In this creative writing blog article, I will share tips on reigniting your creative writing and finding inspiration. Whether you are a seasoned writer or a novice, you will definitely be able to use some of the ideas I share below to give your writing more depth.
A great way to improve your creative writing is to read lots of different styles of writing with more intent. Observe the craft of how things are described, how emotion is conveyed and how prominent parts of the story has been described. Read the dictionary and learn new words. This is my favourite book, yes, I’m a bit of a word nerd. Use a thesaurus to find alternative or more interesting words to use. Spend time with other writers, join a writing group. All these things will help you grow. I have been a writer for 20 odd years, and I am still learning new techniques – that never ends!
My advice; wake up your creativity by doing some quick writing exercises. Go outside your comfort zone or write something that is completely nonsense. Have fun and don’t take all your attempts too seriously. Don’t try to write that story or lyrics you have had bouncing around your head; first, exercise your creative muscle.
I like to do what I call a cup of tea exercises, penning something quick and maybe even silly while sitting with a cup of tea. Sometimes the thought of writing something gives you the impression that you must have a free half a day, the house should be tidy, and the washing all finished- not true. I mean it’s great if you are on top of all the chores but try to start doing little 5-10 min exercises as often as possible. It’s a great idea to do one with your morning warm beverage. Waking up your creativity in the morning is fantastic as you will use your imagination more throughout the day. I know some people like to write at night but don’t do any exercises during the day. Bad idea. More often than not you will just stare at the page as blank as it stares back. An athlete would not run a marathon without warming up!
My advice on quick writing exercises are;
Keep it simple- Don’t over complicate things.
Schedule time- Wake up 10 minutes earlier and start the day creatively.
Accept everything you write- Keep writing, don’t start analysing or comparing to others.
Forget spelling and punctuation- Worry about this later if it is a piece you want to elaborate on.
Clean it up- You may have scribbled stuff out or made amendments, write out your final piece.
When choosing to sit and write that thing you have been thinking about for a while, a good idea is to just put thoughts and points you want to highlight down on paper, some people like to do bullet points. As a lyricist I like to rhyme so I will put words that are linked to the topic down and words that rhyme with them before I start to write. Sometimes you can see where the piece can go from just the ideas, others will take some more construction but either way, think about the message you want to get across and how you want the piece to be received. Is it funny? Was it supposed to be funny? Is it serious? Think about the impact on the audience.
Don’t worry about handwriting either. I can write very neatly, but I don’t! When I’m writing creatively, I need to get things out as quick as possible and everything looks really messy, but my ideas are down!
What if you have no clue what to write?
Trying to get inspiration can be difficult. The easiest thing to find inspirations in is something you are passionate about. A hobby, an animal, climate change, the list is endless. Obviously, there is the pandemic which has taken over our lives and most people have an opinion on some part of it, write about that as it will also help you channel your feelings and aid your well- being.
The pandemic however has allowed me extra time to create as I have not been performing (or making money ☹) so I won’t complain about all aspects, but that’s just me. We will all have different stories about lockdown life and different ups and downs. If you have had enough of all things pandemic – I understand! What has made you happy in the past week? What has made you angry or frustrated lately, can you write about that? If you have no inspiration what -so- ever with all the things going on at the moment, maybe you could write about a fantasy. Write about a world you would like to live in. What is it like? What if you were on that dream holiday you plan to go on someday? Transport yourself to a different place for a while. What can you see? What do you smell? How does the sun feel as it kisses your skin?
We all must get out to exercise so take this time to be observant and look for inspiration.