best way to improve creative writing skills?

[The_Cosmic_Quest]

What do you feel is the best way to improve your writing skills? I guess trying to read alot is one way to learn. I also like to view a peice of scenery, whether it be real life scenery or a photograph, and try to describe what I'm looking at on a peice of paper. In other words, you try to illustrate the scenery with words. It's like painting a picture, only using words to do so rather than drawings. This helps you learn how to paint an imagery of a scene, so you become more descriptive in your abstractions of places or events when writing a story. You have to be perceptive and describe anything you can. The way the trees sway in the wind, the leaves rustle, the sand, the breeze, the sun, the clouds, anything you see or feel, just try to illustrate it.

Anyone know any other techniques or things to help you improve?

[Marky Lazer]

I'm going to quote Nike's slogan:

Just do it.

I haven't read a single book that really made my writing a lot better. My only technique is one day start writing, make an awful lot of mistakes which other point out to you, learn from it and re-write.

[terryweide]

There are dozens of ways to improve basic skills, describing scenes or pictures as you suggest is a great way to teach yourself descriptive skills.

For dialog, hang around bus stations, train stations, restaurants, etc., anyplace where there's a lot of people and simply listen to the way they talk. If you develop an ear for what people say to each other, your ability to write dialog will improve as well.

For plot, read books by your favorite authors and study the ways they tell their stories--what techniques do they use to keep you turning the page? How do they make you care about their characters? How do they increase tension or speed up or slow down the action? What is the difference between the beginning, middle, and end of their stories?

Overall, though, I would say to find a good critique group. If there is a writers group in your area, consider joining it. You will find out what works and what doesn't the first time you read your work aloud before other writers. Usually, such groups are extremely helpful in terms of providing feedback for beginning writers.

If there is no writers group in your area, post some of your work in the critique section of this site, or join a good, on-line critique group. There are too many of those to mention, so starting in the critique section here and then finding others as you go along isn't a bad idea.

Hope this helps. Best wishes, Terry Weide

[Prefx]

If you can't figure out how to describe a certain scene, make sure you have a firm picture in your mind, and fill up as much space as you can (notes) with just description. Big tower, green walls... statues of lions on the top. Then start another page of playing around with words, and finally, try to tackle putting the scene in with the rest of your story.

What terry suggested is great advice. I believe anyone can become a great writer, it's just how you approach the task .

[the_faery_queen]

read a lot, write a lot, and get people to critique you, a lot its just practise, i think, with everything. you develop with age as well. some of my earlier stuff is just awful. even the worst of my today's stuff makes my earlier stuff look bad

and yeah, what terry said!

[Teresa Edgerton]

Originally Posted by Prefx

I believe anyone can become a great writer, it's just how you approach the task .

Now this is where I have to disagree. Why should literary greatness be anymore accessible than greatness in any other field? Surely to be truly "great" at anything some quality has to be there that not everyone has -- call it talent, call it aptitude, call it what you will. And even people who have an enormous amount of talent may lack other qualities of dedication and determination.

On the other hand, it's not exactly either/or -- become a great writer or don't bother. Speaking for myself, I'd be perfectly happy if I could ever attain a consistent excellence -- there are days when I'd be thrilled to achieve mere competence. Creativity can be an elusive thing -- one day you have it, and the next day it's gone -- and though I know dozens of ways to stimulate it, I've never learned how to make it sit up and do tricks on command. I would be very much surprised if anyone else can.

Now craftsmanship -- craftsmanship is something that can be learned, that can be achieved through sheer grit and determination. It's the thing that allows a writer to make the most of whatever talent or inspiration they have on hand, any given day. But it does take work. It takes all the things that everyone has mentioned up above, and it requires that you do them over and over and over. And you keep on doing them, always, even after you've been published (if that is what you are aiming for) or reached any other goal that you've set for yourself. Not everybody has the dedication, or even the desire, for that kind of committment, and if they don't, they shouldn't expect to be successful at writing -- any more than they should expect to be successful at anything else without putting in the requisite effort.

All that said, I do believe -- and I've seen plenty of evidence to confirm it -- that a lot of very talented writers give up too soon. I'm afraid it's because someone has given them the idea that talent and desire ought to be enough. When they find out that it isn't, they decide that the whole thing is enormously unfair and give up. I've also known writers with a much more modest talent (I place myself in that category) get further simply by putting in more time and effort. Yes, success as a writer is partly a matter of luck, there is no denying that -- but you don't even get a ticket in that lottery without an enormous amount of work first.

