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26+ Creative Writing Tips for Young Writers

So you want to be a writer? And not just any writer, you want to be a creative writer. The road to being a legendary storyteller won’t be easy, but with our creative writing tips for kids, you’ll be on the right track! Creative writing isn’t just about writing stories. You could write poems, graphic novels, song lyrics and even movie scripts. But there is one thing you’ll need and that is good creative writing skills. 

Here are over 26 tips to improve your creative writing skills :

Read a wide range of books

When it comes to creative writing, reading is essential. Reading allows you to explore the styles of other writers and gain inspiration to improve your own writing. But don’t just limit yourself to reading only popular books or your favourites. Read all sorts of books, everything from fairytales to scary stories. Take a look at comics, short stories, novels and poetry. Just fill your heads with the knowledge and wisdom of other writers and soon you’ll be just like them!

Write about real-life events

The hardest thing about creative writing is connecting emotionally with your audience. By focusing your writing on real-life events, you know that in some way or another your readers will be able to relate. And with creative writing you don’t need to use real names or details – There are certain things you can keep private while writing about the rare details. Using real-life events is also a good way to find inspiration for your stories. 

Be imaginative

Be as crazy and wild as you like with your imagination. Create your world, your own monsters , or even your own language! The more imaginative your story, the more exciting it will be to read. Remember that there are no rules on what makes a good idea in creative writing. So don’t be afraid to make stuff up!

Find your writing style

Thes best writers have a particular style about them. When you think of Roald Dahl , you know his books are going to have a sense of humour. While with Dr Seuss , you’re prepared to read some funny new words . Alternatively, when you look at R.L.Stine, you know that he is all about the horror. Think about your own writing style. Do you want to be a horror writer? Maybe someone who always writes in the first person? Will always focus your books on your culture or a particular character?

Stick to a routine

Routine is extremely important to writers. If you just write some stuff here and there, it’s likely that you’ll soon give up on writing altogether! A strict routine means that every day at a certain time you will make time to write about something, anything. Even if you’re bored or can’t think of anything, you’ll still pick up that pencil and write. Soon enough you’ll get into the habit of writing good stuff daily and this is definitely important for anyone who wants to be a professional creative writer!

Know your audience

Writing isn’t just about thinking about your own interests, it’s also about thinking about the interests of your audience. If you want to excite fellow classmates, know what they like. Do they like football , monsters or a particular video game? With that knowledge, you can create the most popular book for your target audience. A book that they can’t stop reading and will recommend to others! 

Daily Exercises

To keep your creative writing skills up to scratch it is important to keep practising every day. Even if you have no inspiration. At times when your mind is blank, you should try to use tools like writing prompts , video prompts or other ways of coming up with ideas . You could even take a look at these daily writing exercises as an example. We even created a whole list of over 100 creative writing exercises to try out when you need some inspiration or ideas. 

Work together with others

Everyone needs a little help now and then. We recommend joining a writing club or finding other classmates who are also interested in writing to improve your own creative writing skills. Together you can share ideas, tips and even write a story together! A good storytelling game to play in a group is the “ finish the story” game . 

Get feedback

Without feedback, you’ll never be able to improve your writing. Feedback, whether good or bad is important to all writers. Good feedback gives you the motivation to carry on. While bad feedback just gives you areas to improve and adapt your writing, so you can be the best! After every piece of writing always try to get feedback from it, whether it is from friends, family, teachers or an online writing community .

Enter writing competitions

The best way to improve your creative writing is by entering all sorts of writing competitions . Whether it’s a poetry competition or short story competition, competitions let you compete against other writers and even help you get useful feedback on your writing. Most competitions even have rules to structure your writing, these rules can help you prepare for the real world of writing and getting your work published. And not only that you might even win some cool prizes!

Keep a notebook

Every writer’s best friend is their notebook. Wherever you go make sure you have a notebook handy to jot down any ideas you get on the go. Inspiration can come from anywhere , so the next time you get an idea instead of forgetting about it, write it down. You never know, this idea could become a best-selling novel in the future. 

Research your ideas

So, you got a couple of ideas for short stories. The next step is to research these ideas deeper. 

Researching your ideas could involve reading books similar to your ideas or going online to learn more about a particular topic. For example, if you wanted to write a book on dragons, you would want to know everything about them in history to come up with a good, relatable storyline for your book.

Create Writing Goals

How do you know if your writing is improving over time? Simple – Just create writing goals for yourself. Examples of writing goals might include, to write 100 words every day or to write 600 words by the end of next week. Whatever your goals make sure you can measure them easily. That way you’ll know if you met them or not. You might want to take a look at these bullet journal layouts for writers to help you track the progress of your writing.

Follow your passions

Writing can be tedious and many people even give up after writing a few words. The only way you can keep that fire burning is by writing about your true passions. Whatever it is you enjoy doing or love, you could just write about those things. These are the types of things you’ll enjoy researching and already know so much about, making writing a whole lot more fun!

Don’t Settle for the first draft

You finally wrote your first story. But the writing process isn’t complete yet! Now it’s time to read your story and make the all-important edits. Editing your story is more than just fixing spelling or grammar mistakes. It’s also about criticising your own work and looking for areas of improvement. For example, is the conflict strong enough? Is your opening line exciting? How can you improve your ending?

Plan before writing

Never just jump into writing your story. Always plan first! Whether this means listing down the key scenes in your story or using a storyboard template to map out these scenes. You should have an outline of your story somewhere, which you can refer to when actually writing your story. This way you won’t make basic mistakes like not having a climax in your story which builds up to your main conflict or missing crucial characters out.

It’s strange the difference it makes to read your writing out aloud compared to reading it in your head. When reading aloud you tend to notice more mistakes in your sentences or discover paragraphs which make no sense at all. You might even want to read your story aloud to your family or a group of friends to get feedback on how your story sounds. 

Pace your story

Pacing is important. You don’t want to just start and then quickly jump into the main conflict because this will take all the excitement away from your conflict. And at the same time, you don’t want to give the solution away too early and this will make your conflict too easy for your characters to solve. The key is to gradually build up to your conflict by describing your characters and the many events that lead up to the main conflict. Then you might want to make the conflict more difficult for your characters by including more than one issue in your story to solve. 

Think about themes

Every story has a theme or moral. Some stories are about friendship, others are about the dangers of trusting strangers. And a story can even have more than one theme. The point of a theme is to give something valuable to your readers once they have finished reading your book. In other words, to give them a life lesson, they’ll never forget!

Use dialogue carefully

Dialogue is a tricky thing to get right. Your whole story should not be made up of dialogue unless you’re writing a script. Alternatively, it can be strange to include no dialogue at all in your story. The purpose of dialogue should be to move your story forward. It should also help your readers learn more about a particular character’s personality and their relationship with other characters in your book. 

One thing to avoid with dialogue is… small talk! There’s no point in writing dialogue, such as “How’s the weather?”, if your story has nothing to do with the weather. This is because it doesn’t move your story along.  For more information check out this guide on how to write dialogue in a story .

Write now, edit later

Writing is a magical process. Don’t lose that magic by focusing on editing your sentences while you’re still writing your story up. Not only could this make your story sound fragmented, but you might also forget some key ideas to include in your story or take away the imagination from your writing. When it comes to creative writing, just write and come back to editing your story later.

Ask yourself questions

Always question your writing. Once done, think about any holes in your story. Is there something the reader won’t understand or needs further describing? What if your character finds another solution to solving the conflict? How about adding a new character or removing a character from your story? There are so many questions to ask and keep asking them until you feel confident about your final piece.

Create a dedicated writing space

Some kids like writing on their beds, others at the kitchen table. While this is good for beginners, going pro with your writing might require having a dedicated writing space. Some of the basics you’ll need is a desk and comfy chair, along with writing materials like pens, pencils and notebooks. But to really create an inspiring place, you could also stick some beautiful pictures, some inspiring quotes from writers and anything else that will keep you motivated and prepared. 

Beware of flowery words

Vocabulary is good. It’s always exciting when you learn a new word that you have never heard before. But don’t go around plotting in complicated words into your story, unless it’s necessary to show a character’s personality. Most long words are not natural sounding, meaning your audience will have a hard time relating to your story if it’s full of complicated words from the dictionary like Xenophobia or Xylograph .

Create believable characters

Nobody’s perfect. And why should your story characters be any different? To create believable characters, you’ll need to give them some common flaws as well as some really cool strengths. Your character’s flaws can be used as a setback to why they can’t achieve their goals, while their strengths are the things that will help win over adversity. Just think about your own strengths and weaknesses and use them as inspirations for your storybook characters. You can use the Imagine Forest character creator to plan out your story characters. 

Show, don’t tell

You can say that someone is nice or you can show them how that person is nice. Take the following as an example, “Katie was a nice girl.” Now compare that sentence to this, “Katie spent her weekends at the retirement home, singing to the seniors and making them laugh.”. The difference between the two sentences is huge. The first one sounds boring and you don’t really know why Katie is nice. While in the second sentence, you get the sense that Katie is nice from her actions without even using the word nice in the sentence!

Make the conflict impossible

Imagine the following scenario, you are a championship boxer who has won many medals over the year and the conflict is…Well, you got a boxing match coming up. Now that doesn’t sound so exciting! In fact, most readers won’t even care about the boxer winning the match or not! 

Now imagine this scenario: You’re a poor kid from New Jersey, you barely have enough money to pay the bills. You never did any professional boxing, but you want to enter a boxing competition, so you can win and use the money to pay your bills. 

The second scenario has a bigger mountain to climb. In other words, a much harder challenge to face compared to the character in the first scenario. Giving your characters an almost impossible task or conflict is essential in good story-telling.

Write powerful scenes

Scenes help build a picture in your reader’s mind without even including any actual pictures in your story. Creating powerful scenes involves more than describing the appearance of a setting, it’s also about thinking about the smell, the sounds and what your characters are feeling while they are in a particular setting. By being descriptive with your scenes, your audience can imagine themselves being right there with characters through the hard times and good times!

There’s nothing worse than an ending which leaves the reader feeling underwhelmed. You read all the way through and then it just ends in the most typical, obvious way ever! Strong endings don’t always end on a happy ending. They can end with a sad ending or a cliff-hanger.  In fact, most stories actually leave the reader with more questions in their head, as they wonder what happens next. This then gives you the opportunity to create even more books to continue the story and keep your readers hooked for life (or at least for a very long time)! 

Over 25 creative writing tips later and you should now be ready to master the art of creative writing! The most important tip for all you creative writers out there is to be imaginative! Without a good imagination, you’ll struggle to wow your audience with your writing skills. Do you have any more creative writing tips to share? Let us know in the comments!

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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8 Creative Writing Tips and Techniques

By Hannah Yang

Table of Contents

What is creative writing, forms of creative writing, top 8 creative writing tips, how to get better at creative writing.

Creative writing transcends the realms of technical, business, and academic writing and focuses on elements such as plot, creative development, and narrative structure.

There’s no set formula for creative writing , but there are ways you can improve your writing technique.

If you want to learn more about creative writing , keep reading as we discuss what creative writing is, its various forms, and tips on how to get started.

Creative writing is a style of writing that is focused on expressing the writer’s imagination and creativity.

Creative writing often involves the creation of fictional or nonfictional works that go beyond the formal, professional, and traditional styles of writing. This type of writing allows writers to express themselves in a more personal and original way.

What Do You Do in Creative Writing? 

Creative writing gives writers the opportunity to be original and express themselves. It involves the use of literary techniques and devices to tell a story or to paint a picture in the reader’s mind.

There are many different forms of creative writing, such as novels, poems, screenplays, and even songs.

The main goal of creative writing is to entertain, inspire, or convey an idea or message to the reader. It is a form of self-expression that allows the writer to explore their thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

It can also be a way for writers to explore new ideas, to entertain and inspire readers, and to share their perspectives and experiences with others. 

Ultimately, the purpose of creative writing is to connect with the reader on a deep level and to leave a lasting impression.

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Creative writing is an expressive form of writing that takes many forms and styles. Let’s look at a few examples of creative writing forms.

Fiction Writing

Fiction involves the creation of imaginary characters, settings, and plots. You can write fiction in many different genres, such as mystery, romance, fantasy, and more.

You can also write fiction in any length you want. For example, flash fiction is shorter than 1,000 words, while the average novel is around 90,000 words.

Poetry is a type of creative writing that uses expressive language. Poets use techniques such as rhyme, meter, and figurative language to create meaning and convey emotions and ideas.

Poems come in many different forms. You can try writing a haiku, a sonnet, a free-verse poem, or any other poetic structure that appeals to you.

Screenplays

A screenplay tells a story through the medium of film or television. It includes descriptions of characters, settings, and actions, as well as dialogue and stage directions.

A play is meant to be performed on stage. It includes dialogue, stage directions, and descriptions of characters and settings. Plays can be a powerful way to engage the audience’s emotions and imagination to convey complex themes.

Songs are a musical expression of creative writing . Songs can be written in a variety of genres, such as pop, rock, folk, hip-hop, and more. They can be written to express a wide range of emotions and ideas, from love and heartbreak to social and political issues.

Graphic novels

A graphic novel is a type of creative writing that combines text and illustrations to tell a story. It can be a work of fiction or nonfiction and can be written in a variety of genres.

Nonfiction Writing

Creative writing is typically associated with fiction, but there are nonfiction works that fall under the creative categories, too. These nonfiction works deal with real events, people, and ideas. Creative nonfiction can take the form of personal essays, memoirs, biographies, or even news articles.

There’s no scientific formula for creative writing . It all comes down to your own self-expression and the limitlessness of your imagination. However, there are a few creative writing techniques you can use in your next writing.

Here are eight ways you can improve your creative writing skills.

1. Find Inspiration

The first step for any creative writing project is to find your inspiration. This can come from a variety of sources, such as your own life experiences, your interests and passions, or even something as simple as a newspaper article or a conversation with a friend.

Take some time to think about what inspires you, and use that as the foundation for your writing.

2. Read Widely

To be a good creative writer, you need to be a good reader. Reading widely exposes you to different styles, genres, and techniques, and it can help you develop your own voice as a writer.

You’ll get to learn from a variety of authors, and you may discover new ways of structuring a story, creating compelling characters, or using language in a way that resonates with readers.

So read widely, and don’t be afraid to try out new genres or authors.

3. Try Freewriting

Freewriting is a writing exercise in which the writer allows their thoughts and inspiration to flow onto the page without any prescribed structure or editorial oversight.

It involves letting the mind wander and following the impulses of your subconscious, allowing you to tap into your creativity and explore new ideas.

While the first time you try freewriting you may end up with mostly unusable material, with practice, it can help you refine your writing style and unleash your creativity.

4. Write Often

The more you write, the better you’ll be. By writing every day, you’ll develop a habit that will make it easier to sit down and write even when you don’t want to.

Even if you only have a few minutes to spare, use that time to jot down some ideas or work on a scene. 

5. Use Literary Devices

Literary devices are techniques writers use to add depth, interest, and emotion to their writing. By using these devices, you can create vivid imagery, convey complex ideas, and engage the reader’s emotions in a way that goes beyond simple storytelling.

For example, you can use descriptive language to paint a picture of a character’s appearance, which allows readers to feel like they are truly immersed in the story. Other literary devices include symbols, allegory, emotional language, metaphors, and similes.

Whether you’re just starting out or you’re a seasoned pro, incorporating these techniques into your writing can help you craft more compelling and engaging stories.

6. Get Feedback

Getting feedback from other people helps you improve your creative writing skills.

Sometimes it feels intimidating to share your work, especially when you’re new to creative writing, but it’s a crucial step to help you progress.

Ask a trusted friend or family member to read your work and tell you what they think. Alternatively, you can attend a workshop for writers, where you can get more targeted feedback.

You can also join writing communities to meet like-minded creative writers. Spaces such as ProWritingAid’s Community allow writers to come together and support each other in their writing journey. You’ll get access to feedback and constructive criticism on different aspects of your writing, such as plot, character development, setting, and language use.

7. Edit Your Work

The editing process is an essential part of creative writing . Once you’ve finished your first draft, it’s important to continue making changes to your work, whether it’s cutting unnecessary words, reworking a scene, or adding details.

Many successful creative writers suggest editing after you’ve finished writing so it doesn’t interrupt your creative flow.

Editing can be time-consuming, but it’s worth it to produce the best work possible. You can use an editing software like ProWritingAid to show you where you can improve your writing.

ProWritingAid goes beyond just correcting grammar, spelling, and punctuation issues by also showing you style improvement suggestions. Plus, if you’re looking to improve your creative writing skills, you can use ProWritingAid to compare your work to your favorite authors.

8. Have Fun

Creative writing is all about originality and self-expression, so above all, have fun with your writing. It’s easy to get bogged down in the details and to take things too seriously, but it’s important to remember that writing is supposed to be enjoyable. 

