Any advice on how to get better in creative writing?

[mariepujol]

What practices and strategies have you done to reach a higher level of proficiency? I'd be very pleased if you could share your greatest inspirations and major influences here, even the obscure ones most likely :>

[Diabolical Indulgence]

Write lots.



/shot

aha, I'm sorry, but someone had to say it and it's the only advice I know. And it's the best thing to do imo. :'D

[LiaThistle]

Get reviewers. More or less "beta readers," or people who will look over what you've written, point out errors and inconsistencies, gaps and overfills, and provide a different point of view. Seeing your piece from the perspective of others is the strongest way to know what you need fixing.

The only thing you have to do with that is determine what criticism is good. Ideally, on the beta readers stage, you'll get nothing but useful criticism, but it's possible you pick a person who just isn't as good at it as you'd like. Either way, you need to keep an open mind about your work, and if a piece of it is your favorite part, and everyone else says it's a horrible section, you have to accept that it needs work.

[Youth and Whisky]

Try to get feedback on your writing.
Websites like mibba (although not as popular as it once was) and figment are great sites to get feedback on writing.

Read a lot. I write Young Adult fiction, so I try to read stories by published authors. A big tip is after you finish a story, and really like it, go back and reread it and focus on the authors sentence structures and the way characters interact.

I've also learned myself, that the silly little quirks that make a person, some writers tend to skip out on, not always on purpose. These quirks make a character relatable. Not just the conscious aspects of a character, but small little habits. Is your character nervous? They might scratch their arm, or bounce their knee. Is your character thinking? They might bite the inside of their cheek or furrow their eyebrows.

And most importantly, write a lot. Write all the time. Even if its you just looking out the window and describing the scene before you, and how it makes you feel. Write about a conversation you hear at school, or in a public place, then try to write and imagine what might prompt that conversation, or what might be going on behind the scenes.

Another little quick tip, I am still trying to learn myself. Don't stress about a first draft. First drafts are going to sound like a toddler telling a story. It might me jumbled, and not make much sense to others, but the first draft is all about getting those ideas out onto paper.

Don't stress, and keep writing. I hope this helps you out a little, and if you ever want me to read something and give you feedback, just message me ^.^

Good luck! <3

[diabolic deception]

Feed your imagination.

[smutty cannibal prince]

❝YOU SHOULD READ BECAUSE REALLY GOOD BOOKS GIVE YOU A BONER. ❞ Gordy, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Everything that has been said here. I'd also suggest not trying to focus on writing longer works all the time. Sure writing that novel would be fantastic, but writing short stories with an aim to learn about things for improvement or to specifically practice in certain areas can be super helpful and less daunting overall. It's also easier to finish and thus get into the editing and critiquing stages.

[Sombre Veritas]

I took a six month creative writing course. I was ripped apart and slowly put back together. I am now currently studying for my BA in English.
A lot of people have said to read a lot, which I completely agree with. I do have a small word of warning - try not to read and then write. You might find that you are mimicking that author's style and no one wants to be compared to another person.
Other than that, just having a basic concept of the English language is enough to get published.
Good luck! heart

[Maltese_Falcon91]

The most helpful piece of advice I can give you is to strip away your ego.

There was a man I once knew who made a name for himself online with his stories. Back in the 2000 - 20005 era, he was one of the more influential creators, and he actually built himself a fairly large fanbase. But, as the years went by, more and more new members joined the site he posted his work on. Most of them were terrible, but a few of them were good, better than him. Instead of actively trying to improve himself he just became more and more self delusional.

It wasn't too noticeable at first. He just made the logical leap that since he'd already risen to the top of the pile, he would remain at the top of the pile forever. Except, more and more the others started overtaking him, and he kept getting more and more detached from reality. That's when his writing really began to suffer. He slowly stopped looking at his own work critically, he stopped editing, he stopped asking for help, because why should he? He was still the best, wasn't he? One by one, his fanbase left him, and his friends started having to make excuses for him.

He became paranoid and bitter. Whenever someone reviewed anything he'd made negatively, he always accused them of having some sort of personal bias against him. It was around this point where the quality of his writing really took a nosedive. He made mistakes. Stupid, easily fixable mistakes. The more people pointed them out, the more he decided that there must be some conspiracy against him. He's a pariah now, and he hasn't written anything in years.

One of the first things I did when I started writing was to make sure I never became like him. Some Beta Readers will give you good advice. Other Beta Readers will give you bad advice. As a Writer, you will need to decide what you will and will not listen to, but, never dismiss criticism out of hand because it offends you.

[SpanishHeart27]

Sometimes writing down your dreams after you wake up is a start. It may fuel your imagination.

I keep a notebook by my bed side table to write down any interesting dreams. I write quickly before I forget them.

[Desi the fuzzy fluffhead]

Everyone has said awesome things, so, I'll talk about reading.

You've got to read a lot.
But, don't just read. Really analyze what you're reading, when you find something you really enjoy figure out what you enjoyed about it, when you find something that doesn't really get your socks off then figure out why your socks are still on.

Read widely. Don't just read in your genre, read all of them, don't just read classics or moderns, you've got to read all of them.
That is not to say ignore your chosen genre. Make sure to read the greats in the genre especially. you're writing. If you're going to write an epic adventure fantasy you should at least give Tolkien a shot.

When I'm in a bind with something I'm writing I look at how other authors have handled it.
Play with different writing styles. If you find yourself mimicking another author don't worry too much about it, you're still finding your voice.

It's the best way to fill your imagination .

[1myth1]

I have a process when writing a story or fictional work.

1) come up with the names/characters/places and actually draw out a map
2) create your start point of the story and end point
3) write mini summerys of what you want to happen in each chapter.
4) write each chapter and fulfill the summerys

ALSO IMPORTANT

make sure you write you chapters all in the same tense

[Deathbed Confessions]

Things I've learned:
-Avoid dialogue that doesn't advance the plot.
-Start your story in the middle of an exciting scene.
-Refrain from forcing synonyms.
-Make your characters realistic by giving them unique flaws and habits.
-Don't make your plot too straightforward; Have sub-plots and elements that come back to surprise readers. Keep them guessing.

One of the most difficult parts, for me, is finding that happy medium between too much detail and not enough. Having people critique my work helps immensely, but you can't take everyone's advice. Some things one reader will love, and another will hate.

[whistlinginthedark]

1. Write as often as you can.
2. Know that you can always edit and change things. No one's first draft is perfect. Just keep moving the story forward. Most of writing is rewriting anyway.
3. Read. Reading can help you get inspired and teach you things about different aspects of writing like character development and world building.

That's really all I have. This is my first forum post by the way.

[SebastiansLittleDoll]

What I did to get better is read a lot, and practice writing a lot. When I posted whatever I wrote online, I listened to the criticism people gave me. Also, I recommend taking creative writing courses, if you can. From what I've seen (and I'm in one in my school), they're pretty cool. Though maybe I'm just lucky. XP

[skedaddlejax]

There's this writing forum that I recently joined that's just simply called writingforums.org. It's full of writers looking to improve and it gives you an opportunity to have people look at your work and give you feedback. It's been pretty helpful so far. Other than that, the only advice I can give is to just write lots. Like every craft, you only improve through practice