Creative Writing Tips!

You’re attempting a new creative writing project when a nagging thought occurs: Is this idea creative enough or has it been done before? Just take few minutes to read through this…

All writers deal with these nagging feelings from time to time. But don’t worry; even the most mundane or overdone topics can become creative masterpieces when crafted by a talented creative writer. On the other hand, many talented writers churn out boring pieces. They may have started with creative writing ideas but ended up with pages of bland text. How can you ensure that your creative writing is fresh and inventive rather than a real snoozer

Practice with Different Genres
While taking classes is smart, nothing beats actually sitting down and putting pen to paper. No matter which techniques you use to improve your creative writing, you can’t avoid actually doing it.

First, take a mundane, EVERYDAY OBJECT, and write several paragraphs about it. For example, right now, look around and spot an object.
Say this object is “A BUCKET OF PAINT”. Write about this bucket of paint with the goal of bringing it to life. Any writer can write, “Mary saw a bucket of paint.” Boring, isn’t it? How can you make that bucket of paint exciting?

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE:

Splatters of bright red blood took on a pinkish cast as they slowly blended into the bucket of Navajo white paint. Mary resisted the urge to stir the paint, knowing she needed to stop the bleeding before she got too woozy. I’ve got to call 911, she thought. She stumbled to the phone, knocking the paint bucket over as she collapsed into a heap.

The bucket of paint becomes a character at least for a few lines. You can imagine Mary now collapsed in a puddle of Navajo white paint that is slowly turning pink as she bleeds to death. In the excerpt, we now have a potential story idea. Who murdered Mary? And why would anyone want to murder her? Who discovered Mary’s body? Did the paint cover up evidence or will it provide clues?

In addition, those four sentences give us clues about Mary. Perhaps she’s a housewife who is repainting the guest room in preparation for her new baby. Maybe she’s an artist who adds her own tints to paints to create custom colors (which would be ironic considering her blood is now creating a custom mix of its own). Anything is possible when you write creatively.

Now, take the same object and write about it in different genres. The above example was written with the thriller genre in mind, but try others like romance, fantasy, mystery and science fiction. By writing just a few excerpts of everyday objects, you’ll be surprised at how the creative writing ideas begin to flow.