So relax, let your creativity flow, and have fun with it.

Creative writing is a form of self-expression that allows you to use your imagination and creativity to share your ideas and thoughts in a unique way.

Venturing into creative writing can be intimidating at first, but remember that you’ll get better with practice.

Take time to read widely, try writing exercises, and gather feedback on your work. Don’t be afraid to join creative writing communities so you can access support in your writing journey. 

And above all, remember: there’s no limit to your creativity. 

Hannah Yang

Hannah is a speculative fiction writer who loves all things strange and surreal. She holds a BA from Yale University and lives in Colorado. When she’s not busy writing, you can find her painting watercolors, playing her ukulele, or hiking in the Rockies. Follow her work on hannahyang.com or on Twitter at @hannahxyang.

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How To Improve Creative Writing (18 Effective Ways)

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How To Improve Creative Writing

How To Improve Creative Writing: Embarking on the journey to improve one’s creative writing is like setting sail into an uncharted sea of boundless imagination and linguistic exploration.

Creative writing, a realm where words transform into vivid narratives, characters come to life, and emotions are painted across the pages, is a skill that thrives on constant growth and evolution.

In this guide, we will traverse the landscape of creative writing, delving into its various forms, mastering the craft, and unlocking the secrets to becoming a more skilled and imaginative writer.

Whether you’re a seasoned wordsmith seeking refinement or a budding writer just beginning your literary voyage, the path to improvement is a rich tapestry waiting to be woven, where inspiration knows no bounds, and storytelling becomes an art form.

So, fasten your literary seatbelt, for the journey to enhance your creative writing prowess is about to commence.

To improve your creative writing skills, Here’s a step-by-step process on How To Improve Creative Writing:

Read Widely:

Read a diverse range of literature, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and different genres. This exposure will help you understand various writing styles and techniques.

Write Regularly:

Practice writing consistently. Set aside dedicated time each day or week to write. The more you write, the better you’ll become.

Expand Your Vocabulary:

Work on building a rich vocabulary. Learn new words, their meanings, and how to use them effectively in your writing.

Study Grammar and Punctuation:

A strong grasp of grammar and punctuation is essential. Review the rules and practice to avoid common mistakes.

Create a Writing Routine:

Establish a routine that works for you. Whether it’s early in the morning, late at night, or during lunch breaks, find your optimal writing time.

Outline Your Ideas:

Plan your writing in advance. Create outlines, mind maps, or notes to organize your thoughts before you start writing.

Set Writing Goals:

Define clear goals for your writing projects. Whether it’s completing a short story , novel, or a series of articles, having goals keeps you motivated.

Seek Feedback:

Share your work with peers, writing groups, or mentors. Constructive feedback helps you identify areas for improvement.

Revise and Edit:

Writing is rewriting. After you’ve completed a draft, revise and edit your work for clarity, coherence, and style.

Experiment with Style and Genre:

Don’t be afraid to try different writing styles and genres. Experimentation can help you discover your unique voice.

Read Aloud:

Reading your work aloud can help you catch errors, awkward phrasing, and improve the rhythm of your writing.

Be Observant:

Pay attention to the world around you. Observing people, places, and events can provide inspiration and authenticity to your writing.

Overcome Writer’s Block:

When you’re stuck, try free writing, brainstorming, or taking a break to refresh your creativity.

Stay Inspired:

Surround yourself with inspiring sources, whether it’s art, nature, music, or conversations. Inspiration can fuel your creativity.

Edit and Proofread:

Once you’ve completed your writing, thoroughly edit and proofread it for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.

Publish and Share:

Share your work through blogs, social media, or submit it to publications. Public sharing can provide valuable feedback and exposure.

Learn from Feedback:

Take feedback seriously and use it as a tool for improvement. Analyze critiques to enhance your writing skills.

Keep Learning:

Writing is an ongoing journey. Continuously seek to learn and grow as a writer by attending workshops, reading about writing, and experimenting with new techniques.

Remember, improving your creative writing skills takes time and dedication. Patience, persistence, and a willingness to learn are key to becoming a better writer.

Understanding Creative Writing

Understanding creative writing is like embarking on a journey into the boundless realm of imagination, where words become brushstrokes, painting the canvas of your mind with vivid worlds, complex characters, and emotions that dance off the page.

It’s a realm where you’re the architect of reality, bending the rules of ordinary language to conjure extraordinary stories that tickle the senses and stir the soul.

It’s about wielding the power of narrative to shape destinies, provoke thought, and make hearts skip a beat.

In the realm of creative writing, you’re both the magician and the audience, crafting spells with sentences that transport you and your readers to places unknown, unraveling mysteries, and exploring the infinite possibilities of human expression.

Different forms of creative writing

Creative writing encompasses a kaleidoscope of diverse forms, each a unique facet of the literary universe.

There’s the enchanting world of fiction, where novelists weave intricate plots and multidimensional characters that become your companions on thrilling adventures.

Poetry, a mesmerizing tapestry of words, paints vivid imagery and emotion in the concise space of a few lines.

Non-fiction is a realm of truth and authenticity, where writers illuminate reality with memoirs, essays, and journalistic narratives. Screenwriting brings storytelling to life on the silver screen, capturing the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide.

These forms are but a glimpse into the labyrinth of creative writing, where the only limit is the boundaries of one’s imagination.

Elements of creative writing

The elements of creative writing are the building blocks that breathe life into words, transforming them into vibrant stories.

At the heart of any creative work lies the intricate dance of plot, where conflicts and resolutions unfurl like a well-orchestrated symphony.

Characterization paints portraits of individuals, each with their own quirks and depths, making them unforgettable to the reader.

Setting, a crucial backdrop, provides the stage upon which these tales unfold, influencing moods and actions.

Themes thread through the narrative like a hidden river, adding depth and purpose, while style is the unique fingerprint of the author, infusing the work with their voice and perspective.

These elements, in concert, give creative writing its compelling complexity, inviting readers to embark on journeys that resonate with their hearts and minds.

Cultivating a Creative Mindset

Cultivating a creative mindset is akin to tending to the most wondrous of gardens—the garden of the imagination.

It’s about donning the gloves of curiosity and nurturing the seeds of inspiration, coaxing them to bloom into vibrant ideas that dance in the sun-dappled meadow of your thoughts.

In this garden, writer’s block withers under the warmth of persistence, and the weeds of self-doubt are plucked away with unwavering belief in your creative potential.

It’s a sanctuary where meditation and mindfulness are the water and sunlight, ensuring that the fruits of your imagination grow ripe and abundant.

In this verdant oasis, you are the creator and the caretaker, shaping the tapestry of your mind into a masterpiece of creativity that never ceases to blossom with new ideas.

Overcoming writer’s block

Overcoming writer’s block is like finding a hidden passage out of a labyrinth of your own thoughts. It’s the art of breaking free from the stranglehold of a blank page and transforming it into an open canvas.

Sometimes, the most formidable adversary is not the lack of ideas but the daunting prospect of beginning. To conquer this nemesis, one must navigate a myriad of techniques, from freewriting and brainstorming to changing the physical environment, in order to unearth the buried treasure of creativity within.

It’s a mental jigsaw puzzle where pieces of inspiration are scattered, and solving it involves patience, resilience, and sometimes simply allowing your mind to wander until it stumbles upon that elusive spark that will ignite your words.

Overcoming writer’s block isn’t just a battle won; it’s a gateway to the ever-expanding universe of storytelling, waiting to be explored with fervor and imagination.

Developing a writing routine

Developing a writing routine is akin to crafting a symphony out of the everyday humdrum. It’s the art of carving out sacred moments in the day, allowing the muse to speak amid the cacophony of life’s demands.

A writing routine is the scaffold that supports the architecture of creativity, providing the structure and discipline necessary for the magic of storytelling to flourish.

Whether it’s the first light of dawn or the stillness of midnight, these designated hours become the writer’s sanctuary, the place where the mind opens up like a treasure chest of ideas, and words flow like a river.

It’s in these moments of consistency that the craft evolves, enabling writers to hone their skills, unravel narratives, and beckon inspiration at will.

Ultimately, a writing routine is a personal ritual that weaves creativity into the fabric of daily existence, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary, one word at a time.

Mastering the Craft

Mastering the craft of writing is like harnessing the mystical forces of language to conjure entire universes from the ink of your pen.

It’s a lifelong journey of delving into the labyrinth of words, where each sentence becomes a brushstroke, and every paragraph a brush dipped in the palette of emotions.

It’s an alchemical process, where you transmute raw ideas into literary gold, refining your art through an unending cycle of creation, revision, and relentless pursuit of perfection.

Every metaphor, every plot twist , and every character’s whisper becomes a note in the grand symphony of storytelling, where the crescendo is the moment you realize you’re not just a writer; you’re a sorcerer, weaving spells with every keystroke, capturing the hearts and minds of readers with the magic of your narrative.

Vocabulary and Language

Vocabulary and language are the enchanting threads that weave the tapestry of storytelling. A writer’s arsenal of words is akin to a painter’s palette, each word a unique hue that, when skillfully blended, creates vivid imagery and evokes powerful emotions.

A rich and varied vocabulary is the cornerstone of effective communication, allowing writers to express the nuances of thought and sentiment with precision and eloquence.

Language, on the other hand, is the vessel that carries these words, shaping the tone and rhythm of a narrative.

The beauty of this interplay lies in the writer’s ability to select the perfect word, the ideal phrase, and the most evocative metaphor, thereby sculpting a literary masterpiece that resonates with readers, captivating their senses, and transporting them to worlds of imagination and wonder.

In the realm of creative writing, vocabulary and language are the keys to unlocking the full spectrum of human experience and imagination.

Writing Techniques

Writing techniques are the chisels and brushes of the wordsmith, essential tools that sculpt and paint the narrative.

They encompass a spectrum of strategies that shape the flow and impact of a piece of writing. “Show, don’t tell” is the art of letting readers experience a story through sensory details and actions, fostering a deeper connection.

Crafting authentic dialogue breathes life into characters, allowing them to converse and reveal their personalities naturally.

The choice of point of view, whether first person, third person, or omniscient, defines the lens through which the reader perceives the tale.

These techniques, like a craftsman’s skills, enable writers to craft stories with finesse, immersing readers in vivid landscapes, relatable characters, and intricate narratives, making the written word a portal to realms of imagination and emotion.

Reading as a Writer

Reading as a writer is akin to peering behind the scenes of a magnificent stage production to witness the magic of storytelling in its purest form.

It’s a journey where the reader transforms into a literary detective, dissecting the prose, unraveling the plot, and examining the intricate brushstrokes of the author’s craft.

With each turn of the page, a writer learns the secret language of pacing, character development, and dialogue that is whispered through the text.

It’s an immersive masterclass that teaches the orchestration of tension, the symphony of foreshadowing, and the art of unveiling mysteries.

In this dual role of reader and writer, one discovers that every book is not just an escape but an invitation to the backstage, where the invisible threads of narrative manipulation are spun, inspiring the storyteller within to reach new heights and craft unforgettable tales.

Analyzing literature

Analyzing literature is akin to embarking on an archeological expedition into the layers of human expression and experience.

It’s a fascinating journey where each page holds the whispers of the past and the echoes of the author’s soul.

As one delves into the intricacies of a literary work, it’s like decoding a cryptic message, revealing the hidden treasures of symbolism, theme, and narrative structure.

Every word, sentence, and character becomes a clue in a grand puzzle, inviting you to explore the profound depths of the human psyche and society.

In the process of literary analysis, readers not only unearth the intellectual and emotional nuances of a text but also gain a profound appreciation for the artistry of the written word, for it is in these revelations that the alchemy of storytelling is unveiled, proving that literature is not merely ink on paper, but a mirror reflecting the intricate mosaic of human existence.

Learning from other authors

Learning from other authors is akin to a masterclass in the art of storytelling. It’s an exquisite journey of exploration, where you walk in the footsteps of literary giants, witnessing their genius unfold across the pages of their works.

These authors, like mentors from afar, offer invaluable lessons in character development, plot structure, and the delicate dance of language.

With each book you read, you glean insights into the diverse ways authors craft their narratives, be it the lyrical prose of one or the gripping dialogue of another.

Their stories serve as templates, guiding you in understanding the subtleties of storytelling, nurturing your creative instincts, and sparking that inner fire of inspiration.

In the pages of their books, you find not just tales, but the wisdom of those who have paved the way, ready to illuminate your path as you embark on your own journey of writing.

Building a personal library

Building a personal library is like assembling a treasury of knowledge, imagination, and soul. Each book, lovingly arranged on the shelves, is a passport to different worlds, eras, and minds.

It’s a sanctuary where you can escape the mundane and embark on an endless odyssey of exploration, enlightenment, and enchantment. Your personal library becomes a reflection of your intellectual curiosity and passions, a curated collection of stories and wisdom that have resonated with you.

Beyond the tangible beauty of bound pages, it’s a space where you can seek refuge, inspiration, and solace.

In this haven, books aren’t just inanimate objects; they are the keepers of dreams, mentors, and the compass that guides you on your own creative journey, whispering their stories and secrets, ready to be discovered anew each time you open their pages.

Research and Fact-Checking

Research and fact-checking are the unsung heroes of the writer’s craft, the secret agents who ensure that the tapestry of fiction and the canvas of non-fiction remain unblemished by errors.

Like intrepid explorers, writers embark on quests for knowledge, sifting through archives, traversing the corridors of history, and plumbing the depths of the digital ocean.

Fact-checking is the lighthouse that guards against the treacherous cliffs of misinformation, ensuring that the narratives we weave are anchored in truth.

It’s not just a scholarly pursuit; it’s the alchemy that transforms a story from mere entertainment into a portal to the worlds, cultures, and ideas it seeks to represent.

In the realm of research, writers become detectives, unearthing secrets, unmasking mysteries, and painting the scenery with the vivid strokes of authenticity.

Without this duo, the magic of storytelling would lose its luster, and readers would be adrift in a sea of uncertainty.

Importance of accuracy in creative writing

The importance of accuracy in creative writing cannot be overstated, for it is the cornerstone upon which the credibility and resonance of a narrative are built.

While creativity allows us to conjure imaginary realms and characters, these creations must find their roots in a foundation of truth.

Factual accuracy in the details of a story, whether it’s historical, scientific, or cultural, lends authenticity to the narrative, enriching the reader’s experience by making the fictional world feel tangible and relatable.

Inaccuracies can disrupt the suspension of disbelief, pulling readers out of the story, and eroding the trust they place in the author.

Moreover, for works that explore complex themes or socio-cultural issues, accuracy is paramount in promoting understanding and empathy.

By upholding the value of accuracy, creative writing can reach its full potential, becoming a powerful vessel for both entertainment and enlightenment.

Finding Your Voice

Finding your voice in the vast wilderness of creative expression is like discovering a hidden gem within your own soul.

It’s not just about words; it’s the symphony of your thoughts, your emotions, and the unique cadence of your experiences coming to life on the page. Your voice is the compass that guides you through the labyrinth of creativity, allowing you to navigate the realms of storytelling with authenticity.

It’s a fingerprint that distinguishes your work from the rest, making your narratives resonate with a singular, unforgettable resonance.

Finding your voice is not just a revelation; it’s a journey of self-discovery, an ongoing exploration of who you are and how you want to connect with the world through the magic of words.

It’s the moment when you realize that your voice, unlike any other, is the key to unlocking the hearts and minds of your readers, inviting them to explore the world as you see it and share in the emotions that define your unique narrative.

Personal style and uniqueness

Personal style and uniqueness in writing are the vibrant colors that distinguish an artist’s canvas from all others.

Your writing style is the echo of your personality, your perspective, and the experiences that shape you. It’s the idiosyncratic rhythm of your sentences, the selection of words that resonate with your soul, and the peculiar nuances that define your narrative fingerprint.

Embracing your uniqueness is not a departure from the norm but a celebration of individuality, an affirmation that your voice is unlike any other.

In a world filled with words, it’s your personal style that makes your work stand out, inviting readers to explore the world through your eyes and experience the emotions that pulse through your stories.

Your style is your signature, and your uniqueness is the spark that ignites the literary world, reminding us that in the realm of creativity, diversity is the catalyst for innovation and the source of endless inspiration.

Authenticity in storytelling

Authenticity in storytelling is the golden thread that weaves a powerful connection between the writer and the reader.

It’s the unwavering commitment to truth, not in the factual sense, but in the emotional and human sense. Authentic storytelling dares to venture into the raw, unvarnished corners of the human experience, revealing vulnerability, joys, struggles, and complexities with unapologetic honesty.

It acknowledges the imperfections of characters, the messiness of life, and the ambiguity of morality.

Authenticity in storytelling is the bridge that allows readers to see themselves in the characters and situations, to empathize, to confront their own truths, and to resonate with the essence of the narrative.

