How To Improve Your Creative Writing Skills

Creative writing is a way where a writer tells stories distinctly and uniquely. You don’t have to be a professional to do this, but the question is, how can you improve this skill? Here are some tips that hopefully can inspire you to be more creative in your writing.

Learn From Your Favorite Authors

There is nothing wrong with idolizing a particular author and trying to follow the way they write their articles. What is wrong though, is trying to plagiarize their work. 

There are tons of writers out there from different genres. What you need to do is use their writing style as a guide so that you can tweak it into something you can call your own. 

Use People Close To You As Your Characters

Many successful writers pattern their characters to someone they know or someone close to them. 

It would be easier to create a character out of them as you would already know the kind of trait they have, the appearance, mannerism, and things that you see fit your storyline. 

It can help you focus more on creating the story rather than waste time figuring out how the characters would look like.

Know The Three Act Structure

When doing creative writing, everything should flow seamlessly from beginning to end. To do this, you need to understand the three acts, Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution. 

The Setup is where the characters are introduced and what their role is in the world you created. The confrontation would be the problem your protagonist would be trying to solve, while the Resolution is where the climax is located, and it is the time where the problem would be solved. 

Knowing this structure would allow you to create a storyline that is not jumping from one scene to another. This structure would also be more appealing to the audience as it would be easier for them to follow and understand.

Learn How To Start Your Story

Ask many creative writers what the hardest thing to do is; most of them would say it’s how to start your story. 

There is a method created by an author named Randy Ingermanson called the “snowflake method.” 

The snowflake method is a technique where you start your story with a single sentence summary then start layering it with all the details. 

So from a sentence, you create a paragraph to describe your characters, then from there, you can create a storyline based on the single sentence you made. And then you can keep on adding layers on top of layers until finally, you have a completed novel.

Choose The Right Environment

It is common for writers to experience writer’s block wherein your creative juice seems to stop flowing. 

If this happens, try to look for an environment that would help stir up your creativity and jump-start your ideas. 

Some workshops and courses allow you to hear ideas from other writers and help you learn new techniques to boost your creativity.

Think Outside The Box

Fear of the unknown and stepping out of their comfort zone are some of the reasons why creative writers fail. 

If you want to improve your creative writing skill, you should not be scared of becoming different and unique. 

When it comes to creative writing, it is ok to break the rules and search for new boundaries to achieve your full potential. Do not restrict yourself to the typical styles other writers do. 

Bring The Readers Into Your Story By Adding Details

To create a good story, you need to immerse your readers and avoid sparing the details entirely. The more detail you put on the location and setting, the more your readers feel in the story. 

Try adding small details that would help bring your story to life. You will be surprised how much these can affect your creative writing.

Always Have A Notebook By Your Side

Sometimes great ideas come out of nowhere. If this happens, it would be nice to write it down so you won’t forget it. It would also be nice to be observant of your surroundings as there are times wherein a writer can get ideas from things that ordinary people don’t even notice.

Spice Things Up By Creating Tension

Nothing captures a reader’s interest more than trying to anticipate how a specific conflict would be resolved. 

That is why it would be a good idea if you can create tension between characters. Also, leave a sense of mystery wherein conflict is not that obvious that the reader has to speculate on the actual problem. It would help keep your readers at the edge of their sit.

Just like anything else, you need to dedicate time and effort to improve your creative writing skill. It takes practice, and you need to have the proper discipline in order to do these things. Remember, excellent creative writers are those who can captivate the readers.