Being a creative writer surely needs a lot more than what most people may think.
Coming up with new intriguing ideas that hook the readers and make them want to come back for more requires more than just 
reading other creative people’s novels and writings.
There are many other aspects that make you an outstanding creative writer.
And here, we will be taking a look at some of the most useful and rewarding tips that will improve your creative writing skills and make you a much better writer.
Table of Contents
Top Tips on How to be a Really Creative Writer
The following tips will help you get your creative juices flowing so keep reading;
1. Plan before you write
Having a content writing plan before you get into the actual writing activity is always a good idea and this is where a journal or notebook comes in handy.
You have to ensure that you have a rough draft of what you are going to write about and also plan how you are going to put out those ideas in the final draft.
In your plan is where you decide essential aspects of your piece like the plot (the story itself), the characters as well as the setting (where events will take place).
This part is important because you will not forget any important ideas that you plan on using in the final piece, and it will also ensure that you have everything you need to write.
2. Find something that inspires you to write
You need to find your personal source of inspiration as a creative writer.
We all draw inspiration from various things but the most common ones are from music, books, and meditation.
Seeking inspiration is important because, it heightens your imagination, helps you feel more motivated to write, as well as help you connect much better with your work.
So, find that which drives your imagination wild and use that in your creative piece.
3. Just get started writing already
Yes, you want to become a good creative writer but have you started yet?
The first step towards succeeding in anything is by starting. By taking the first step.
From there, it is all about being consistent.
Making the first move is usually a problem for many but if you keep debating about the pros and cons of writing and trying to understand writing from a mental point of view, you will never get started.
Stop procrastinating on those ideas and bring them into action through writing immediately.
4. Have a writing routine
You also need to have a writing routine in place if you are to make it in this area of life. Creating a routine helps you form a habit, and habits are everything.
As you create it, make sure that your routine is strict enough so that on any particular day, even if you are bored and lazy, you still get to make time to write something tangible.
With time, this will get you into the habit of writing daily, which is very essential for a good creative writer.
5. Avoid any distractions as you write
This helps you stay focused and ensures that you are mentally present as you write. Just stay away from the TV and video games or any other forms of distractions as you write because they harm your creativity.
6. Read as many creative pieces as you can
Taking influence from other talented creatives can help uplift your level of creativity too.
Reading their work will help you have places that you can draw creativity from as well as get a feel of how you should write in the future.
A great way to do this is to read famous works of great writers since they are many and that will help you grow your writing skills with time.
But remember, don’t copy them just learn and build your own skills and uniqueness from their work.
Also, do not limit yourself to reading one genre only. No, look at a number of them and keep learning.
7. Choose a writing style
Are you going to write romance novels or horror or comedy? Decide on what you want to write about and focus on that because you must have one that is unique to you.
For example, what comes to your mind when you hear R. L. Stine? Horror, right? Once you’ve chosen your writing style, strive to become the best at it by researching a lot on the area and reading works that touch on the same, and doing loads of practice.
8. Understand who your target audience is
This will help you structure your work based on the needs of those who will read your work. For example, if you target kids with a certain piece you cannot write them adult content, you have to ensure that you write child-friendly content and make it as interesting as possible in a way that children find interesting.
9. Capture the attention of your readers from the word go
Always ensure that you use powerful opening lines to hook readers to your work and keep them interested in the rest of the piece.
For example, you could start with, ‘Mark did not realize that he was slowly falling for her’ such an opening line will have your audience asking themselves questions at the back of their minds and this will cause them to keep reading and want to find more about Mark and the lady in question.
10. Give life to your characters
You should treat your characters very carefully and ensure you develop them in a way that they seem real to your readers.
You want to make sure that they have unique characteristics and are believable by making them have a purpose, motivation, and conflicts to resolve.
Create a scenario where the readers can imagine what the characters look like and what they are doing.
As you initiate dialogue between characters, make sure that you use quotation marks well so that it’s clear when one dialogue starts and when another stops.
Also, use separate paragraphs to indicate when each character speaks to avoid confusing your readers.
11. Write top-notch scenes
The importance of great scenes is helping readers come up with a visual in their minds about what is happening in the story. It is therefore important to create powerful scenes to enhance their reading and this can be done in different ways. For example, you can make an effort of describing the scene and appearance of characters vividly to the readers.
12. Entertain your readers
This is very crucial as it gets your readers interested in your work and doesn’t feel like it is a burden to read it. You don’t want to bore your readers from the start, and a great tip on this is using a vivid description, as previously mentioned.
Make sure that your readers can feel, laugh, smell, cry, fear through reading your work. You can also use personification, metaphors, and other stylistic devices just to help make your work interesting.
You can also create suspense a great tip is to reveal important details of your story, little by little, to build suspense well.