It’s a reminder that, in the world of storytelling, the most profound impact is often not achieved through escapism but through a mirror reflecting the truth of our shared humanity, inviting us to explore, understand, and embrace the beautifully imperfect mosaic of human existence.

Overcoming Challenges

Overcoming challenges is akin to harnessing the fiery spirit of a phoenix, rising from the ashes of adversity with newfound strength and resilience.

It’s the grand adventure of our lives, where obstacles are not roadblocks but stepping stones towards personal growth and transformation.

Challenges are the litmus test of character, the forge where determination is tempered, and where the human spirit finds its true mettle.

In the face of these trials, we discover untapped reserves of courage, creativity, and perseverance that we never knew existed.

Like intrepid explorers charting uncharted territories, we boldly face the unknown, seeking not just victory but self-discovery, for it is in the crucible of challenges that our true potential is revealed, and we emerge as the heroes of our own stories.

Publishing and Sharing Your Work

Publishing and sharing your work is like setting a fleet of paper boats adrift on the vast sea of human connection.

It’s the culmination of the creative journey, where words born in the depths of your imagination finally take flight, finding their way into the hearts and minds of readers around the world.

It’s not just about self-expression; it’s the bridge that unites creators with an audience eager to embark on the emotional and intellectual voyages they’ve crafted.

Sharing your work is an act of courage and vulnerability, inviting both praise and criticism, but it’s also an affirmation that your voice is worthy of being heard.

It’s the act of extending a hand to others, saying, “Come, join me on this journey,” and allowing your stories to become a part of the tapestry of the human experience.

In the realm of publishing and sharing, you become a storyteller not just for yourself but for the world, weaving connections, igniting conversations, and leaving an indelible mark on the shared narrative of humanity.

Traditional vs. self-publishing

The choice between traditional and self-publishing is a crossroads that writers often face, each path offering its own set of opportunities and challenges.

Traditional publishing, akin to the majestic gates of a literary castle, can provide the author with the validation and resources of an established publishing house, offering professional editing, cover design, and broad distribution networks.

It opens doors to bookstores and literary awards, but it also demands patience and perseverance in the face of stringent gatekeepers. Self-publishing, on the other hand, is the democratization of literature, an open road that allows authors to take the reins of their creative destiny.

It offers control and speed of publication but requires authors to take on multiple roles, from editing to marketing.

Ultimately, the decision hinges on individual goals and preferences, as each path holds the promise of sharing stories with the world, whether under the watchful eye of a traditional publisher or the entrepreneurial spirit of self-publishing.

Continuing Education

Continuing education is the compass that keeps the writer’s journey ever-advancing. It’s the symphony of growth in a world that constantly whispers new stories and knowledge.

Imagine it as an uncharted library, where each book holds the key to unlock a new realm of understanding, and each workshop or course is an invitation to dance with different writing techniques.

It’s not just about honing existing skills; it’s about unfurling new horizons and uncovering hidden treasures in the treasure chest of literary prowess.

Continuing education is the echo of the writer’s heartbeat, a reminder that the world of words is boundless and ever-evolving, and that within its embrace, the writer can continue to explore, learn, and craft stories that leave an indelible mark on the literary landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about How To Improve Creative Writing

What is creative writing, and why is it important to improve this skill.

Creative writing is the art of crafting original and imaginative stories, poems, or prose. It’s important to improve this skill because it not only enhances your ability to express yourself but also unlocks the door to a world of creativity, enabling you to engage and captivate readers.

How can I overcome writer’s block and boost my creativity?

Overcoming writer’s block can be achieved through various techniques like free writing, mind mapping, or changing your writing environment. To boost creativity, consider practicing mindfulness, exploring new experiences, and cultivating a daily writing routine.

What are some effective strategies for improving my vocabulary and language skills?

Expanding your vocabulary can be done by reading widely, using a thesaurus, and playing word games. To enhance language skills, study grammar and syntax, experiment with different writing styles, and immerse yourself in literature.

What are some common writing techniques to improve the quality of my creative writing?

Common writing techniques include “show, don’t tell,” crafting compelling dialogue, and mastering point of view. These techniques help to make your storytelling more engaging and immersive.

How can I find my unique voice as a writer?

Finding your unique voice involves experimenting with different writing styles, embracing authenticity, and understanding that your individual perspective is your greatest asset. It’s about being true to yourself and your experiences.

What’s the importance of reading as a writer, and how can I analyze literature effectively?

Reading exposes you to different writing styles and genres, helping you learn and grow as a writer. Effective analysis of literature involves examining themes, characters, and symbolism, and considering the author’s use of language and narrative structure.

What are the differences between traditional publishing and self-publishing, and how do I decide which is right for me?

Traditional publishing involves working with established publishing houses, while self-publishing allows you to independently release your work. The choice depends on your goals, the level of control you want, and your willingness to handle aspects like marketing and distribution.

How can I ensure the accuracy of my work, especially when writing about real-world facts and details?

To ensure accuracy, research extensively using reliable sources, fact-check rigorously, and consider seeking feedback from experts in the field you’re writing about.

What’s the role of continuing education in improving creative writing, and where can I find resources for it?

Continuing education helps you stay updated with the latest writing trends and hone your skills. You can find resources through writing workshops, online courses, writing groups, and literary events.

How do I deal with writer’s rejection and criticism constructively, and stay motivated in my writing journey?

Dealing with rejection and criticism involves developing resilience, learning from feedback, and keeping your passion for writing alive. Staying motivated can be achieved by setting goals, celebrating small wins, and surrounding yourself with a supportive writing community.

In the conclusion of How To Improve Creative Writing, the journey to improvement is an endless odyssey, an ever-evolving expedition into the limitless depths of imagination and language.

It’s a path that weaves through the intricacies of plot, character, and style, as well as the nuances of authenticity and self-expression. Whether you are a seasoned wordsmith or a budding writer, the pursuit of creative excellence is a lifelong commitment to self-discovery, growth, and storytelling.

As you navigate the labyrinth of writer’s block, craft your unique voice, and refine your skills, remember that creative writing is not merely a craft; it’s a journey of self-expression, a gateway to new worlds, and a conduit for shared experiences.

So, pen in hand and heart afire, continue to embark on this voyage, for it is through the continuous exploration of your own creative depths that you will not only improve your writing but leave an indelible mark on the world of literature.

Your story is waiting to be told, and the pen is your magic wand, the world your canvas.

Happy writing !

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Writing For Beginners

Welcome to practical creative writing for beginners.

If you want to write and just don’t know where to start this is the place for you.

I know from experience it can be hard to begin if you start with a blank page.

That’s why I recommend that beginners start by trying some writing exercises .

WRITING PRACTICE

The reason I always recommend starting with exercises is that the key to improving your writing is practice.

There are plenty of exercises for you to try on this site and my advice is to experiment and just try them – until you find one that you can lose yourself in.

LOSE YOURSELF

Losing yourself in writing is a wonderful thing. It means you are focused and locked into your imagination.

This creative force is very powerful and if you write regularly you will achieve this very enjoyable state.

Remember that very few people sit down and produce a great piece of writing straight away.

It takes time but the more you write, the easier it will be and if you are enjoying your writing it won’t take long to improve.

CHOOSE YOUR PROJECTS

It is really important that you are careful about choosing your projects, especially if you are planning a full-length novel or screenplay.

Don’t try to write ‘great literature’ if, in reality, you may be better at writing thrillers, or comedy.

Think about what you enjoy reading. This will have influenced you more than you realize.

EXPERIMENT WITH YOUR WRITING

In the beginning, you should allow yourself the freedom to experiment with different story types and genre.

This is part of the process of discovering who you are as a writer.

So to start, your only aim should be to write regularly and establish good writing habits. If you allow yourself this ‘practice’ time you will soon learn which stories and styles suit you.

CLAIM YOUR WRITING SPACE

But first, make sure your time won’t be disturbed. Let those around you know you need some time alone.

Don’t be afraid to claim some writing time.

If your family are likely to intrude, make sure to tell them you won’t be available for an hour or two – we’re all entitled to a little space and it is up to you to stake your claim.

THE IMPORTANCE OF EXERCISE

By experimenting with the creative writing exercises here you will clear your mind and be able to focus on your writing.

After a while, you will learn that doing creative exercises regularly stimulates your imagination and you will begin to have more ideas.

Remember, that these exercises are just where you start. They are not necessarily where you finish. That is up to you.

You can change and adapt whatever you like.

Go where your writing takes you and always enjoy what you are doing.

After a while, you will lose your sense of time and will experience the joy of ‘flow.’

If you start doing one particular exercise and find yourself not really enjoying it then stop and pick another one.

There are no rules to break, so look at these exercises as experiments that will help you to write your way to the story you really want to write.

Be kind to yourself as you learn your craft.

CREATIVE WRITING TIPS

When you have some experience you will probably seek to broaden your knowledge of the craft and business of writing. You will find lots of useful tips and information here.

WRITER’S BLOCK

Many of us writers can find ourselves stuck for words from time to time.

In its milder form writer’s block can manifest itself as procrastination.

For some unfortunate writers, this problem can extend over long periods of time until they become blocked.

Writer’s block can be demoralizing, but there are solutions.

It often helps to try working on a different project for a while so I suggest you try some of my writing exercises.

If you are feeling really blocked, don’t worry, you will find lots of practical ways to deal with the problem of writer’s block here.

I hope you have found my writing for beginners page helpful.

If you have any problems and can’t find the answer here, just contact me and I will be happy to try to help.

So – there’s no excuse to go to your deathbed wishing you had written that story.

  get writing now.

Best of luck with your writing.

P.S. All the information and exercises on the site are free to you. All I ask is that you please like, plus, or share.

If have any questions or comments, just write in the comments box below. I love hearing from other writers and I do my best to answer everyone.

If you enjoyed this writing for beginners page you will love my book.

Practical creative writing exercises, you won’t be able to stop writing because these beautiful and inspiring exercises will banish your writing block right now., never be stuck again,   get ebook from amazon.com ,  get ebook from amazon.co.uk,   get paperback from amazon.com, get paperback from amazon.co.uk, get from smashwords, share this:, 19 responses to writing for beginners.

Hi Grace, I am a teacher for Creative writing in English and plan to use your tips in class. thanks, Soni

Hi Soni, nice to hear from you. Don’t forget to let me know how you get on. Good luck and best wishes Grace

i am so distraught. I am 51 yrs old, and in my youth, when I attended college, the papers i wrote were returned with great grades and comments that asked when i was going to write or suggesting that i should…or that i have alot to say and should think about writing. well, that was many years ago, and i thought i would enjoy writing like i do blogs and sending emails, texts and correspondence at work. What i have found in this current writing class I am taking at Rowan University is that I do not have command of the English language, nor a great understanding of poetic and writing terminology. In addition, being in an evening class with such young inspired minds, has me second guessing whether i am cut out for this or have anything of importance to say because i feel ill equipped when its time to choose a prompt the professor provides for us to begin writing about; or when he times us with the challenge to come up with a story line for a fiction non fiction or writing piece. I guess with many of the other students being journalism majors and/or having been introduced to writing in the high school classes, there’s less prep necessary in urging them to complete said assignments, the comments he usually makes with them are directed at the few who may not spell a word correctly…but not for their writing ability feel embarrassed or as if my pieces are not good enough to read I also struggle with getting my thoughts in order so that the piece is not all over the place. My other recent issue I discovered was the fact that i am not sure how to add the meat to the work and in other instances show but don’t tell. I am trying to learn about all the parts of writing which are all new to me, overwhelming and have me second guessing if i am producing anything worth sharing/saying. I would not be surprised if my age is contributing to this rut i am in at this time, as well. i have looked up Ruth Stone poetry, read items from the creative writing text book and online items but don’t feel any aha moments nor as if i am better equipped for the tasks at hand and I have a midterm tomorrow (Monday). I had no idea writing would give me so much anxiety since i have to produce a timed fiction writing sample and provide definitions for and examples of the words / terminology for writing and poetry. I have no idea where to search for help or if I am wise to try reaching out to you and googling. Any advisement you can provide is appreciated. I am not a quitter, but really unsure about whether this was the class for me to hone in on writing skills…or if it is something else (like the committee in my mind who all seem to be vying for their ideas to hit the paper but I stopping progress…. I appreciate your reading this and your site as the advisement was very interesting and I will definitely take heed to. (sure wish i found your site months ago when classes first began. My best, Mary a senior student of uncertainty.

HI Mary, I am so glad you wrote to me because I too have been in that position. I think the main problem is you are over-thinking. It takes a bit of practice to get back on the writing bike and my suggestion is that you set yourself some homework. Spend half an hour every night, or morning writing – use one of your class prompts or one of the exercises you find here. Just go freestyle and don’t think about the outcome – this is just practice and will get you back in the habit of writing. It can be intimidating being in a class full of younger people, I know that but remember that many of them are as intimidated as you are. I guess you are doing your best to appear calm and unafraid in the face of these difficulties but I bet the other student are too. Remember you have loads of life experience that they don’t and that is an advantage – so be patient and do the best you can and your ideas will soon arrive. The early days of a course can be difficult but you can do it – you had the courage to join in the first place and you are good at reaching out and getting help for yourself as is proved by this post. Whenever you feel unnerved or anxious take some deep breaths to settle yourself – this will return your mind to focus. Please stop worrying so much – you need to allow yourself time to settle in to the course. Maybe you could try some meditation practice. I find this very useful for relaxing my mind and I am sure it helps with my writing. Please keep in touch and let me know how you are getting on. Take care and best wishes Grace

Blank page is my nightmare! Metaphors have encroached my subconsciousness. Actually, metaphorical way of thinking is so specific, but it’s hardly to imagine my writing life without this stylistic device. I just wonder could I become a writer of one style? Creative writing is a celestial gift. But every writer needs to develop it. How not to lose it? My friend put me in fear that someone can stole all my metaphorical crazy ideas….How to protect myself? I was googling and found out that checking for plagiarism by this could help…but I’m not an expert. Writing is a part of me and I don’t want to lose my face. Oh, and thank you! The only thing I need now is a cup of hot chocolate and picturesque view in front of me…Thank you for the inspiration!

Me too – blank pages just cry out to be filled! I am glad you are inspired – and I’m sure a cup of hot chocolate can’t be too far away. Good luck and stay inspired. Grace

Hi Grace. I am a 14yr old student and I have never written a story In my life but I need to write short story for an entrance exam at my new school. Are there any tips you could give me to write this? I would appreciate any help. Thanks

Hi Noah, Good to hear from you. My best advice is to read and pick some exercises from this page: https://www.practicalcreativewriting.com/creative-writing-exercises/ Use the exercises as starting points. Decide which story you would like to keep going with and write that story. Best of luck Grace

Hi Grace, I am happy to have found your creative writing site. Today is the first day of my writing life. I have come out and finally am taking this fun journey and putting words, thoughts, memories on paper. I have many journals that I have filled with thoughts but today I am forging ahead through the ceiling that I have stifled myself under and blowing the roof off and write. I have a coach that I am working with to keep a date with myself to cultivate the creative side of me. Happy New Year 2016 I am taking the actions to be the writing I put on hold the past 67 years.

HI Nancy I am sorry I took so long to reply to your comment – I was away for a little while. I am so glad to hear that you are making a start on your creative journey. I am sure that the fact that you have been on hold for so long will mean that your creativity will be unleashed in all its glory. Best of luck to you and do keep in touch.

Thanks. I appreciate you getting back to me. Best Regards Nancy

I’ve been having this nag to write a story about my life,and I don’t have a clue on how or where to start. I’m all new to this and I don’t want to be on my deathbed and beat myself up for not writing that story that I’ve spent months said that I should.” I’m wondering if I should and if I’m capable of be a great writer someday?” Every morning I wake up I have this urge to sit at the table and write a story about myself. Where and how do I start?

. please get back to me..

Hi Tony, Sorry for being so late coming back to you. I have been recuperating from surgery and am currently laid up with my leg in plaster. So… I am glad to hear you are itching to start writing. I suggest you start by planning some time to keep for your writing. Make appointments with yourself and keep them. Then try beginning with one of these exercises – write whatever you want and don’t worry about how good it is. In the early stages the best thing you can do is establish a writing routine and write regularly. Regard this time as your process of discovery – you are writing to cultivate your love of writing and to find out what type of writing you really want to do. There are loads of exercises on the site but I suggest you start with these: https://www.practicalcreativewriting.com/creative-writing-exercises/ten-minute-writing-exercise

Please come back to me if you have any questions and give me a little time to reply as I recover. Best of luck with your writing. Grace

i Have trouble almost all the time. I go and sit down and nothing comes… its when this happens I call myself stupid,dumb,retarded. I have Learning disabilities and ADHD and I have been writing for a long time and nothing ever comes that I am happy with. Its like God is telling to quit forever.

Hi Anthony. Firstly – please don’t insult yourself or call yourself stupid – EVER! Many writers feel bad about their writing but the idea is to keep going.

