Arguably, one of the greatest pleasures of life is creative writing. Generating ideas and putting them into words to create a story is most rewarding. Even though many enjoy the delight and gratification that comes with writing, very few people have the talent to engage an audience. Luckily, the art of entertaining people by writing is something that can be learned. As someone who has been writing for pure fun throughout all of my life, I will be giving you four tips to improve your creative writing. Hope this helps!
1. Show, Don’t Tell
“Actions speak louder than words”.
When writing, instead of telling the reader a piece of information, splash details that could lead the audience into inferring something. This will make your writing more immersive and help you develop your character.
For example:
When telling: Isabella was terribly afraid of drowning. She never went anywhere near a boat.
When showing: As she stepped inside the boat her shoulders tensed, holding her breath and gripping tightly into her coat. A splash of water brushed her skin and a wave of anxiety rushed through her as she closed her eyes and closed her eyes, ready for another flashback of her nightmare. The imaginary water started filling her lungs as she slowly drifted into unconsciousness. She shook off the thought, but it always came running back.
2. DO describe scenery, but Don’t be TOO detailed
A lot of times, authors believe that by being more descriptive they can make the readers feel involved in the story, this is a total misconception. Even though being detailed is engaging, it is also important to leave some things to the readers’ imagination. One of the joys of reading is speculating something that isn’t described or explained in the book. It is important to leave space for the readers to create their own theories because this is a great part of what makes a book engaging. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go into detail when describing scenery, just don’t cross the line, leave space for imagination.
3. Only write a prologue if absolutely necessary
Some people think that a prologue is used to talk about the main character’s backstory, which is untrue. Many writers dump the whole backstory of their main character into the prologue. Even though it has been an effective technique in a few books, the backstory of the main character should be revealed either slowly, as the book progresses, or at the very ending, in a jaw-dropping moment. A prologue should only be used if absolutely necessary (i.e. if you want to foreshadow something). Try to not use a prologue when writing, only use it as a last resource and/or if you think it is absolutely necessary.
4. Don’t overwhelm readers in the first few chapters
Sometimes, introducing a lot of information and/or characters will overwhelm the readers. Naturally, the human brain cannot remember everything learned in a short period, therefore if you put every character in the first chapter, the reader will, most likely, not remember most of them. The same thing happens when you write too much new information from the beginning. A better strategy that can help keep the audience engaged throughout your piece of writing, is to sprinkle the characters at different times or whenever you think is more convenient.
Thank you so much for reading and I hope these tips help! Now go and write!
Thank you so much for these tips!