Another tip is using humor where necessary because it helps break the monotony when reading and lightens up the mood of the readers.
Try as much as possible to come up with new, unique, and imaginative ideas to captivate your readers. There are so many common topics that writers address, but be different. This is the sure way of coming up with mind-blowing ideas.
13. Take small breaks as you write
This will help you relax your mind a lot and help you avoid forgetting ideas.
Through relaxing, you are also able to come up with new ideas that you can incorporate into your work. This is essential because you get a fresh view of your work.
If you catch yourself forcing a story, using filler words, or simply drifting off, that’s a good sign that you should now take a break from writing.
However, don’t prolong your breaks. Keep them short.
Breaks could also mean that it’s time for you to look for new ways to continue writing.
For example, you could be seated outside resting, and as you are there, something sparks your imagination that you could incorporate that in your work.
In such a case, you should go write the new idea down and then think of how you can apply it to your work.
14. Use great vocabulary
Avoid using language that is too simple and instead use words that people don’t get to hear daily, though easily understandable. A great tip on this, since you cannot possibly remember all of them at once, is to use an online thesaurus that will guide you on which kind of vocabulary to use where.
Always be interesting with your use of words but also be careful not to bombard your readers with too much vocabulary as it may become pretty hectic to read your work and have that smooth flow.
15. Throw in a few fascinating facts
Having that ability to not only entertain but also educate your readers is a good thing because they will enjoy your work for the exciting information they learn.
16. Give your audience a good ending
Help your readers solve the conflict in the story as much as possible and don’t let them still have questions after finishing your piece about a few things that didn’t add up in the story you were talking about.
In other words, tie all the loose ends in your work but in an interesting way.
As much as it’s good to have an unpredictable ending, sometimes it’s more of surprising them with the turn of events as opposed to leaving them hanging.
A good ending has to be at per with what you wrote previously and not something just out of the blues.
17. Join a writers club
This will help you learn from others who write as well as brainstorm ideas. The best way to learn something is from somebody else that has already done what you are trying to do, and so you need to consider this.
And writing clubs can really enhance your creative skills in a way you never thought possible.
18. Keep practicing!
Remember that practice makes perfect.
Writing a good creative piece doesn’t come easy and you have to take time to practice it as much as possible.
With practice, you get more familiar with the skills of writing and so you must take time out of your schedule and dedicate it towards making your craft better.
Also, keep in mind that there is a process to perfection, so be patient with yourself because you won’t be able to have all of your works become masterpieces overnight.
19. Avoid unintentional repetition
This can crop up in your work in different ways. For example, you can make the natural mistake of using the same word or sentence repeatedly in your work or starting paragraphs in the same way. Any way that you approach it, unless you intend to intentionally use repetition, maybe to lay emphasis or for any other reason, do not use it.
20. Always edit your work
You should not under any circumstances put your creative work out there when it has lots of typos and grammatical errors. This will cause your audience not to take you seriously and also get confused as they read your work.
Look for errors in the line of spellings, grammar, the structure, voice in your work, tone, as well as the structure of your sentences.
Be thorough with any errors as you revise your work, and at some point, you may need to delete some sections as well as rewrite others all for the sake of enhancing good content and making your work as clear as possible.
It advisable set aside time specifically for editing and revising your work because this helps you adopt a fresh eye that will help you note obvious mistakes you might have missed in your work.
Also, avoid immediately editing your work after writing because at this time your mind is exhausted and so you could miss out on a lot of mistakes. Take a short break and then come edit your work and do the final touches.
Before you put out your work to your audience, you could also try getting opinions from a trusted friend by giving them your work to read. They will help you see whether there are still things that need to be adjusted and how to do that exactly so that your work is perfect.
Reading aloud could also help you catch wind of any mistakes.
21. Get your work out there!
This is an option you should greatly consider if you want to make a career out of your writing. You can try to send your work to magazines or journals just to ensure that people get to see your content.
Make a point of submitting as widely as you can because in so doing, you get your work noticed. Keep in mind, however, that you could get rejected.
And when this happens, don’t get discouraged. Just keep submitting no matter what anyone says.
22. Take a creative writing course
Getting schooled by a qualified teacher in creative writing can also go a long way for you. You will be able to understand certain concepts of writing better and discover other crucial factors you can add to your work to become a skilled writer.
This is also a way to ensure that you are not just learning by yourself but that you have professional help. So, if you’re seeking to be good at creative writing, this is an option you want to consider.
And that’s pretty much it.
Those are the tips of creative writing that you need to make use of and keep in your writing toolbox as you do any form of creative writing.
This will ensure your growth towards becoming a top-notch creative writer.
I wish you all the best as you do that and if you have any questions about the topic, feel free to ask in the comments below and I will be more than happy to give you a hand.
Here’s to you becoming a highly creative writer! 🙂
