Creative writing allows our thoughts to be articulated in an imaginative way. How do we articulate ourselves in a style that flows with cohesion, exerts our descriptiveness and convey deep emotion? Here are 5 tips to do just that and overcome ‘writer’s block’:
1. Mindset
Our ideas are often abundant immediately after being inspired by another writer. When approaching creative writing it is important to hold onto an element of calm, even if you have a busy mind eager with ideas. If you are putting pressure on yourself to create a set number of words you may find it becomes more of a chore. Relaxing into the stream of working creatively will often yield more words than aiming for a set word count or set amount of time. Take it one step at a time to construct your piece of writing. First, start off with a general idea then build from that by adding more specificity as you develop your plan.
2. Vocabulary
To ensure your writing ticks some key boxes, you can create a ‘word bank’. When writing, be sure to use a range of creative adjectives, adverbs, similes, abstract nouns, metaphors, personification. To conjure up an image to really capture your reader and add variety to your writing. A high level of emotive language is an excellent way to engage your reader to convey feelings and bring your words into life. If you notice a word that you repeat frequently, take a minute to think of a good alternative by looking in a thesaurus.
3. Sentence Starters
A piece of writing should incorporate a wide range of vocabulary. Therefore, having a few sentence starters up your sleeve is helpful. To avoid repeating yourself you can draw on several different styles; beginning a sentence with ‘Out of curiosity, ‘Despite’, or ‘Contrary to popular belief’, for example. In addition, consider the purpose of the sentence. Do you want to be speculative, conversational or factual? Sentence starters may also be useful to show the passing of time (“much later…”) or to change the focus of a storyline (“suddenly…”, “meanwhile…”).
4. Structure
A well-structured piece of creative writing will provide a beginning, a middle and an end. When examiners are marking your creative writing piece, one of the criteria for assessment is the level of cohesion – how well the whole piece ties in together; its fluidity. This is so the reader can follow your plot from start to finish in passionate anticipation of what is to come. When beginning a story, you may wish to take a minute to plan the main body of the story instead of improvising. Consider the defining moments within your story or creative writing piece. Your writing should take your reader on a journey that has been well-thought-out.
5. Literary Devices
As with vocabulary, literary devices can be used as a good immersive tactic for your reader. A popular and basic device is alliteration, in which words with the same beginning letter or sound are used in quick succession. For example, “they shook and shivered in the cold”. A more advanced literary device is a metaphor, in which one subject is implied to be another to draw a comparison between their similarities. For example, “she was a gazelle on the dancefloor”.
By Emily G, who has a degree in English and American Literature. Edited by Telios Tutors.
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