Regard your work as practice. Musicians have to practice – right! And when they are learning they make lots of sour notes but they keep going and after time they improve.

Write regularly and don’t worry if you are happy or not with it. Regard it as practice, exercise – as with any skill it can take years.

Check out the website below – it is aimed at writers with learning disabilities. In the past I worked with students with various challenges including learning disability and they told me this helped them a lot. http://www.disabilitywrites.org.uk/

Best of luck to you Anthony – keep going & keep writing. Please remember to come back to me again and let me know how you are getting on – I would love to know.

Wow, your website is an awesome resource!! I’m not a beginning writer, but I am an amateur, in that I’ve only been published in school and even then, it’s been a long time since then. But with my 35th birthday this week, I’m even more determined to do what I’ve always wanted to do… write a novel that more than one person wants to read and get it published. Going back to my roots and reworking beginning writing values has already helped, not just with the imagination and writing, but it’s helping my anxiety and depression as well. I wanted to add a quick thank you for the post about coming out about depression… it’s totally true that you always end up feeling like the ‘fun sucker’ and frequently I find myself pulling away from people before they can pull away from me… if I’m sequestering myself away, I can convince myself it hurts less when people don’t want to deal with my issues. Writing like this, giving myself pep talks and reading that other people are going through the same things and surviving. It gives me hope, and the drive to keep trying, so thank you so much for everything on this site!!

Hi Fran So great to hear from you. I am glad you are making decisions about writing your novel and I urge you to keep going and write regularly. Thanks for your comments about depression and my post – I was unsure about publishing it but if it helps one person then it’s worth it. Anyway depression is an illness like any other we need all the support we can get. Sometimes the only people who can really understand depression are those who have had it. I wish you all the very best and don’t forget to come back and tell me how you are getting on. Take care Grace

Hi Grace, thanks for this tips. I’ll love to write but really don’t know good vocabularies to use on my writing, really need your help.

Hi Jane, Glad to have helped. My best advice to you is to read and write as much as you can. Your vocabulary will improve gradually – keep going. Best wishes Grace

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Top 10 Best Creative writing tips for beginners

• by Domestika @domestika

Starting out in creative writing can be a daunting task, with many writers struggling to know where to begin and how to improve their skills. However, there are plenty of exercises that can help you develop your writing abilities and bring your ideas to life on the page. With practice and persistence, you can turn your thoughts and imagination into beautiful works of art through creative writing.

These tips will help you to become a much better creative writer:

- Find the Best Environment: Everyone has different writing preferences, whether it's a quiet coffee shop or a busy park. Experiment with different writing environments to find what works best for you.

- Freewriting: Set a timer for a few minutes and write whatever comes to mind without worrying about structure or grammar. This can help you get past writer's block and generate new ideas.

- Know Your Characters: Spend time getting to know your characters before you start writing. Develop their backstories, motivations, and personalities to create fully-formed characters that readers can connect with.

- Don't be Scared of Drafting: Remember that writing a first draft is just the beginning. Don't be afraid to make mistakes or write imperfectly. You can always revise and improve later.

- Keep a Writing Log: Keep a notebook or digital log of your writing ideas, snippets of dialogue, or interesting observations. This can help you capture ideas as they come and have a resource to refer back to when you need inspiration.

- Never Stop Reading: Reading widely is essential for improving your writing skills. Read a variety of genres and styles to see how other writers use language and structure their stories.

- Explore Your Emotions: Writing can be a powerful way to explore your emotions and experiences. Don't be afraid to write honestly and vulnerably, even if it's just for yourself.

- Get Perspective: Take breaks from your writing to get perspective. This can help you see your writing with fresh eyes and come up with new ideas.

- Research!: Research can add depth and authenticity to your writing. Spend time researching your setting, characters, and topics to make your writing more believable.

- Explore Ideas: Don't be afraid to experiment with different ideas and concepts. Even if you don't end up using them in your writing, exploring different ideas can help you find your unique writing voice and style.

Here are some concrete exercises that can help you improve your creative writing :

Describe a scene: Choose a scene or setting and describe it in detail, using all of your senses. Try to create a vivid picture in the reader's mind, using specific details and descriptive language.

Write from a different perspective: Take a story or event and write it from a different character's perspective. This can help you develop your ability to write in different voices and points of view.

Create a character: Think of a character and write a short story or scene that features that character. Try to give the character a unique personality, backstory, and motivations.

Rewrite a story: Take a classic story or fairy tale and rewrite it in a different style or genre. This can help you develop your ability to write in different genres and experiment with different storytelling techniques.

Use writing prompts: Writing prompts can be a great way to generate ideas and practice your writing skills. Choose a writing prompt or use a writing prompt generator to come up with new ideas for stories or scenes.

Practice writing dialogue: Dialogue is an important part of creative writing. Practice writing dialogue between characters, focusing on making it sound natural and believable.

Write a story in six words: This exercise challenges you to write a complete story using only six words. It can help you develop your ability to write concisely and effectively.

By practicing these exercises regularly, you can improve your creative writing skills and develop your unique voice as a writer. Remember to be patient with yourself and enjoy the process of learning and growing as a writer.

And last but not least, here are ten quotes from famous writers about creative writing:

"The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself." - Albert Camus

"You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children." - Madeleine L'Engle

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." - Maya Angelou

"One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple." - Jack Kerouac

"The scariest moment is always just before you start." - Stephen King

"If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." - Toni Morrison

"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." - Maya Angelou

"Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words." - Mark Twain

"If there's no passion in your writing, then it's not worth writing at all." - Jules Renard

"A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people." - Thomas Mann

Enjoy this incredible list of courses which help you to go to the next level in your creative writing:

- Writing a Novel Step by Step - Introduction to Narrative Writing - Creative Writing for Beginners: Bringing Your Story to Life - Narrative Techniques for Children’s Books - Script Writing for Movies and Television

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Writers' Treasure

Effective writing advice for aspiring writers

Creative Writing 101

Creative writing is any form of writing which is written with the creativity of mind: fiction writing, poetry writing, creative nonfiction writing and more. The purpose is to express something, whether it be feelings, thoughts, or emotions.

Rather than only giving information or inciting the reader to make an action beneficial to the writer, creative writing is written to entertain or educate someone, to spread awareness about something or someone, or to express one’s thoughts.

There are two kinds of creative writing: good and bad, effective and ineffective. Bad, ineffective creative writing cannot make any impression on the reader. It won’t achieve its purpose.

So whether you’re a novelist, a poet, a short-story writer, an essayist, a biographer or an aspiring beginner, you want to improve your craft. The question is: how?

When you write great fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, amazing things can happen. Readers can’t put it down. The work you wrote becomes a bestseller. It becomes famous. But you have to reach to that level… first .

The best way to increase your proficiency in creative writing is to write, write compulsively, but it doesn’t mean write whatever you want. There are certain things you should know first… it helps to start with the right foot.

To do exactly that, here we have a beginners’ guide from Writers’ Treasure on the subject:

• An Introduction to Creative Writing
• How to Get Started in Creative Writing in Just Three Steps
• Creative Writing vs. Technical Writing
• Fiction Writing 101: The Elements of Stories
• Poetry Writing: Forms and Terms Galore
• Creative Non-Fiction: What is it?
• Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Creative Writing
• Common Mistakes Made by Creative Writers

For novelists: do you want to write compelling opening chapters?

Are you an aspiring novelist? Will your novel see the light of day? For that, you will need to make the first chapter of your story as compelling as possible. Otherwise, readers won’t even pick up your novel. That chapter can be the make-or-break point that decides whether your novel is published or not. It’s because good editors know how you write from the first three pages… or sometimes even from the opening lines.

To solve this problem, I created a five-part tutorial on Writing Compelling Opening Chapters . It outlines why you need to write a compelling opening chapter, my personal favourite way of beginning it, what should be told and shown in it, general dos and don’ts, and what you need to do after having written it. Check it out for more.

Need more writing tips?

Sometimes you reach that stage when you outgrow the beginner stage of writing but feel that you’re not yet an expert. If I just described you, no worries– Writers’ Treasure’s writing tips are here. Whether you want to make your writing more readable, more irresistible, more professional, we’ve got you covered. So check out our writing tips , and be on your way to fast track your success.

I offer writing, editing and proofreading , as well as website creation services. I’ve been in this field for seven years, and I know the tools of the trade. I’ve seen the directions where the writing industry is going, the changes, the new platforms. Get your work done through me, and get fast and efficient service. Get a quote .

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Creative Writing for Beginners: 10 Top Tips

These creative writing for beginners tips can help with a short story, poem or novel .

Writing is a great pursuit, but many first-time writers find that it’s not as easy as they think. If you are dabbling in creative writing activities or fiction writing for the first time, you will likely discover that writing courses and writing exercises fall short in helping you truly develop characters and overcome writer’s block.

Thankfully, you can take some steps to embrace your inner author and write your first short story or novel. Whether you have an end product in mind or are simply looking to start your writing journey, these writing tips will help you get started.

1. Dig Deep to Choose Your Topic

2. spend time reading, 3. write daily, 4. tackle writing exercises, 5. consider a writing course, 6. keep it unique, 7. practice, practice, practice, 8. try a different medium, 9. embrace your critics, 10. write first, perfect later, the final word on creative writing for beginners.

Living Writer contains time-saving templates for authors and novelists. iOS and Android apps available

First, determine what you will write about. Your starting point will guide character development and your overall plot. If you’re having trouble finding a topic, consider using these starting points:

• Start with a story — If you have a compelling storyline or main character in mind, start there.
• Use personal experiences — Something that happened in your life can help you start a story. Taking our own stories and transforming them into fiction writing can create true masterpieces because the feeling in the writing is personal.
• Consider a hot topic — Is there a political or social issue that is important to you? Weave that into compelling prose to start your story.

Starting with these ideas, you should be able to settle on a basic idea for your story.

Creative writers are usually readers. Reading helps you learn about the nuances of written language, storytelling and character development.

Read a wide range of genres too. While novels are always helpful, non-fiction writing and short stories will teach you as well.

Set aside time every day to write . Make it part of your daily routine, and protect that time as much as you can. By having it scheduled into your day, you can overcome the frustration and delays of writer’s block.

During your writing time, limit distractions. Let your housemates or family members know you aren’t available during that time. Write, even if you don’t think what you’re writing is high quality, just to keep the words flowing.

By having daily writing time, you will start to improve your writing skills . Soon you will see a quality piece of writing coming together as you work your way towards your next bestseller.

If you find that getting started with creative writing is hard for you, consider some basic writing exercises. Creative writing prompts to get your ideas flowing can be the start of compelling writing as you create your own writing style. Writing exercises can help you learn the importance of the first sentence of your story or the development of your characters.

Sometimes writing exercises do not lead to a final product that you would publish, and that’s fine. The goal isn’t always to create something to share. Sometimes the goal is simply to gain writing experience and hone your craft.

Writing courses can be a great jumping-off point for creative writers. Writing courses teach structure, character development and overall writing techniques.

In a writing course, you will have writing exercises to perform each week and accountability for those assignments. This combination can help many first time writers start writing. Over time the writing skills build up and the writing becomes more natural.

When it comes to creative writing, uniqueness is a key component. To capture readers, you need something that hasn’t been done before, or you need to approach a story from a new perspective.

To give you a source for creative ideas, take time to brainstorm . Keep a journal where you can jot down ideas as they come or explore storylines. Soon you will find a unique twist to take your characters on.

Writing is a creative process , but that does not mean that practice is futile. Practicing daily gets your creativity flowing. You will polish your writing skills and learn more about how brainstorming works for you.

Today’s writers rarely put pen to paper, but rather finger to keyboard. Sometimes, a different medium may make the creativity flow.

Ernest Hemingway knew this. He wrote all of his manuscripts on paper with pencil, only typing them for the final drafts. This gave him the chance to edit during the final typing, and he felt that writing longhand spurred his creativity.

If you’re struggling with writer’s block , channel your inner Ernest Hemingway and try writing with pencil and paper instead. It just might get you over that hump.

A good writer can make an interesting story out of nothing. A great writer can do the same thing, then learn from critics to make the writing even better. Whether in a writing class, on social media or in the proofreading stages, have people read and critique your writing.

Accept criticism and use it to grow. Sometimes, you will gain new insight into how you can make your writing better. Sometimes, you will ignore the critics and allow your writing to stand.

Either way, critics will help you polish your art and learn how to craft a story that you are proud to call your own.

When writing a book or short story, don’t focus on perfection at the start. Get your ideas down and polish your storylines and character development, not necessarily the writing and grammar. This comes later when you proofread your work.

Your first draft is the place to get the story going. After you complete that draft, go back and edit it. Make it more powerful, fix your shortcomings and try to perfect it, but only after the main ideas are complete.

Remember, striving for perfection with the first draft is sure to create writer’s block . Move past it by understanding you can perfect later.

Creative writing for beginners can feel daunting. You know you have good ideas, but getting those ideas on paper feels like an overwhelming task. By scheduling time to write every day, brainstorming your ideas and not striving for perfection at first, all while taking advantage of writing exercises and writing classes, you can succeed in becoming a creative writer.

Want more? Check out out list of writing tips .

100 Writing Practice Lessons & Exercises

by Joe Bunting | 50 comments

Start Your Story TODAY! We’re teaching a new LIVE workshop this week to help you start your next book. Learn more and sign up here.

Want to become a better writer? How much time do you spend on your writing practice? Perhaps you want to write novels, or maybe you just want to get better grades in your essay writing assignments , or maybe you'd like to start a popular blog .

If you want to write better, you need practice. But what does a writing practice actually look like? In this post, I'm going to give you everything you need to kick off your writing practice and become a better writer faster.

What Is Writing Practice?

Writing practice is a method of becoming a better writer that usually involves reading lessons about the writing process, using writing prompts, doing creative writing exercises , or finishing writing pieces, like essays, short stories , novels , or books . The best writing practice is deliberate, timed, and involves feedback.

How Do You Practice Writing?

This was the question I had when I first started The Write Practice in 2011. I knew how to practice a sport and how to practice playing an instrument. But for some reason, even after studying it in college, I wasn't sure how to practice writing.

I set out to create the best writing practice I could. The Write Practice is the result.

I found that the best writing practice has three aspects:

Deliberate . Writing whatever you feel like may be cathartic, but it's not an effective way to become a better writer or build your writing skills. You'll get better faster by practicing a specific technique or aspect of the writing process each time you sit down to write.

This is why we have a new lesson about the writing process each day on The Write Practice, followed by a practice prompt at the end so you can put what you learned to use immediately.

Timed . It's no secret writers struggle with focus. There are just too many interesting distractions—Facebook, email, Kim Kardashian's Instagram feed (just kidding about that last one, sort of)—and writing is just too hard sometimes.

Setting a timer, even for just fifteen minutes, is an easy and effective way to stay focused on what's important.

This is why in our writing practice prompt at the end of each post we have a time limit, usually with a link to an online tool egg timer , so you can focus on deliberate practice without getting distracted.

Feedback . Getting feedback is one of the requirements to deliberately practice writing or any other craft. Feedback can look like listening to the reactions of your readers or asking for constructive criticism from editors and other writers.

This is why we ask you to post your writing practice after each lesson, so that you can get feedback from other writers in The Write Practice community. It's also why we set up The Write Practice Pro community , to provide critique groups for writers to get feedback on each finished piece of writing.

Our 100+ Best Creative Writing Practice Exercises and Lessons

Now that you know how we practice writing at The Write Practice, here are our best writing practice lessons to jumpstart your writing skills with some daily writing exercises, for beginner writers to even the most expert writers:

All-Time, Top 10 Writing Lessons and Exercises

These ten posts are our most viewed articles to boost your writing practice:

1. What is Plot? The 6 Elements of Plot and How to Use Them . Great stories use similar elements in wildly different ways to build page-turning stories. Click here to read what they are and learn how to start using them !

2. Top 100 Short Story Ideas . Here are over a hundred writing prompts in a variety of genres. If you need ideas for your next story, check this out!

