Monday Money: Creative Writing Tips ? Writing Success Program at ...

Are you using the summer to reignite your inner writer? Have you been working on a novel or a poem? Check out these creative writing tips to help you improve the flow and organization of your work:

Action/reaction

Write actions and their reactions in chronological order.
Not: She read the letter after she opened it.
But: She opened the letter and read it.

Adverbs

Do a search for ?ly? and edit as many adverbs as possible. The strongest, most powerful writing uses few adverbs because adverbs assist weak verbs, which should be replaced with stronger, more accurate verbs.
Not: He spoke softly and gently.
But: He whispered.

Another way to resolve the ?adverb problem? is to rewrite the sentence.

Not: He wrote magnificently, and his essays gained the respect of all.
But: He wrote magnificent essays, respected by all.

Begin at left margin

It is customary to begin a story or novel at the left margin, and to return to the left margin for each new chapter or scene. Leave one extra space between scenes.

Begin to

Characters should not ?begin to? do things. Have them take direct action.

Not: They began to speak
But: They spoke?

Crying, sobbing and tears

Crying, sobbing, and tears are considered clich?d and melodramatic. How else can you show the emotion?
Not: ?Please don?t do it,? she cried, and fell sobbing to her knees.
But: Her grip on his arm tightened and her voice grew raspy. ?Please don?t do it.?

Decide to

Rather than have characters ?decide to? do things, just have them take action.
Not: After lunch, she decided to go for a long walk.
But: After lunch, she went for a long walk.

Dialogue

For more natural dialogue, write in short sentences, use contractions, forgo pleasantries, and compress your dialogue. Edit dialogue to its barest essentials, and avoid the overuse of names.
Not: ?Well hello there, Jackie. What a pleasure it is to see you again. I was just wondering, Jackie, if I would ever see you again on this trip or if I would have to wait until we got back to London to give you a call.?
But: ?Jackie. I wondered if I?d see you again.?

More tension in dialogue also makes it snappier and more interesting. Use the following techniques to increase tension:

Have characters talk at cross purposes, so that one character either misunderstands or is purposely nonresponsive.
Not: ?Did Tom find Jack??
?Yes, I think he did.?
But: ?Did Tom find Jack??
?Was he looking for Tom, too??

Avoid direct responses in favour of oblique ones.
Not: ?What time were you there??
?Eight o?clock.?
But: ?What time were you there??
?The time is irrelevant. The better question is what can we do about it??

For more creative writing tips, read here.

(Source: Be a Better Writer website)

Post submitted by: Miqi Cos

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Source: http://wspucla.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/monday-money-creative-writing-tips/

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