Creative Writer's Manual

  1. Storytelling - Narrator

    Now that we have looked at some ways of generating ideas for stories, it's time to look closely at how we tell our stories. One of the earliest decisions that a writer will need to make is to choose a narrative style. First of all, it is important to know the difference between the author and the narrator. Obviously the author is the person writing the story. But the author is not necessarily the person telling the story. Quite often the story is being told by one of its characters....
  2. Generating Ideas - Imagination

    What exactly is imagination? Perhaps there is no strict definition. But here is a true story to help us understand its value to creative writers: A good friend of mine once described how he’d been writing about a storm, but had struggled to think of an adequate description for the thunder. All of the usual descriptions seemed a bit boring and stale. A sudden clap of thunder or an angry roll of thunder just didn’t excite him. He needed something fresh and original – something highly...
  3. Generating Ideas - Experience

    No matter who you are or where you come from, you have already had a wealth of life experiences that can provide ideas for some great original stories. (Remember here that we are talking about ideas for fictional stories. Autobiographical, or reflective writing will be covered later.) Perhaps you have had some exciting stories happen to you in your life. They can always be a good source for ideas. But you don’t need to have been abducted by aliens to have some interesting experiences to...
  4. Generating Ideas - Introduction

    One of the most common questions writers get asked is Where do you get your ideas from? Well the answer is there is no simple answer. Writers get their ideas from a wide variety of sources. As we have already seen, there are some common strategies used to generate good ideas. It is important first of all to distinguish between an idea and a story. An idea is an interesting concept that has the potential to be turned into a good story. A story is the final product that is created when the...
  5. Creative Thinking for Writers - Lateral Thinking

    Lateral Thinking is a term first coined by psychologist Edward de Bono in 1967. It involves thinking 'sideways' (laterally) rather than straight ahead. When we are mentally solving a problem, we are trying to get from one point to another in our minds and we normally try to take the most direct route. But sometimes it may be more productive to take a few sideways steps and approach the problem from a different angle. Possibly an angle that we hadn't considered earlier. Let's look at an...
  6. Creative Thinking for Writers - Brainstorming

    Writers use variations of brainstorming techniques all the time. Brainstorming can be particularly useful when a new, fresh idea is needed. Its main goal is to produce a long list of ideas from which one or more can later be chosen. Have you ever bought breakfast cereal in a supermarket? These days there are literally hundreds of products to choose from. Some will grab your attention straight away, and others may look quite unappealing. But at least you have a lot to choose from....
  7. Creative Thinking for Writers - Introduction

    In order to be a good writer you need to be a good creative thinker. Creative thinking can be one of the most important skills in life. If you’ve shown natural ability at creative arts (such as writing) then you are probably already a highly creative thinker and you should be very proud of your natural abilities. We're going to look at some basic creative thinking concepts. We're not going to get too technical about how the creative side of the brain works, because you could write a...
  8. Golden Rules for Writers

    If you want to develop your writing to its fullest potential it is imperative that you remember the following: - Writers write! Sounds simple but it’s important. To develop as an accomplished writer you need to write regularly. - There is no such excuse as “I don’t have enough time to write.” Of course you do, even if it’s just for two hours on the weekend. Be selfish with your time sometimes if necessary. - Regularly enter your work in competitions and always be assertive in...
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