3. How To Use Neither, Nor, Or, and Nor Correctly . Even good writers struggle figuring out when to use neither/nor and either/or. In this post, our copy-queen Liz Bureman settles the confusion once and for all. Click to continue to the writing exercise

4. Ten Secrets To Write Better Stories . How does Pixar manage to create such great stories, year after year? And how do you write a good story? In this post, I distill everything I've learned about how to write a good story into ten tips. Click to continue to the writing exercise

5. 35 Questions To Ask Your Characters From Marcel Proust . To get to know my characters better, I use a list of questions known as the Proust Questionnaire, made famous by French author, Marcel Proust. Click to continue to the writing exercise

6. How a Scene List Can Change Your Novel-Writing Life . Creating a scene list changed my novel-writing life, and doing the same will change yours too. Includes examples of the scene lists from famous authors. Click to continue to the writing exercise

7. Why You Need to be Using the Oxford Comma . Most people I've met have no idea what the Oxford comma is, but it's probably something that you have used frequently in your writing. Click to continue to the writing exercise

8. Six Surprising Ways to Write Better Interview Questions.  The interview is the most-used tool in a journalist's bag. But that doesn't mean novelists, bloggers, and even students can't and don't interview people. Here's how to conduct a great interview. Click to continue to the writing exercise

9. Why You Should Try Writing in Second Person . You've probably used first person and third person point-of-view already. But what about second person? This post explains three reasons why you should try writing from this point-of-view. Click to continue to the writing exercise

10. The Secret to Show, Don't Tell . You've heard the classic writing rule, “Show. Don't Tell.” Every writing blog ever has talked about it, and for good reason. Showing, for some reason, is really difficult. Click to continue to the writing exercise.

12 Exercises and Lessons To Become a Better Writer

How do you become a better writer? These posts share our best advice:

• Want to Be a Better Writer? Cut These 7 Words
• What I Mean When I Say I Am A Writer
• How to Become a Writer: 3 Simple Steps
• 72% of Writers Struggle With THIS
• 7 Lies About Becoming a Writer That You Probably Believe
• 10 Questions to Find Your Unique Writing Voice
• The Best Writing Book I’ve Ever Read
• The Best Way to Become a Better Writer
• The Creative Writer’s Toolkit: 6 Tools You Can’t Write Without
• Should You Write More or Write Better: Quantity vs Quality
• How to Become a Better Writer in One, Simple Step
• 11 Writing Tips That Will Change Your Life

6 Lessons and Exercises from Great Writers

If you want to be a writer, learn from the great writers who have gone before you:

• 23 Essential Quotes from Ernest Hemingway About Writing
• 29 Quotes that Explain How to Become a Better Writer
• 10 Lessons Dr. Seuss Can Teach Writers
• 10 Writing Tips from Ursula Le Guin
• Once Upon a Time: Pixar Prompt
• All the Pretty Words: Writing In the Style of Cormac McCarthy

12 Genre and Format Specific Writing Lessons and Exercises

Here are our best writing lessons for specific types of writing, including essays, screenplays, memoir, short stories, children's books, and humor writing:

• Writing an Essay? Here Are 10 Effective Tips
• How To Write a Screenplay: The 5 Step Process
• How to Write a Great Memoir: a Complete Guide
• How to Write a Short Story from Start to Finish
• How to Write a Thriller Novel
• How to Write a Children's Book
• How to Write a Love Story
• How to Write a Coming of Age Story or Book
• How to Write an Adventure Book
• 5 Key Elements for Successful Short Stories
• 4 Tips to Write a Novel That Will Be Adapted Into a Movie
• Humor Writing for People Who Aren’t Funny

14 Characterization Lessons and Exercises

Good characters are the foundation of good fiction. Here are our best lessons to create better characters:

• Character Development: How to Create Characters Audiences Will Love
• Writing Villains: 9 Evil Examples of the Villain Archetype
• How NOT to Introduce a New Character
• The Strongest Form of Characterization
• The Most Important Character Archetype
• How Do You Build A Strong Character In Your Writing?
• 75+ Antihero Examples and How to Use Them
• How to Explore Your Characters’ Motivations
• 8 Tips for Naming Characters
• The Protagonist: How to Center Your Story
• Heroes vs. Anti-Heroes: Which Is Right For Your Story?
• The Weakest Form of Characterization
• How to Write With an Accent
• How To Create a Character Sketch Using Scrivener

15 Grammar Lessons and Exercises

I talk to so many writers, some of whom are published authors, who struggle with grammar. Here are our best writing lessons on grammar:

• Is It Okay To End A Sentence With A Preposition?
• Contractions List: When To Use and When To Avoid
• Good vs. Well
• Connotation vs. Denotation
• Per Se vs. Per Say
• When You SHOULD Use Passive Voice
• When Do You Use “Quotation Marks”
• Polysyndeton and Asyndeton: Definition and Examples
• The Case Against Twilight
• Affect Versus Effect
• Stop Saying “Literally”
• What Is a Comma Splice? And Why Do Editors Hate Them?
• Intra vs. Inter: Why No One Plays Intermural Sports
• Alright and Alot: Words That Are Not Words
• The Poor, Misunderstood Semicolon

5 Journalism Lessons and Exercises

Want to be a journalist? Or even use techniques from journalism to improve your novel, essay, or screenplay? Here are our best writing lessons on journalism:

• Six Ways to Ask Better Questions In Interviews
• How to Conduct an Author Interview
• Interview In Person or Via Email?  
• What If They Don’t Want to Talk to You?
• Eleven Habits of a Highly Effective Interviewers

16 Plot and Structure Lessons and Exercises

Want to write a good story? Our top plot and structure lessons will help:

• The Nine Types of Story and How to Master Them
• Points of a Story: 6 Plot Points Every Story Needs
• How to Shape a Story: The 6 Arcs
• 7 Keys To Write the Perfect First Line of a Novel
• The Secret to Creating Conflict
• 4 Tips to Avoid Having Your Short Story Rejected by a Literary Magazine
• 7 Steps to Creating Suspense
• 5 Elements of Storytelling
• 3 Important Rules for Writing Endings
• A Writer’s Cheatsheet to Plot and Structure
• Overcoming the Monster
• How to Satisfy Your Reader With a Great Ending
• Pow! Boom! Ka-Pow! 5 Tips to Write Fight Scenes
• The Dramatic Question and Suspense in Fiction
• How to Write a Memorable Beginning and Ending
• How to Write the Perfect First Page

6 Lessons and Exercises to Beat Writer's Block

Writer's block is real, and it can completely derail your writing. Here are six lessons to get writing again:

• How To Write Whether You Feel Like it Or Not
• This Fun Creative Writing Exercise Will Change Your Life
• When You Should Be Writing But Can't…
• What to do When Your Word Count is Too Low
• 7 Tricks to Write More with Less Willpower
• When You Don’t Know What to Write, Write About Your Insecurities

7 Literary Technique Lessons and Exercises

These writing and storytelling techniques will teach you a few tricks of the trade you may not have discovered before:

• 3 Tips to “Show, Don’t Tell” Emotions and Moods
• 3 Reasons to Write Stream of Consciousness Narrative
• 16 Observations About Real Dialogue
• Intertextuality As A Literary Device
• Why You Should Use Symbolism In Your Writing
• 6 Ways to Evoke Emotion in Poetry and Prose
• 3 Tips To Write Modern Allegorical Novels
• Symbol vs. Motif: What’s the Difference

3 Inspirational Writing Lessons and Exercises

Need some inspiration? Here are three of our most inspiring posts:

• Why We Write: Four Reasons
• You Must Remember Every Scar
• 17 Reasons to Write Something NOW

3 Publishing Blogging Lessons and Exercises

If you want to get published, these three lessons will help:

• The Secret to Writing On Your Blog Every Day
• How to Publish Your Book and Sell Your First 1,000 Copies
• How to Submit a Short Story for Publication

11 Writing Prompts

Need inspiration or just a kick in the pants to write. Try one of our top writing prompts :

• Grandfathers [writing prompt]
• Out of Place [writing prompt]
• Sleepless [writing prompt]
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Is It Time To Begin Your Writing Practice?

It's clear that if you want to become a writer, you need to practice writing. We've created a proven process to practice your writing at The Write Practice, but even if you don't join our community, I hope you'll start practicing in some way today.

Personally, I waited  far  too long to start practicing and it set my writing back years.

How about you? Do you think practicing writing is important?  Let me know in the comments section .

Choose one of the writing practice posts above. Then, read the lesson and participate in the writing exercise, posting your work in the Pro Practice Workshop . And if you post, please give feedback to your fellow writers who also posted their practices.

Have fun and happy practicing!

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

Work with Joe Bunting?

WSJ Bestselling author, founder of The Write Practice, and book coach with 14+ years experience. Joe Bunting specializes in working with Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, How To, Literary Fiction, Memoir, Mystery, Nonfiction, Science Fiction, and Self Help books. Sound like a good fit for you?

50 Comments

You have THE BEST content for writing on this blog!!

Thank you, Kristen. This made my morning. 🙂

Thanks Mitch. 🙂

I can’t remember when I started following this website. I have to look in my notebooks because that’s where I did these practices. I didn’t have access to a computer when I did them, so I wrote them out, setting the time limit. But even when I do get to a computer, I have my reservations about putting my practices on the page. even though it’s practice, I want them to be the best, almost perfect. But I know it won’t be. I’ve gotten feedback before that says so. It still gets to me that I didn’t put something together that not everyone liked. I need to get over it. After all, that is what these practices are about: to learn and improve on our craft.

I don’t know either, George, but it’s been several years. Perfectionism is something so many of us face, and it’s made worse when you don’t have a critique community as warm and encouraging as ours is. I hope you and everyone here are always willing to try something new, even if it comes out a little messed up, because you know we’ll support you and try to make you better.

What a great share! Thanks so much!

You’re so welcome, Elizabeth. Thank you for commenting.

when I ran writing classes I wrote. when I am “a member of writing classes” the teacher/leader/facilitator is NOT MY AUDIENCE and so I don’t write as well/as much. I don’t get the feedback I need from fellow students because most of them have never run their own writing projects/workshops. So many people expect you to write their story for them. I’ve actually got quite a few stories of me own. I have finally decided I like owning them. 😉

It sounds like you need a new critique group, Patience! Hope you can find a place where you get the feedback you need.

Wow! Terrific round-up of resources. 🙂

Thanks Stephanie. 🙂

Practice is necessary, period. It doesn’t matter what you want to learn. If you want to improve, practice is vital.

It’s odd. I’ve known and applied that principle for years on a variety of things. Painting. Drawing. Blogging. Gardening. Laundry.

But never writing.

Like you, I had the notion that just writing every day was all it took to improve. Why not the same level of dedication to writing?

Perhaps it’s time to change that!

I can relate, Carrie. It’s easy to confuse the craft of writing with journaling, thinking that you can just write whatever you feel like and you’ll get better, write something worth reading. The truth is that writing interesting things to read is a skill, but the good news is that you can get better at it with practice. Thanks for practicing with us! 🙂

I love these suggestions , and have set Writing Practice as my homepage so the first 15 minutes of my day is spent writing, whether its a practice or exercise here or another that is sprinkled through out this site, Thank you for all you do everyone here at The Write Practice

This is great Debra. I want to write the first 15 minutes of my day too!

I agree with Joe, Do it. Could be your to do list… ( that could lead to something else story wse later)

I love that, Debra. Such a good way to start your day.

Thanks Joe!

The best! Thank you so much for this.

You’re very welcome!

I simply LOVE all the tips and suggestions given on this blog. They are super helpful!

THANK you. We love sharing them with you. 🙂

Hi! You forgot the link to How to Write a Story a Week: A Day-by-Day Guide.

Thanks a lot for your work! This post is amazing.

It’s a great post Thiago. Definitely one of our most shared. Thanks for mentioning it! BTW here’s the link:

https://thewritepractice.com/a-story-a-week/

Wow!! There are so many exercises…. I just love it..! I am gonna really enjoy it..!

Awesome! Thank you for reading and practicing with us. 🙂

I only read halfway , My tootie is jumping all over me, and typing this is a struggle when a 3yr old wants his Toy Story movie on Youtube in this computer. Thank you for this article, will come back later to finish reading.

I know the feeling! Good luck!

Can’t wait to get stuck in with this! 🙂

Very helpful! Thank you!

I’ve just bookmarked this page. Thanks for this wonderful list.

This is awesome! So many helpful tips. I will be coming back to this often. Thanks for posting this!

Wow, so many goodies! Thank you for always providing such amazing content!!

I have enjoyed all these articles. Thank you for the help an inspiration to get my writing on its way. My creativity is boosting with confidence. Tootle loo.

Amazing contents for beginners like me Joe. I am highly inspired by your commitment. Thank you.

Hey, thanks!

Although I have only read half of thisc article, the practice exercises are excellent. Some of them are exactly what a beginning writer like myself needs. I am committing to at least try ALL of them. Thanks Joe!!

very helpful! thank you..

Amazing articles! Thanks so much for sharing!

My god this article made me love this site . You know it’s kinda hard for a beginner writer, who don’t know where to start and fixing goals, even samll ones give us a direction . A place to go , an aim for our creativity so thanks you , this community and this site. Love you all . At your pens ! 😉

Wow. This is great. I find all your posts informative, but this one is the best for me to use as a guide to get my self starting to write….Thank you.

I’m an old lady who wants to publish one more book before I die — have published several, all non-fiction, and done two under contract to a major publisher (reference books). So help me, the BIGGEST problem I have all along, is keeping track of the damned paper work and research that goes into a book!!! Yet I never ever see articles on something as simple as “How to file” — Oh I know, there’s wonderful software these days so probably I will never find a way to get paper organized — everybody will use software and do it on the computer. I’m too old for that — just one look at the learning curve for software, even putting the damned stuff into computer files is even MORE frustrating than paper!! Oh well, somehow I managed in the past to get books published, I may be able to do it one more time.

you enjoy writing more than anything else and you do indeed care to help others write. I love writing but translation from Arabic into English and English into Arabic is taking all of my time from the early hours of the morning till the evening. I will soon get all of your books in order to read them as soon as possible. One thing I am sure of. You know what you are doing very well. Hamzah

Excellent! Many useful tips. Many thanks!

Liz and Joe, I have only looked at a few exercises. Already, I am convinced that your site is one of the best sites out there. Thank your for sharing your wisdom.

Wow, these are the best lessons and exercises for writing. Actually i’m participating in a compitition this wendsday. so, i’m quite nervous and exited. this helped me a lot

Magnificent post ever I have read. This article will help me a lot to write a right way. Thank you.

i need your help to improve to become a better writer please. i think i usually commit moist of these errors and i don;t pay attention to many advices too.

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When You Write

Essential Creative Writing Tips and Techniques

Creative writing has no written formula and no immutable laws, you just need a good imagination and good writing skills.

And you’re good to go!

Creative writing presents us with fewer tethers than other forms of writing. This means that we have more liberty when we want to express our imagination artistically.  

With all this freedom, defining and serving creative writing techniques is a bit hard, and some tips are frowned upon as they seem to infringe upon the liberties of some creative writers.

Still, some writers need guidance.

So, I have taken it upon myself to be this guide and dish out much-needed tips and discuss some creative writing techniques.

If you’ve been looking for guidance and insight, here’s a no-frills article full of practical tips on creative writing for you.

What Is Creative Writing?

Creative writing is writing that uses imagination , creativity, and mastery of the art of writing to evoke emotion in a reader.

It could be a fictional story, a nonfiction piece, or movie script, a play, a poem, et cetera. Creative writing oftentimes springs up from experimentation and good, imaginative use of knowledge and ideas.

One of the things that make creative writing different from other forms of writing is the underlying message or theme. Unlike other forms of writing, creative writing sometimes hides a message under the entertaining, saddening, or horrifying part of the written content.

Other archetypal elements of creative writing include creating an emotional connection with the reader (and sometimes evoking a response), having a deliberate point of view, using a narrative structure, and use of imaginative and descriptive language.

What Isn’t Creative Writing?

Whatever lacks the elements I just listed isn’t creative writing. Written pieces such as company reports, statements, and other professional communications aren’t regarded as creative writing.

Similarly, personal documents and communications such as emails, social media content, and personal communications all fit in the non-creative writing category.

In addition to that, research papers and pieces that are in the “Academic Writing” category do not qualify as creative writing.

Most often the type of content that I have listed is devoid of deliberate themes. Often, these types of pieces have goals similar to those prevalent in creative writing, but they’re presented differently.

But—as a reminder to myself or you, the reader—I would like to say that they’re blurred boundaries in some forms of content. For example, we can’t outrightly classify content such as blog posts as creative writing non-creative. Blog content belongs to a broader category that is as flexible as creative writing itself.

Therefore, you would have to analyze the elements of each blog post to see if they fit a particular category.

Forms of Creative Writing

Given the freedom that creative writing gets, it is just right that it takes many forms.

Here are some of the forms of creative writing:

This is one of the most popular forms of creative writing. Novels are also the first thing people think about when it comes to books (apart from academicians who are religiously into textbooks).

Novels are extended fictional works in prose that usually (or always?) come in the form of a story.

Most of them are in the range of 50,000 to 150,000 words, but some are told in less than 50,000 and others extend beyond 150,000.

Pieces that are too short to qualify as novels and too long to qualify as short stories automatically qualify as novellas and novelettes.

Novellas often fall in the range of 10,000-40,000 words, while novelettes generally have a word count of 7,500-19,000 words.

Word count boundaries are usually varied—and they are oftentimes at the discretion of the publisher or competition organizers.

Short Fiction

Short stories as the name suggests are on the other end (the shorter word count end) of the fiction word count spectrum. 

