James Stewart, a Pulitzer Prize winner said in Follow the Story (Simon & Schuster; 1998) that pleasure in writing comes in experimenting, moving things around, rewriting for a particular effect and fine-tuning one’s work. It’s creative because there’s no cut and dry method or a formula to go by.
Having good creative writing skills are powerful tools to have because it can move the emotions, inspire, entertain, persuade and influence. Find it in all forms including poetry, film, TV, fiction, nonfiction, rap, spoken word, song lyrics, professional writing and copywriting.
Types of Creative Writing Skills
Any good writing requires creativity and imagination. The following are the different types of skills to keep in mind and hone:
Sentence construction. Practice constructing sentences without using “to be” verbs such as “was” and “is.” Use descriptive adjectives and strong action verbs to keep the sentence vibrant and engaging. Avoid passive voice and use the active voice. For example: “Amy is baking brownies in the kitchen” sounds better than, “The kitchen is being used by Amy to bake brownies.”
Word choice. Use powerful words and a combination of unexpected words that produce strong emotions. Does it sting? Bite? Make a person cringe or laugh? Study more words and idioms. Get hold of a good thesaurus.
Metaphors. Use puns and figurative language. Reconstruct clichés to make it un-cliché. Lupe Fiaso is a great example of a person who uses clever play on words in his song lyrics, e.g., “I’m just trying to the opposite of left, as long as there’s the opposite of death” (Game Time).
Rhythm. Create sentences that flow well together. Does the sentence rhyme? Is there alliteration? (Alliteration is repetition of two or more words used in a sentence such as in “sweet smelling sea.”) Is there a beat when reciting the sentence?
How to Develop Creative Writing Skills in Daily Life
Make it a habit to read a lot, relating to whatever industry it is. If it’s film, keep reading scripts and watching movies. If it’s music, read favorite song lyrics and listen to the beat and rhythm.
Keep creating and writing in a daily journal. Think out of the box. (The box could be triangular.) Write down a stream of consciousness without holding back or filtering. Try to emulate a favorite piece of work.
Brush up on grammar, which is a very important skill to have in any industry. Grammar Girl is a great resource that answers confusing grammar questions in a fun and simple way. Her “quick and dirty tips” feature subjects like lie versus lay, who versus whom, singular versus plural, and much more.
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