To help them unlock their inner potential. This guide will discover practical Creative Writing tips to help you write better and more easily. 1. Hook Readers With Your Character's "Why" At The Very Beginning
Short Story Tips: 10 Hacks to Improve Your Creative Writing
2. Write a Catchy First Paragraph. In today's fast-moving world, the first sentence of your narrative should catch your reader's attention with the unusual, the unexpected, an action, or a conflict. Begin with tension and immediacy. Remember that short stories need to start close to their end.
10 Great Writing Tips for Fiction Writers
Here are 10 great writing tips I'd like to share with you. May these nuggets of wisdom and instruction help you improve your writing. ... Your prose will be fresher, stronger, and more creative. And, finally, William Faulkner said, "There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no shortcut. The young writer would be a fool to follow a ...
21 Authors Share One Piece of Advice for Writers
So without further ado, here's one piece of advice for writers from 21 published authors. *****. Dive into the world of writing and learn all 12 steps needed to complete a first draft. In this writing workshop you will tackle the steps to writing a book, learn effective writing techniques along the way, and of course, begin writing your first ...
100 Creative Writing Prompts for Middle & High School
How to use Creative Writing Prompts. Before we get started with the list, are a few tips when using creative writing prompts: Experiment with different formats: Prose is great, but there's no need to limit yourself to full sentences, at least at first. A piece of creative writing can begin with a poem, or a dialogue, or even a list.
Writing Skills
Writing skills - creative and narrative writing. Part of English Writing skills. Imaginative or creative writing absorbs readers in an entertaining way. To succeed with this kind of writing you ...
Shut Up & 'Speak': Ways to shut down the noise and write your next best
What does it take to lead a creative life every day? New York Times bestselling author Jami Attenberg offers a workshop on how to carve out a creative life for yourself. The author of seven novels and the 2022 memoir I Came All This Way To Meet You, as well as the new motivational creativity book 1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round, Jami ...