Short stories generally fall between 2,500 and 7,500 words but sometimes extend to 10,000 words.

Unlike novels, short stories tell stories with fewer characters, details, and backstories, among other deficiencies.

Then there are other forms of short fiction told in 1,000 words, and they’re called flash fiction and micro-fiction.

The unrestricted and spontaneous nature of poetry embodies the artistic multifariousness of creative writing.

Poetry is as emotional as it is rebellious—and word counts and rhyming rarely matter for poems, i.e., those in the free verse category.

There are different types of poems such as sonnets, haikus, sestinas, limericks, and free verses.

The spontaneous nature of poetry does connote lawlessness. The thing is, the different types of poetry originated from different cultures around the world and many come with rules.

However, for most of these types of poetry, the rules are adaptable. A few types such as haikus have specific rules on the number of lines or structure.

Plus, just because there aren’t many rules governing the structure, content, and length of poetry it doesn’t mean that you can brush aside the use of perfect grammar, the importance of POV, the need for a theme, and the need to evoke the reader’s emotions.

TV scripts, stage play scripts, and screenplays

This category comprises stage plays and scripts for films, television programs, and other types of video content.

A majority of content in this category has a lot in common with novels and short stories. Although different scripts have different formatting requirements, they carry a message or central theme and try to appeal to their audience’s emotions.

In a way, these scripts depart from the highly descriptive nature of novels and short stories.  There’s much more dialogue in scripts with a bit of stage or scene directions in stage plays screenplays.

Creative Nonfiction

Creative writing doesn’t always have to be works of fiction, some nonfiction also qualifies as creative writing.

Here are some of the works that can be called creative nonfiction:

• Lyric essays
• Autobiographies
• Humor Writing
• Literary Journalism

Tips and Techniques for Creative Writing

1. read widely and learn from other writers.

You can improve by focusing on looking at your writing only. If you want to be a good creative writer, you have to read.

When you read other people’s work, you discover other writing styles and get inspired in the process.

There are lots of reading resources on creative writing out there. You can find books, essays, blog articles, and video content covering different aspects of creative writing.

Some works will comprise fiction and nonfiction pieces (novels, short stories, poetry, lyrical essays. Et cetera) while others seek to cover interviews and personal essays that talk about the authors’ creative processes.

2. Benefit from Your Imagination

A wild imagination represents superiority for creative writers, especially fiction writers.

This is the only time you’re allowed to play god!

By using a crazy imagination you can conceive an exciting story, build a unique world, and come up with convincing, never-imagined-before characters.

Heck! You can even create your own language!

Be as imaginative as you can be, even going into a trance, and create a creative piece using your own rules!

3. Focus on Understanding and Improving Yourself as a Writer

You cannot improve something you don’t fully understand; therefore, you have to understand your strengths and weaknesses as a writer to become a better writer.

I wrote an article on this, explaining some general strengths and weaknesses that writers have.  As a creative writer, you have to identify problem areas such as bad sense of rhythm, dodgy flow, lack of creativity, et cetera.

As a creative writer, there are things you must have in your armory, such as a rich and relevant vocabulary, organized writing, and a unique writing style (which also happens to be the next tip on the list).

4. Develop or Discover a Unique Writing Style

Creative writers are better off seeking inspiration from other creative writers while trying to follow their path.

In short: study other writers, but develop your writing style. Take a look at all the best, and you’ll discover that most of them developed a unique style.

So, have your writing style. And, it should fit the niche you want to specialize in—if it’s horror, a befitting style. You could also focus on developing vibrant writing full of eccentric characters.

Likewise, you could become a writer who always writes in a specific POV.

5. Create Space for Creative Writing and Stick to a routine

Writing routinely and total focus are tremendously important for creative writers. If you’re a spontaneous writer who scarcely writes and only writes whenever they feel like it, you’re bound to fail as a writer!

You need to have a schedule and some working space. The ideas might come spontaneously and anywhere, but it’s hard to write without proper planning and a distraction-free setting.

It’s unproductive trying to squeeze writing into your day.

When you start writing routinely, in a ‘comfortable’ place, creative writing becomes natural. Even when you’re out of ideas experiencing writer’s block, you have to practice the habit of writing stuff daily—just write some fluff if you’re bored.

6. Know your audience

“Why do you write?”

The most popular answer to the question is, “because I love it!”

But if the question was rephrased and we asked “why do you publish your works?” the previous answer would be ‘half true.’

You write because it’s the love of your life and you publish for your audience. So, creative writing isn’t always about you, but your fans too.

You have to know what your readers are like. Even when you haven’t published a single piece, it’s easy to research readers’ interests using web-based analytics resources.

Armed with this knowledge, you can craft a piece that strikes a chord with your target audience, with a high potential of becoming a bestseller.

7. Always Start and End Strong

Our English teacher constantly reminded us that when she was going through our essays, she started with the introduction and summary before moving to the body.

“They’re the most important parts of your essay.” She’d always say.

Later, I found out that this applied to almost every form of writing.  

Your readers want your piece to either start with a bang or catch their attention. Once the reader feels underwhelmed, they won’t read all the way through.

Strong endings are just as important, but it doesn’t mean that you always have to end on a happy note. You can close on a sad note or give them a cliffhanger. 

As long as you effectively use your imagination and the end doesn’t turn out to be a clichéd one.

The Best Books on Creative Writing

• 1. Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot that Grips Readers from Start to Finish by James Scott Bell
• 2. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
• 3. The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
• 4. On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser

Final Words

Writing—whatever form it takes—isn’t a simple chore, but as hard as it is, it is also fun!

The goal is always to become a better writer and learn different techniques that will make our content impactful.

Every writer should fear stagnation and continue learning. Utilize today’s easy access to resources, read, ask for help, and let your wild imagination run loose.

While there’s no fixed formula in creative writing, tips from experienced writers will help you improve in some areas.

So, always be inquisitive and reach out to other writers.

Crafting an original work of fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction takes time, practice, and persistence.

Recommended Reading...

Crafting compelling game stories: a guide to video game writing, how to write a murder mystery: figuring out whodunit, good story starters for your next bestseller, 100 fluff prompts that will inspire creativity.

Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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10 Effective Ways to Improve Your Creative Writing

Writing a story is a craft that requires constant tweaks, edits and trial and error by the writer. Here are ten tips to improve your creative writing and save you hours of painful re-writing in the future.

(1) Don’t underestimate your reader

You have a fantastic plot, your characters are realistic, the setting is ideal and you want to make sure that the reader gets every little detail that you have in mind. Great!

The only problem is that you may be tempted to bombard your reader with many intimate details so that they see it exactly as you do. In-depth descriptions can be useful and effective, but don’t overdo it. Keep your writing neat and tight; don’t waste space on long, rambling descriptions about things that aren’t necessary to your story.

Wouldn’t it be ideal if editors received submissions and decided to look past the typos and incorrect formatting because they think it might be a little gem of a story? The fact is that if your manuscript is full of errors or doesn’t follow the required guidelines then it’s going in the trash.

Don’t rely on your computer’s spell checker. If you make a typo, the computer will not warn you if you’ve still spelt a valid word. Your gorgeous heroine meets the bog (boy) of her dreams? The wealthy doctor places his golf ball on his tea (tee)?

(3) Give Your Characters Life

Characters are vital to your story so treat them with care and give them that breath of life that you, the writer, have the power to give. Give them unique characteristics; make them believable by making them have a purpose, motivation and conflicts to resolve.

(4) Use Strong Words

You want your writing to sound decisive, so use words that get the point across. Did Bob’s really big headache cause him a lot of pain or did Bob’s migraine cause excruciating pain? But remember not to overdo it: don’t use words that the reader won’t understand, you want to use strong words, not confusing or extravagant ones.

(5) Show Don’t Tell.

Who hasn’t heard that one before? But it’s a valid point and a useful rule for all writers. Fiction is for entertainment, so entertain your reader! Give them an excuse to escape into the reality that you have created. Let them see, hear, feel, smell, laugh, cry, love and hate. Show your reader the world that you’ve created, don’t just tell them about it.

(6) Check your Commas

While commas can be effective many inexperienced writers tend to sprinkle their sentences with them. When placed incorrectly, commas can chop up your sentences and sometimes even alter the meaning. Brush up on your high-school grammar; your work will improve with that alone.

(7) Grab their Attention from the Start

Opening lines are often referred to as ‘the hook’ because that’s exactly what you want them to be. You get the reader’s attention and reel them in for the rest of the story. Try something powerful to kick-start your story. For example: ‘Mark’s back broke with an audible crack’ or ‘Eliza didn’t realize that she was going blind’ or ‘The bullet that pierced Henry’s back and left him paralyzed was meant for a homeless man’. Each of these lines makes the reader ask ‘why?’ and once they ask that question, the reader will keep on reading until they find the answer.

(8) Give Your Reader a Satisfactory Ending

You can leave the reader speculating or wondering why at the end of your story, but try to resolve as much as you can. If your reader finishes the last sentence and is still asking questions about what happened to who and why, then you still need to tie up the loose ends.

(9) Sober up

Think of writing as going out to a bar: you go out, the lighting is dim, it’s noisy, maybe you drink too much but you meet a person who’s attractive, witty, shares the same interests as you and you’re smitten by them. A few days later you meet for coffee: are they as good looking or charming as you remember?

This can happen with writing. You become intoxicated with the feeling of success and think that you have written an award-winning piece. The question is, once you’ve sobered up, is it as good as you thought it was? Put your manuscript away and try not to think about it for a couple days. Then take it out and read it with a clear, open mind. Read it through once from beginning to end, then break it up into sections, then read it sentence by sentence. Is it as good as you remembered? If so, then well done! But the odds are that if you were too excited about finally wrapping it up, then you’ll find some points to revise.

(10) Challenge Yourself

Are you trying too hard to write in a specific genre or style? Do you only write short stories or novels or poems or movie scripts? Give that creative muscle a workout and try something different. It will be a refreshing exercise for your mind and you might be surprised by the result. If you don’t succeed then you have still learnt a valuable lesson.

About the Author:

Photo Credit: Flickr.com_gudmd.haralds

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• On Being Tense About Tense: What Verb Tense To Write Your Novel In
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• On Being Tense about Tense: Present Tense Narratives in Novels
• The Essential Guide to Worldbuilding [from Book Editors]
• What Is Point of View: 1st, 2nd & 3rd POV with Examples
• How to Create Powerful Conflict in Your Story | Useful Examples
• How to Write a Book: A Step-by-Step Guide
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• What Is a Stock Character? 150 Examples from 5 Genres
• How to Write a Children’s Book: An Easy Step-by-Step Guide
• Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey: Worksheet & Examples
• Novel Outline: A Proven Blueprint [+ Free Template!]
• Character Development: 7-Step Guide for Writers
• Foil Character: Definition, History, & Examples
• What Is NaNoWriMo? Top 7 Tips to Ace the Writing Marathon
• What Is the Setting of a Story? Meaning + 7 Expert Tips
• Theme of a Story | Meaning, Common Themes & Examples
• 5 Elements of a Short Story & 6 Stages of a Plot
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• How to Write a Book Summary: Example, Tips, & Bonus Section
• How to Write a Book Description (Examples + Free Template)
• 10 Best Free AI Resume Builders to Create the Perfect CV
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• How to Write a Book Title (15 Expert Tips + Examples)
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• Exploring Writing Styles: Meaning, Types, and Examples
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• Business Proposal Guide: How to Write, Examples and Template
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• How to Create a Memorable Protagonist (7 Expert Tips)
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Writing for the Web: 7 Expert Tips for Web Content Writing

• What are the Parts of a Sentence? An Easy-to-Learn Guide
• How to Avoid AI Detection in 2024 (6 Proven Techniques!)
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• Tags: Fiction Writing , Novel , Novel Writing , Short Story Poetry

Do you wish to write but don’t know how to start? If you have writer’s block, this article is for you! This article includes 100 plus creative writing prompts across all genres to kickstart your writing journey. 

From horror writing prompts to fantasy writing prompts, we’ve covered everything for you! Before we see examples of writing prompts, let’s quickly understand the meaning of writing prompts. 

Ready to take your writing to the next level? Learn more

What are writing prompts? 

A writing prompt is a simple topic idea to inspire the writer to get the first words on the page. It can be a picture, a line from a poem, or an imaginary scenario. Writing prompts can be abstract, realistic, evocative, thought-provoking, insightful, or descriptive. 

Dive in to see exciting writing prompts from various genres! These also include many creative writing prompts for adults.

1. Horror writing prompts 

1) A man inside the coffin breaks the coffin and starts walking. 

2) A demonic spirit has entered your friend’s body and she is moving closer to attack you. 

3) You wake up in an empty house and see a ghost. 

4) A doll you brought for a friend suddenly starts speaking. 

5)  You suddenly see a man who was supposed to have died in 1900. 

6) A vampire you saw in your dream kidnaps you in real life. 

7) You are awakened by drops of blood falling on your face. 

8) You have an accident and suddenly see a centaur who has a half-human, half-animal face. 

9)  You are walking in the forest and witness a shocking ritual where people are drinking blood. 

10) You wear an old ring you found after which something terrible keeps happening to you. 

11) An excavator finds an old mummy while digging which tries to grab him. 

Now let’s see some of the best creative writing prompts for adults and kids for journaling, 

2. Journal writing prompts 

1) Describe a childhood memory that always makes you smile. 

2) Write about a dream you had that you can never forget. 

3) Recount your biggest challenge and what you learned from it. 

4) Name three people who inspire you the most and why. 

5) Pen a letter to yourself and describe your accomplishments and future goals. 

6) Explain what would you like to change if you had a chance to go back in time. 

7) Narrate an incident where the kindness of strangers moved you. 

8) Express in detail some of your best memories with school friends. 

9) List five activities you love to do and your efforts to perform those activities. 

10) Tell in detail about your favorite travel destination. 

11) Describe your most challenging times and how you overcame them. 

If you wish to explore writing about mysteries, the following are some creative prompts about mysteries. 

3. Mystery writing prompts 

1) Ten scientists die on the same day and a Scotland Yard detective is assigned to find out why. 

2) A top bureaucrat starts getting anonymous threatening notes and decides to investigate. 

3) A retired police officer decides to play detective and solve the case of his granddaughter’s death. 

4) A private investigator is assigned to find the truth about a journalist who went missing.

5)  A meteor strikes a village after which people start falling sick. 

6) An archaeologist finds a document about a cursed treasure and decides to find out the truth. 

7) A young boy hears screams from a tower and sees torch lights flashing in the dark. 

8) A factory burns and an investigator finds out whether the fire was caused naturally or intentionally. 

9) A girl inquires to understand why her dog was shot and discovers a shocking truth. 

10) A son promises his mother to uncover the reason behind his sister’s suicide. 

11) A police inspector has to solve the murder case of an orphan who was earlier arrested in a drug case. 

4. Romance writing prompts 

1) A girl falls in love with a video gamer she met in college.  

2) A 70-year-old realizes that he has fallen in love with a woman he met at an old age home. 

3) A man meets his childhood crush after years and tries to woo her once more. 

4)  Two best friends decide to experiment and set up a double date. 

5) Give a love story to a person whom everyone assumes to be a villain. 

6) Pen a romance story with the words affair, flirting, infatuation, and fling. 

7) A man who has a phobia of getting married meets a girl with a similar fear. 

8) Write a love story of two people staying in two different countries. 

9) Two employees from rival companies fall in love. 

10) A paramedic falls in love with a spy whose life she saves. She later realizes that he will soon embark on a dangerous mission. 

11) Write a love story of a librarian and a time-traveler. 

Instead of writing about romance, you might be interested in the science fiction genre. Given below are some creative prompts related to science fiction. 

5. Science fiction writing prompts 

1) Two scientists invent a machine that can control and manipulate weather. 

2) An astronaut flies to the planet Jupiter and discovers alien life. 

3) An archaeologist finds an old book about a magical time travel ritual and uses that ritual to go back in time. 

4) A young boy finds a hidden library of science books and is trapped inside the library. 

5) A science teacher decides to take revenge against the government by performing a dangerous science experiment. 

6) A jailed scientist uses science to escape and prove his innocence. 

7) A science geek creates an AI program that can hack the data of government and private organizations without leaving a trace. 

8) A spaceship is pulled into another universe by an unknown force and aliens are planning to invade the Earth. 

9) A scientist designs a robot that looks and talks exactly like the country’s President and plans to kill the real President. 

10) To reduce population, a crazy scientist makes a deadly plan to release a virus into the air. 

11) A chemistry professor creates a dangerous solution that can massively change the genes of animals and humans. 

If science fiction is not your cup of tea and you love fantasy, here are some creative writing prompts about fantasy. 

6. Fantasy writing prompts 

1) An archaeologist enters a magical world of dragons and is unable to return to Earth. 

