Here’s why it is crucial to change your feet before going to the beach after a wedding. If you’re already eager to read further and know how to “change your feet,” congratulations! You’ve understood one of the critical elements of creative writing.
Yes, it was that easy. As a creative writer, you must write an attention-grabbing opening to your piece of writing to make it matter. You can use puns or any other types of figurative language. But there are rules to that. It should be promising but not over-promising.
If you still want to know about changing one’s feet, this phrase means to put on different footwear. And you wouldn’t want your expensive formal footwear to get dirty in the sand.
Now, back to creative writing. There are various forms of creative writing. It is not solely limited to fiction novels or short stories. Creative writing also applies to:
- Movie and TV scripts
- Poetries
- Plays
- Memoirs
- Personal essays
- Fiction (short stories, novellas, and novels)
- Speeches
These are different types of creative writing. If you’re a writer, think about what creative writing is. We want you to acknowledge what you think it is. As this article would tell a lot about your understanding of literature.
What is Creative Writing?
Creative writing surrounds different genres and goes beyond the rules of formal writing. Creative writing is not just narrating a story. You convey the emotions of the character to the reader. It requires using impactful and emotional vocabulary. It comprises many elements but the four main ones are:
- Setting
- Tone
- Plot
- Characters
Top 5 Tips to Get Better at Creative Writing
These creative writing tips will polish your skills and will help you craft a crowd-grabbing story.
1. Write What You Would Read Fondly
Many creative writers try hard to write what they wouldn’t read probably because of trends or money. If you love to read thriller novels but start your writing journey from self-help poetries, you may end up thinking creative writing is not for you.
That doesn’t mean we’re asking you not to experiment with different genres and types of creative writing. Experimenting is one of the best practices to discover your genre. If you fail to write or lose interest in writing in a certain genre, don’t be disappointed. It probably wasn’t for you.
I would recommend starting with the type of genre you love to read.
2. Take Inspiration from Real Life
This tip is used by many published authors. In your free time, leave your mobile phone and notice the events and people surrounding you. Say you’re waiting at a bus stop, and another person comes up. You notice them doing something peculiar. Probably the way they stand or sit is strange. Or probably their actions say something about their feelings. If you think it’s interesting, include it in your story. It can also help you to develop some traits of your character. Probably how they show their anxiety.
Spend more time observing things around you. Think of it as a part of your writing. Some people or everyday events might help create a bestselling book.
3. Take Notes Whenever Possible
If your mind doesn’t throw an idea when you sit down to write, don’t try too hard. Your brain generates the best ideas when you’re bored. Don’t scroll through Facebook, YouTube shorts, or Instagram when you don’t have anything to do. Tuck your legs over the head of the couch, hang your head upside down and get bored.
It’s not necessary that you lay like that for an idea. Anything can work as long you’re getting bored.
You may not get an idea every time you’re bored. Sometimes it comes unannounced. Maybe while you’re showering or in school.
4. Write an Honest Fiction
To all fiction writers, this will be one of the greatest creative writing tips you will ever receive. Don’t be confused seeing “honest” and “fiction” together. It simply means making your story as believable as possible. Here’s an example of what believable means in this case: show the reasons why your character is doing what they’re doing. Show the change in their emotions and show why they changed.
Keep the word “show” in your mind. It might be storytelling, but you don’t say anything. You always show. If I say, “Silas was anxious.” This is not wrong but it’s a bad practice. Here’s a better option. “Ache moved up and down his belly.” Here you’re telling your audience that the character is anxious without using the word “anxious.”
This will even help your readers connect better with the characters. A believable story makes the audience care about it. And that care will grab and keep them going on till the end of the story.
5. Write Relatable Characters
One of the most useful and effective creative writing tips is writing relatable characters. When readers feel they can relate to a character, they’d be more interested in knowing what happens next.
Here’s an example, if you’ve read “Turtles All the Way Down,” the main character, Aza, is a good example of a relatable character. Not everybody would’ve related to her, but the people with anxiety and OCD would’ve. The author showed her struggles with such precision that it made people with OCD and anxiety think and feel they were not alone.
Here’s what we caught from that example:
- Not everyone has to relate to your characters. Go for only a specific group of people.
- Let’s say you write a teenage character who’s often bullied. Be precise and realistic about their feelings. Don’t write what you see in movies or even read in books. We would recommend researching yourself.
How to Get Started With Creative Writing
Here’s a thing, you don’t need anything but the motivation to get started. Don’t know what to write? There are numerous forms of creative writing. Start with any one of them. Don’t be scared of how it may turn out. First drafts are not meant to be as good as a publishable work. Many creative writers write a first draft, which might be puzzling to the readers. But a lot of work goes into it after that. You read that again and again to find your mistakes. Let it sit for some time before giving it a read.
Get feedback from other people. We wouldn’t recommend going to friends or family unless they’re writers. They wouldn’t be able to give you useful advice that would improve your work.
Make Money Through Creative Writing
There are several ways of making money through various forms of writing. Whether it’s a full-length novel, poetry, or a short story. If it’s good enough, buyers will be willing to pay you a good amount.
Websites That Pay You to Write Short Stories and Poetries
Here’s a list of sites that pay you if they accept and publish your story or poetry.
- Clarkesworld. For every accepted story, they pay according to the word count (12¢ per word).
- Asimov’s Science Fiction. They pay 8 - 10 cents per word for narrations. And $1 per line of poetry.
- Flash Fiction. They pay $80 for original fiction.
- The Sun Magazine. They accept non-fiction, fiction, and also poetries. The pay is according to the length of your writing.
Publish a Book
Books can be published in two ways. Traditionally and indie or self-published. Traditionally published books are written, edited, then sent to the publishing house through a literary agent (in most cases). For traditionally publishing a book, you don’t need to hire a professional editor. Just edit it yourself, or maybe get feedback from other people and your critique partner.
For self-publishing, you need to handle everything yourself. There are numerous things. From hiring an editor to copyrighting and getting an ISBN for your book, you need to do everything yourself. That would require investment.
Start a Blog
Writing a blog for creative writers is a no-brainer. You can polish your skills, gain readers, and make money all at once. You can start a fiction blog, tell people about writing and literature, and convey information about publishing. The options are endless.
Image taken from Strikingly Blog
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What is Writer’s Block?
It is a condition where the authors cannot produce pieces of writing. This is not because of lacking skills but many other things, like getting rejected from a publishing house, external pressure, self-criticism, etc.
You can eliminate it by improving your working space, making writing a habit, trying a writing prompt, etc. Research and test what method suits you best to get rid of writer’s block.
When publishing your work, you have to accept a few things. It’s okay to have flaws. No one is perfect. Not everyone will like what you write. And if you make your work publicly available, you will receive people’s opinions. Some of them will be negative, and some of them will be positive. Just learn to take criticism well, and it will enhance your skills.