2) A tribal girl develops fairy wings and she is later assigned the task to save the fairy race from extinction. 

3) A man discovers a magical dream shop where dreams are sold to change reality. 

4) A musician visits a hidden world and finds a magical flute that can hypnotize people and make them stand still. 

5) A boy finds a small dwarf in his garden who shows him the train to travel to parallel universes. 

6) A woman finds the feather of a rare bird, using which she enters the world of lost secrets. 

7) A college student falls in love with a cursed mermaid and travels to her land to free her from the curse. 

8) An excavator opens a door and arrives in the land where destinies are written. 

9) A man unintentionally awakens a sleeping devil who creates a new world and new citizens to destroy the earth. 

10) A girl realizes that she has the power to control stars and is pulled into a world of demons and monsters. 

11) A fairy falls in love with a human and must convince Fairyland to accept her love and let her go. 

You might also have an interest in writing poems about various topics. For poetry lovers, the following are some of the best creative writing prompts. 

7. Poetry writing prompts 

1) Write a poem about your favorite fairy tale as a child. 

2) Describe an unforgettable memory with your first crush in a poem. 

3) Pen a poem about a stray dog who became your best friend. 

4) Craft a poem about the beauty of witnessing fireflies in the dark. 

5) Explore the sadness of losing touch with school classmates in a poem. 

6) Narrate an incident about a memorable dance you saw in a poem. 

7) Write a poem that has the quote “Tough times never last but tough people do”. 

8) Compose a poem on a special gift you received and its importance. 

9) Pen a poem about your favorite cartoon character. 

10) Write a poem about how a person who passed away inspired you in life. 

11) Compose a poem about a magical land where you wish to go. 

If you love to write on light-hearted, funny topics, given below are some of the best writing prompts for you! 

8. Funny writing prompts 

1) Jot down a hilarious conversation between a madman and a witty parrot. 

2) Create a funny story about how a person is forced to communicate with a stranger who doesn’t understand English. 

3) Write a funny dialogue about a person who says something wrong at the most inappropriate time. 

4) Describe a prank where you created a savory dish that looked like chocolate and made your friend taste it. 

5) Write a humorous conversation between a standup comedian and an angry spectator. 

6) Pen a story about a disaster that takes place because a scientist forgot to add a valuable component to an experiment. 

7) Craft a funny story about a brother who takes revenge on his sister for revealing his girlfriend to his parents. 

8) Imagine a funny situation where a friend tries to copy everything you do to irritate you and write about it. 

9) Write about a funny incident when you received a parcel you hadn’t ordered.

10) Narrate an incident about a funny costume party where everyone was dressed up as different animals.  

11) Write about a comic incident where an aunt asked you to take responsibility for her son while she was away. However, the son ends up in prison. 

9. Short story writing prompts 

1) Write a short story about a ship that mysteriously sank in the ocean. 

2) Pen a short story about a girl who has synesthesia and sees colors around people. 

3) Craft a short story about a mountaineer who decides to climb Mount Everest. 

4) Develop a short story about a road trip gone wrong. 

5) Write a short story about what happens when a government official finds out about a dangerous secret. 

6) Create a short story about a detective who disguises himself and is discovered. 

7) Pen a short story about a businessman with a big scar and a twisted lip. 

8) Write a short story about how a boy discovers a magical wishing feather after which his every wish comes true. 

9) Develop a short story about a blind man who takes revenge for an insult. 

10) Craft a short story about an eagle who saves a jungle from being destroyed. 

11) Write a short story about the last living princess who makes a mark on the world. 

If you wish to explore historical fiction instead, here are some of the best writing prompts for you! 

10. Historical fiction writing prompts 

1) A librarian discovers a shocking secret about the Second World War which can change the future of the USA and Russia. 

2) Write a story about a mirror that talks about an ancient era and reveals a secret about that era. 

3) Craft a tale about a poet who wrote about the Red Indians. 

4) A political leader begins a movement to get recognition for a lesser-known historical figure, resulting in controversy. 

5) An excavator finds a valuable artifact from the Mayan civilization that could affect the world’s future. 

6) A girl realizes that she is the last living descendant of a French queen and must protect a family secret at all costs. 

7) A bureaucrat finds a diary about a man who suffered during the Great Depression and resolves to make amends. 

8) A boy has dreams about the First World War and decides to solve the mystery of his dreams. 

9) A tribe decides to get back a valuable historical artifact stolen from them. 

10) A historian finds out about the most dangerous escape of an American soldier. 

11) A girl discovers a magical portal that transports her to the 18th century.  

Now that you’ve understood what are writing prompts, you can use one prompt daily and start writing. The next step after writing is editing. As providers of editing and proofreading services , we’d love to help you edit and perfect your writing! 

We realize how writing and editing can be challenging tasks. Here are some resources to enhance your writing: 

• The dynamics of Christian book editing and proofreading
• What Is Developmental Editing? A Self-Editing Checklist
• How to Write a Novel in Past Tense? 3 Steps & Examples

Frequently Asked Questions

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Let's Get Creative!

50 Free Writing Prompts for Creative Writers

Deciding what to write about doesn’t always come easy. Mainly if you write every day, some ideas seem to pop into your mind with ease, while other times, the ideas seem to avoid you purposefully. Writing prompts (especially free writing prompts) can help give you the jumpstart on your writing with an already thought-up idea. Sometimes, when using a writing prompt, your story ends up following the prompt entirely. However, other times, your story takes an entirely different path, and the prompt was just a helping hand in reaching the destination.

If you are going through a bit of writer’s block , here are 50 free writing prompts that will bypass the block no problem.

To double check your writing, I recommend using Grammarly (they have a free and paid version).

Location/Scene

Miscellaneous.

And, therefore, the cycle continues.

You can only see the parts of me you will never be able to forget.

The forest beckoned me.

With everything he’d been taught, he packed his belongings and ran away.

For once, she decided to do what’s right and raised her hand.

She grabbed the sword and changed her fate.

Running down the mountain and gasping for air, he gave up.

On the way to the sea, I heard someone call to me.

Who would’ve known that would be it?

With all my might, I pried the lock off the door.

A quiet teen who discovers they can read minds.

A group of citizens are banished from a futuristic city and must come together to survive.

The only one who can save humanity from oblivion is trapped far below the surface.

An archeologist finds a stone once thought to be mythological.

A recluse must rescue the person who saved their life.

To save his family, an officer must find and hide a confidential document.

In the middle of the most challenging point in her life, a widow must come to terms with the new life she leads.

Running from the past, a teacher moves countries and takes on a new identity.

After discovering their family is not what they seem, a teenager takes matters into their own hands in finding the truth.

Found in a cave as an infant, a woman looks for the truth about her birth.

Science Fiction

The air turns toxic, and the only way to go outside is with a special injection only available for 500 people.

A confidential document containing proof of aliens has been leaked, and society begins to fall.

Time begins to speed up, and no one can figure out why.

A time-traveler’s machine has been stolen, and they must find it to get back home.

Each person possesses powers from one of the four seasons.

An explorer finds a hidden world on an island filled with every mythological creature ever created.

A broken mirror turns out to lead to a fantasy world.

Young Adult

A young college student must honor her father’s wishes by destroying the postcards he sent around the country.

A high school senior decides to change their fate by becoming a better person.

A group of friends struggles to traverse the reality of the world and grow further apart.

An abandoned library traps a group of explorers inside.

A curious empire created in medieval times.

A terrible storm appears out of nowhere.

A journey through what used to be a rainforest in the year 3050.

Write a short story that takes place solely in one location.

A trek through a massive swamp.

A character wakes up in a cave with no recollection of how they got there.

On a mountain top, vanity is the character’s downfall.

A story that takes place in a rage-filled cemetery.

A whole town that finds out they’re not connected to the rest of the world.

Add a chapter to your favorite book.

Create a story using lyrics from your favorite song.

Write a story that takes place in your hometown.

Choose a character from your favorite book and place them in a new story.

Give yourself limits: Write a story in under 1,000 words. Now, write the same story in under 500 words. Then, write it again in under 250. Take note of how much could be cut without destroying the plot. Take note of which length is most challenging and of any struggles you face.

Combine two of your favorite books and find a way to intertwine the stories.

Take one of the above prompts and create a flash fiction story. Each day for 30 days, add a new sentence to the end and see where it takes you.

Incorporate a new character into a story you’ve already written.

Take one of the above prompts or think of your own and write backward. Start with the end and write your way to the beginning.

What’s one goal you never thought possible to achieve? Write about that.

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Similar Posts You May Find Helpful:

• Writing Prompts for Adults
• Biggest Writing Mistakes and How To Fix Them
• Write a Book in Seven Steps

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65 Best Free Creative Writing Classes in 2024

Showing 65 courses that match your search.

Blogging for Business

A free course teaching how to start and grow a blog past 100,000 visitors, focusing on content marketing strategies and effective blogging techniques.

Website: https://ahrefs.com/academy/

Categories: Free

Start date:

Open all year round

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Legally Blogs

Blogging for New Bloggers

This free course teaches bloggers about legal requirements, compliance to avoid lawsuits, copyright protection, necessary legal pages, GDPR and CCPA compliance, and income tracking.

Website: https://school.bloggingfornewbloggers.com/

Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop

California Institute of the Arts

The course focuses on writing poetry through a variety of exercises, peer feedback, and discussions. It encourages students to explore their personal voice and develop their poetry skills.

Website: https://www.coursera.org/

How to Write a Novel

Your story matters. Unlock your potential with daily video lessons from bestselling ghostwriter Tom Bromley, and finish your first draft in just 3 months. Learn more →

Poetry Workshop

Green Street Poetry

The workshop fosters collaboration and provides a constructive environment for sharing, editing, and discussing poetry. Participants can bring a poem for critique or simply join the discussion.

Website: https://www.greenstreetpoetry.com/workshop

Duke Graduate School Scientific Writing Resource

Duke University

An online resource aimed at improving scientific writing skills, focusing on communication principles tailored for scientific literature. It includes lessons on sentence structure, cohesion, conciseness, and revision strategies.

Website: https://sites.duke.edu/scientificwriting/

Prerequisites: Intended for graduate-level science students.

College Writing 2.1x

In this course, English Language Learners will be introduced to academic writing, focusing on essay development, grammatical accuracy, and self-editing. The course includes reviews of grammar, crafting effective sentences and paragraphs, developing thesis statements, and participating in peer reviews.

Website: https://www.edx.org/course/how-to-write-an-essay

Tech Writing for Accessibility

Google Developers

This course teaches how to make documentation and websites more accessible, focusing on inclusive design principles, writing helpful alt text for diagrams, and checking color contrast. It includes hands-on exercises and class discussions.

Website: https://developers.google.com/tech-writing/accessibility

Technical Writing One

This course teaches the fundamentals of technical writing, focusing on clear documentation, active voice usage, sentence clarity, and audience identification. It includes pre-class and in-class components for comprehensive learning.

Website: https://developers.google.com/tech-writing/one

Technical Writing Two

The course covers intermediate topics in technical writing, including drafting strategies, self-editing techniques, document organization, and effective use of illustrations and sample code.

Website: https://developers.google.com/tech-writing/two

Poetry Club Meetup!

Miami Poetry Club

Bi-monthly no-cost community workshops focusing on creative writing and feedback sessions, designed to support writers of all levels.

Website: https://www.miamipoetryclub.org/

Niche Authority Hacker Course

HerPaperRoute

In this course, participants will learn how to brand themselves as authorities in their niche, with content tailored for both beginners and more experienced individuals, helping them establish a strong presence in their chosen field.

Website: https://herpaperroute.com/free-blogging-courses/

Learn How to Start a Blog and Create a Blogging Strategy for Your Business

Hubspot Academy

The course provides insights into starting and maintaining a blog, developing an effective blogging strategy, engaging an audience, and enhancing business visibility through blogging.

Website: https://academy.hubspot.com/

How to choose a free creative writing class

Looking to build your writing skillset, learn more about your genre, or finally finish that book you’ve been working on? You’re in the right place. That’s why we built this directory of the best creative writing courses.

However, creative writing classes aren’t one size fit all. If you’re planning to join a free writing class in particular, you’ll want to make sure that it matches what you’re seeking to learn about creative writing.

So make sure to consider the following questions when you’re researching free writing courses:

• Who is the instructor? How many years of experience do they have in creative writing?
• Is there something in particular you’d like to learn about creative writing? Does this course include it?
• How long is the course, and where is it taught?
• Are there any hidden fees advertised in this free creative writing class?

More free creative writing resources

Whether you’re a new or established author, there are always evergreen resources out there to how to get a headstart on writing a book. 

Free online materials

• Creative Writing Prompts (resource)
• How to Self-Publish a Book (blog post)
• How to Publish a Novel (blog post)
• How to Edit a Book (blog post)

Recommended books

• For writers in the UK:  Writers' & Artists' Yearbook  
• For writers in the US:  Writer’s Market 2020

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31 Great Content Writing Examples, Tips, and Tools

• by Ann Gynn
• | Published: August 21, 2024
• | Content Creation

Great content writing must be powerful and effective to captivate your audience.

But accomplishing that with your content writing isn’t an easy task. Whether you craft words for B2B or B2C audiences, the challenges can be many.

To help, I’ve compiled web writing examples, tips, tools, and resources. The goal is to give you some insights and new tools to help address or minimize the creation stumbling blocks web and content writers face.

Let’s get to it.

1. Go for the surprise

When you write something that’s unexpected, your audience will likely stop scrolling and take a moment to learn more. In the worst cases, this approach to content writing falls under the nefarious clickbait category. But in the best cases, it can delight and engage the viewer.

Nike is always a go-to source for the best content examples. The summer of 2024 didn’t disappoint with its Winning Isn’t for Everyone campaign.

With a debut in time for the global games, Nike featured the world’s greatest athletes (well, all the great Nike-sponsored athletes) talking about they are motivated by victory and that there’s nothing wrong with wanting to win. Writing those four words — winning isn’t for everyone — fosters a strong reaction. After all, there are far more people who don’t win than do. But audiences are also likely to watch more of the videos to learn what Nike is really talking about.

As you watch the video, note the repetition of the same question (“Am I a bad person?”) followed by short, staccato-paced statements. This approach creates a lyrical story. And it paid off, earning over 2.2 million views in two weeks.

2. Don’t forget text has a starring role in video

Words appear in blog posts or descriptions of product features and benefits. But writers can also shine in  video scripts, along with set designers, actors, and filmmakers. Writers can take any topic and help make it captivating.

J.P. Morgan used animation and strong scripts to explain finance-related concepts in its Unpacked series, a finalist in the Content Marketing Awards for best video. This 4.5-minute episode covers how private companies go public:

3. Tap into trends with simple writing prompts

I’m always a fan of Dove’s #KeepBeautyReal campaigns. Most recently, it created an example of powerful writing in this simple question, “ What kind of beauty do we want AI to learn?”

Capitalizing on the AI trend and interest, Dove illustrates the difference between AI-created images for prompts about “beautiful women” and “beautiful women according to Dove’s Real Beauty ads.” In the first three months of its debut, the video with few words has earned over 100K views on Dove’s YouTube channel and garnered mainstream and industry media attention.

4. Let your audience create great writing and video examples

Creativity can emerge in many ways. Sometimes, it’s a simple starting point that reflects the times, as Dove did in its content example.

It also may lead a brand to contribute to its own pop culture trend as The Stanley did with its Quencher Cup social media campaign in 2024 . Its influencer campaign prompted these fun user-generated examples of web writing and illustration in the form of memes and TikTok videos promoting the brand’s popular drinking vessel.

Hilarious Scales created this sample that’s been seen by over 10 million viewers:

@hilarious_scaless How yall be lookin with them Stanley Cups 🤣 #fypシ #fyp #stanleycup #stanleytumbler ♬ original sound – Hilarious_scales

Fans of hockey (that sport with the other Stanley Cup) also got into the action as Instagram account Daily Facebook shared this example:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by DailyFaceoff (@dailyfaceoff)

5. Nail down your headlines

I’ve said it often: Headlines are the powerhouse of your content writing. After all, if the headline isn’t a success, the content behind it will never be read.

A 2024 study published in Science Advance conducted over 30,000 field experiments with The Washington Post and Upworthy headlines. It found that readers prefer simpler headlines (more common words and more readable writing) over complex ones. They also paid more attention to and more deeply processed the simpler headlines.

The e-book headline in this example from OptinMonster is straightforward: 50 Smart Ways to Segment Your Email List. It uses a numeral (50), a helpful adjective (smart), and a second-person pronoun (your) to speak directly to the audience, all of which elevates the article’s value in the reader’s mind.

Image source

6. Analyze the potential impact of your content headlines

Size up headlines with the Advanced Marketing Institute’s Headline Analyzer , which reveals an emotional marketing value score.

This headline example — 14 Ways Marketing Automation Helps B2B Companies Succeed — earns an emotional marketing value (EMV) of 37.5%. Most professional copywriters’ headlines typically have a 30% to 40% EMV score.

The same headline in a similar tool, CoSchedule Blog Post Headline Analyzer , earns a score of 77 out of 100. This analysis looks at word balance, headline type, sentiment, reading grade level, clarity, and skimmability. It also identifies areas for improvement, such as the use of uncommon, emotional, and power words.

7. Adjust title formats with this content writing tool

Speed your formatting tasks with TitleCase . The tool converts your title into various circumstances — all caps, hyphen, etc., so you don’t have to rekey or reformat.

8. Write headlines with words that resonate

BuzzSumo research consistently identifies “how-to” or guidance-focused headlines that resonate far better with audiences than any other type.

It makes sense. Audiences are seeking information that will help them in their lives, and they have a lot of content from which to choose. By writing phrases like “how to” in a headline, you tell them clearly what they’re going to get.

Get more tips from CMI’s article How To Create Headlines That Are Good for Readers and Business .

9. Focus on clarity for web content

Explaining your product or service can get cumbersome, but it shouldn’t if you want the audience to quickly understand how your company can help solve their pain points.

In this example, Zendesk succinctly highlights three results gained by the enterprise clients of its customer service platform:

• Drive better conversations
• Maximize agent efficiency
• Adapt faster to change

The three- and four-word headlines are followed by short explanations (two sentences) and a link to the product’s relevant features for that category.

10. Write to win over readers

How does your content inspire readers or get them to care?

Some suggestions include:

• Focus on actionable content they could use right away.
• Establish instant credibility and expertise so they understand why you’re the go-to resource.
• Add value they wouldn’t see or find elsewhere.

This ad for the Content Marketing Institute newsletter works well as a sample of website content writing. It illustrates how to motivate the audience to see that the content is relevant for them. Its headline “Looking for Fresh Content Inspiration?” speaks directly to the reader. Its follow-up sentence explains in detail what the reader will get — expert advice, standout examples, and creative ideas.

11. Choose words that motivate actions

Sometimes, it’s a simple word or phrase that prompts someone to take the next step. Buffer offers a list of more than 150 words . These 19 words and phrases are examples of how to gain the audience’s trust:

• Bestselling
• Endorsed by
• Money-back guarantee
• No obligation
• No questions asked
• Recommended
• Transparent
• Try for free

In this web page example, OptinMonster opts for one of those words in its headline — How To Create a Fail-Proof Digital Marketing Plan in 5 Steps .

12. Keep it brief but convey a lot

Given your audience reads on screens, your web writing usually appears in a small space. Yet, it still must reflect a strong message.

For example, this American Express Business web copy uses five words to indicate that it gets the reader’s problem — “Don’t stress over seasonal surges.” Then, it uses another five words to indicate that it has a solution — “Help you keep your business thriving.” On the right, it shows the product name that will do all that (American Express business line of credit.)

13. Create compelling content with better words

Choosing a single word to convey the perfect sentiment makes the most of your available content space. To help, Jon Morrow of Smart Blogger offers a collection of words that can make a difference in your writing: 801+ Power Words That Make You Sound Smart . Here are 15 of them:

• Frightening

In this headline — Firefox Hacks for Everyone: From Cozy Gamers to Minimalists and Beyond — the Mozilla blog opted for one of the power words, “hack.”

 I’ll issue a caveat on this option: Power words can quickly become overused. “Hack” is coming close to saturation.

14. Length isn’t everything

I like to know content length rules and preferences. They give me guideposts for my web writing.

Google makes 30 characters available in its ad headlines, and it’s hard to go shorter than that. This simple sample — Best Enterprise CRM Platform — is 28 characters.

On social media, though, the character parameters are greater, and you could improve engagement by falling short of the upper limits.

Instagram is a perfect example of where writing content short of the 2,200-character maximum caption is a better decision. In fact, experts say the ideal length is 125 characters, which takes up the space visible before the viewer must click to read more.

Still, sometimes writing fewer than 125 characters can work well and draw attention in a crowded feed, as this sample from Grammarly shows. Its caption — “Learn actionable strategies for leveraging Gen AI to elevate your team’s productivity.” — totals just 88 characters.

Of course, exceptions exist. If your content’s primary goal is search engine optimization, longer content is almost always best. As a website ages, it may be able to get by with shorter pieces because it’s already established authority and has more pages, inbound links , etc. However, extended content often helps generate high rankings for targeted keyword phrases and similar words.

15. Choose short words for your web writing

You don’t need to use a lot of words to get your point across. Short ones can work in your favor. Consider these common examples of better choices:

• “Show,” not “indicate”
• “Get rid of,” not “eliminate”
• “Use,” not “utilize”
• “To,” not “in order to”
• “Help,” not “facilitate”
• “Get,” not “obtain”

16. Use a tool to keep track of word counts

Meet your word count goals and improve your word choice with the WordCounter tool. It also helps identify keywords and their appropriate frequency of use.

17. Recognize common writing mistakes

Grammar Girl , created by Mignon Fogarty, founder of Quick and Dirty Tips, outlines some common mistakes, such as this example on the use of that vs. which in writing.

“The simple rule is to use ‘that’ with a restrictive element and ‘which’ with a non-restrictive element … The cupcakes that have sprinkles are still in the fridge. The words “that have sprinkles” restrict the kind of cupcake we’re talking about. Without those words, the meaning of the sentence would change. Without them, we’d be saying that all the cupcakes are still in the fridge, not just the ones with sprinkles.”

18. Use parallel construction

Parallel construction organizes the text and relieves your readers of expending mental energy to piece together the thoughts.

• For example, this mish-mash list is not parallel because the sentence structures vary:
• It could be time to look over your business software contract.
• Consider the best products.
• If you want the product to benefit your company, include others’ points of view.

The list is parallel because every sentence starts the same way – with a verb .

• Review your business software contract.
• Shop for the best products based on features, costs, and support options.
• Ask key members of your team for their perspectives, including productivity barriers.

19. Know when to break the infinitive rule

Avoid splitting infinitives. However, sometimes you might need to bypass grammatically correct in favor of unawkward content.

Pro Writing Aid explains that split infinitives are nothing new — their use dates back to the 1300s. However, there is a time and place for them, as shown in this example from Northern Illinois University’s Effective Writing Practices Tutorial :

• Split infinitive but easily understood: It’s hard to completely follow his reasoning.
• No split infinitive, but awkwardly written: It’s hard to follow completely his reasoning.

20. Be conscious of pronouns

A conversational approach typically works best when you’re creating web content. Writing in the first or second person can accomplish this.

Embracing inclusivity also fosters a conversational atmosphere.

When you’re using pronouns, make sure it’s clear to what the pronoun refers. Given some people use they/them pronouns, ensuring pronoun clarity is especially important.

In those cases where the reader may be confused, explain the person’s use of the plural non-gendered pronoun in the text, for example, “Alex Alumino, who uses they/them pronouns …” Even better, just repeat their name in the sentence so there’s no need to explain and no misunderstanding.

21. Don’t overuse words

Redundancy bores. To figure out if you’re committing this sin, paste your text into the Word It Out tool. The word cloud reveals those used most often in your text.

We input a recent CMI article about user stories to create a word cloud for that content sample. It is no surprise that “user” shows up front and center, but it’s also an indicator for us to review the article to see if “user” is overused. “Katie” also shows up prominently in the word cloud as it’s the first name of the source for the article, and CMI uses first, instead of last names, on second and subsequent references. A review of the article could reveal it unnecessarily references the source too many times.

Similarly, WordCounter detects whether you’re using the same words too often. Use Thesaurus.com to find alternatives.

22. Try this content writing tool to replace jargon-like words

You need to speak your audience’s language, but that doesn’t mean you need to adopt the industry’s jargon. De-Jargonizer is designed to help analyze the jargon in scholarly articles, but the tool works just as well with your content writing.

In this example from a CMI article about building a social media plan , De-Jargonizer identifies four “rare” words — ebbs, inhospitable, clarifies, and actionable.

You can upload a file or paste your text to discover those rare words, aka potential jargon, in your content writing. Then, you can find more reader-friendly replacements.

23. Check your readability score

Even if readers can understand the jargon and complex sentences, they still don’t want to work hard to understand your content. To help understand if your writing is on the easier side, use a tool like Web FX’s Readability Test . It scores your content’s average reading ease and targeted readership age.

In this example, it evaluates the Fedex.com website and concludes it has a reading ease of 27.8 out of 100 and is targeted at 14- and 15-year-olds.

You can scroll down to see other readability scores, including Flesch Kincaid reading ease, Flesch Kincaid grade level, Gunning Fog, Smog Index, Coleman Liau, and Automated Readability Index.

The bottom of the evaluation includes the statistics about the evaluated text, including:

• Total sentences
• Total words
• Complex words
• Percent of complex words
• Average words per sentence
• Average syllables per word

Adjust your writing to meet the preferred readership level of your audience.

24. Evaluate sentence structure with the Hemingway App

Want more help to write content that’s easy to read? Consider tools like the Hemingway app, which provides immediate and detailed feedback on content structure, including sentence formatting. With the website version, you can replace the default text with your own.

The Hemingway app identifies potentially unnecessary adverbs, warns about passive voice, and triggers alerts to dull, complicated words.

In this web writing example from its home page, Hemingway App highlights one of the 13 sentences as very hard to read, one as hard to read, two weakener phrases, and one word with a simpler alternative.

25. Get web writing right with good grammar

Proper grammar is a necessity; you want to get everything correct to satisfy readers (and bosses). Try Grammarly .

Improve your writing with this cloud-based, AI editor. Grammarly automates grammar, spelling, and punctuation checks, often giving better, cleaner content options. The tool also alerts writers to passive voice, suggests opportunities to be concise, and assesses overall tone.

You also can save time and energy with ProWritingAid . It eliminates the need to reread to polish your content. This AI editing software offers more than grammar checks. It checks for vague wording, sentence length variation, and overuse of adverbs and passive voice. The tool also identifies complicated or run-on sentences. (“Content Writing Examples, Tips, and Resources”)

26. Read your web content in scanning mode

Here’s some sad news for content writers: Readers won’t consume every word in your content. They skip and scan a lot to see if the content is a good fit for them, and then they hope they can glean the relevant information without having to consume all the content.

As you write, think about how the text will look visually. Make it easy for readers to scan your content by including:

• Short paragraphs
• Bulleted lists
• Bolded text
• Words in color

27. Read aloud

If your content doesn’t flow as you speak it, it may not work for the reader . Pay attention to when you take too many pauses or pause in places where no comma exists. Adjust your text — add a comma or break the sentence into two.

Microsoft Word offers a read-aloud feature through its immersive reader tools, while Google Docs can use a Chrome extension to give a voice to the content .

28. Use plagiarism checkers

In recent years, advancements in artificial intelligence have prompted growth in automated plagiarism checkers. Microsoft Word embeds the feature option in its software as does Grammarly. You also can use tools dedicated to ensuring that the content writing isn’t a copycat (or being copycatted), including:

• Unicheck – Verify the originality of work with plagiarism detection. You can spot outright copying and minor text modifications in unscrupulous submissions.
• Copyscape – Protect your content and your reputation. Copyscape uncovers plagiarism in purchased content and detects plagiarism by others of your original work.

Of course, no plagiarism checker is 100% accurate, so before you accuse a content writer of plagiarism, triple-check the results (and add a human touch whenever appropriate).

29. Use a topic tool for writing inspiration

HubSpot’s Ideas Generator works well to get your creative content writing juices flowing. Just fill in the fields with three nouns to get some ideas.

For example, if you input the words car, truck, and SUV, HubSpot delivers these ideas along with the targeted keywords for the topic:

• Keyword: Top truck accessories
• Keyword: Comparing SUV models
• Keyword: Truck bed organization ideas

HubSpot’s topic generator also allows users to pick a title and have an outline created for that article.

You also could perform a similar exercise by writing the prompts in other generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Gemini .

NOTE: Always review the titles and accompanying data to ensure accuracy. In the HubSpot sample, the generator included a headline — Discover the Best SUVs for Families in 2021. Yet, it’s 2024.

30. Know SEO responsibilities in web writing

Sometimes writers create content with multiple purposes. They have the burden of blending SEO into the content . I frame it as a burden because it’s one more variable to deal with. If you have a knack for SEO and goals you can measure, it’s not a burden.

Unfortunately, you sometimes don’t know what realistic keywords to pursue. Aim too low and you use rarely searched keywords. Aspire for something too competitive, and the content won’t rank.

How are you evaluating keywords? Learn how to find your sweet spot with keyword selection (and how to appear on the first page of Google). Identify potential keywords by using tools like:

• Moz Keyword Explorer
• Google’s Keyword Planner
• Keyword Tool
• AnswerThePublic
• Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest

31. Monitor relevant topics to get ideas for your content

With Feedly , you can stay informed about what matters most and avoid information overload. This AI assistant learns your preferences, then culls and curates content from the internet that you want and need.

Share your favorite writing tricks

What content creation and copywriting productivity tools do you favor? What do you do each day to make your writing tasks just a little easier? Please tag CMI on social media using #CMWorld.

All tools mentioned in this article were suggested by the author. If you’d like to suggest a tool, share the article on social media with a comment.

Register to attend Content Marketing World in San Diego. Use the code BLOG100 to save $100. Can't attend in person this year? Check out the Digital Pass for access to on-demand session recordings from the live event through the end of the year.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:

• 7 Ancient Archetypes That Give Your Content Fresh Relevance
• How To Write Faster With or Without an AI Assist
• How To Get Branded Content Right: Examples, Ideas, and Tips
• How To Catch Audiences With Extraordinary Hooks
• New Study Reveals Clear Writing Tips for B2B Marketers
• 6 Easy Things You Can Do To Improve the Content Experience for Your Audience
• How To Turn Old Content Into a New Work of Art With an AI Assist

Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

• INNOVATION FESTIVAL
• Capital One

08-19-2024 TECH

Write better, faster with these 6 free AI tools

Enhance your messages, save time, and produce high-quality content.

[Source Photo: Getty Images]

BY  Doug Aamoth 2 minute read

If you spend most of your day pecking away at a keyboard, the process of putting together words can become tedious and challenging—even if you’re an otherwise great writer.

Whether you’re crafting emails, blog posts, press releases, or meeting agendas, having a little artificially intelligent help can make a huge difference. Here are six free AI tools that can elevate your writing and save you time.

Regem AI Writer

It’s not the prettiest tool on our list by any means, but Regem AI Writer is a versatile AI content writing tool that’s truly free—no account required.

You can have it generate articles, blogs, emails, social media posts, and more. It’s a great tool for anyone looking to produce high-quality writing on the fly, without the hassle.

Agenda Runner

Another free, no-account-required offering, Agenda Runner is an AI-powered tool designed to streamline the process of creating meeting agendas.

Feed it your meeting details and preferences, and Agenda Runner generates a customized, PDF-downloadable agenda to send around.

Don’t put anything too juicy into the tool, though, since agendas are made public once they’re generated.

Write Release

Write Release is a powerful, simple, and free AI tool that takes the tedium out of crafting press releases. It’s great for small businesses looking to get more coverage without hiring a PR team.

Answer a handful of quick questions about your company and messaging, and Write Release generates a professional press release. It may feel dry and templated—but hey, so do the ones written by highly paid humans.

Twain helps you craft attention-grabbing sales messages by providing real-time suggestions and granular rewrites, ensuring your messages are impactful and engaging.

It can improve your overall communication strategy as well by helping you focus on tone, sequencing (intro, follow-up, reply), and personalization for each message. 

The free version lets you generate up to five messages per day, with unlimited plans starting at $25 per month.

Henshu is an AI-powered editor that takes bland content and spices it up a bit. It focuses on refining your initial drafts into improved versions of their former selves, making it a useful tool for overhauling existing content.

Available with 21 writing styles, eight different tone settings, and in four languages, there’s a little something for everyone here.

The free version offers up five revisions per month, which should be enough for smaller orgs looking for some polish. Paid plans start at $15 per month for 100 revisions.

Not to be confused with responding to someone on AOL Instant Messenger (RIP), AImReply helps you craft clear, professional-sounding email replies.

Paste in the email you receive, tell it how you’d like to reply, and it’ll generate something for you to send back.

It can also analyze the context of the emails you want to send, providing suggestions to improve clarity, tone, and engagement. It’s ideal for busy professionals who need to respond to emails quickly and effectively, without thinking too much about the actual structure of each message.

Apply to the Most Innovative Companies Awards and be recognized as an organization driving the world forward through innovation. Early-rate deadline: Friday, August 23.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Doug Aamoth is a 20-year veteran of the tech industry and has written extensively about trends in Big Tech; innovative, new products; and personal-productivity tips.You can connect with him on Twitter/X and LinkedIn .   More

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