[scalem X]

Have to quote Orson Scott Card again:

Those who can, they do.
Those who can't, they teach.
Those who can't even teach, they become critics

I have to agree with kelpie. If you have the determination, you can exploit your talent. If you haven't got it (I'm still trying to find determination), you can try to teach your talent and maybe someone else with determination might benefit (but don't give up, I've been told determination also improves when one ages). If you believe you've got talent and determination, but refuse to acknowledge that in fact you just lack the determination. Well then you become critical; saying things like: anyone could have written that.

Everyone has a certain amount of talent for certain things, most of the time that talent is enough when combined with determination.

[cornelius]

I try to blot down all the ideas I have, I'll use them later when my skills have grown. I will read more though, and I'll try to read as much English books as I can. Comments on this forum have helped me quite a lot.

thank you all for reading
BTW I've decided to totally dropp the intro. No need for reading that anymore, it's boring and doesn't add anything to the story, since I'll re-use the info stated along the course of the story. Just wanted to fill that in.

I do reffer a lot to my books, not out of vanity (ok, maybe a little bit) but also cause I write the way I see things. I haven't read what you'd call a lot, so what else do I have.

[The_Cosmic_Quest]

I agree with kelpie also. Being a great writer is the same as being a great scientist or baseball player, in the sense that you may work hard and be extremely determined, but if you don't have the natural ability you will never be "great". Do you think that Sir Isaac Newton was the greatest scientist ever simply because he was determined? He had a superior brain. Babe Ruth the greatest baseball player of all time had eyesight so phenomenal that he could read out the number plate on a car that was so far away that the average person couldn't even see the number plate. Ronnie Coleman the greatest bodybuilder ever has genetics that allow him to build muscle easily.The point I make is that the greats in any field (although they are probably just as determined and hard-working as anyone) are freaks who are born with tools that the average Joe simply does not possess.
Read the works of great authors like Joseph Conrad or Edgar Allan Poe and you will understand that everyone simply does not have the mental faculties to aspire to be what they are.
You can never stop improving though.

[8017949444]

when i get sick of writing, i read a book. when i get sick of reading, i get out in the real world and work. when im sick of working...im pretty much ready to start writing again.

that said, i think this cycle helped me out.

[Mark Robson]

I think part of being good at writing is wanting to tell stories. Having a strong desire to tell stories that others will want to read and enjoy is very important. I'm not sure that you can learn to be a great author, though I've set my heart on improving until I reach the best I can be.

There are a lot of aspiring writers here who have innate talent. What will make the best of them stand out from the crowd will be discipline. Discipline to continue writing when they do not feel like it. Discipline to keep re-working a piece until it really is as good as they can get it. Discipline to take the rejections on what they feel to be their best work, and turn their disappointment into a desire to improve even further.

I am very aware that there are some elements of writing that I do well, but equally, there are many areas where I am weak. One of those is scene depiction and depth of detail. My biggest problem is layering on the detail without losing pace - I feel I'm constantly trading one off against the other. As Young Adults prefer to read fast moving stories, I find my description often suffers. People seem to like the pace of my stories as they are, but if I were a 'great' writer, I would be able to combine the two. I'm currently reading a book called 'Word Painting' by Rebecca McClanahan to get ideas on how to strengthen this side of my writing.

A desire to improve. The discipline to keep trying. An instinct for storyline and character. These are the keys to being a good writer. To be great? I don't know, but I'm going to keep searching for an answer.

[Saeltari]

Originally Posted by The_Cosmic_Quest

What do you feel is the best way to improve your writing skills? I guess trying to read alot is one way to learn. I also like to view a peice of scenery, whether it be real life scenery or a photograph, and try to describe what I'm looking at on a peice of paper. In other words, you try to illustrate the scenery with words. It's like painting a picture, only using words to do so rather than drawings. This helps you learn how to paint an imagery of a scene, so you become more descriptive in your abstractions of places or events when writing a story. You have to be perceptive and describe anything you can. The way the trees sway in the wind, the leaves rustle, the sand, the breeze, the sun, the clouds, anything you see or feel, just try to illustrate it.

Anyone know any other techniques or things to help you improve?

Brain exercises. Other than that, write. In description there is a balance between too much and too little. It needs be just enough to turn on the readers mind, but not enough to put it in automatic. Hope that made sense. Practice.

[Alchemy_Girl]

Here's an idea that always works for me....draw your character. Then stare at them until a name forms, along with a personality. Once you have bonded with your picture enough to be able to write their biography, let a story fall around them, like adventures they'd get into, friends they'd make, and soon you'll find yourself ready and rarin' to write ^-^

[scalem X]

Sounds nice if only I could draw. My characters would be really clumsy and unable to survive. Then again I could "draw" them in me mind yaarrr.

[SJAB]

Originally Posted by Mark Robson

There are a lot of aspiring writers here who have innate talent. What will make the best of them stand out from the crowd will be discipline. Discipline to continue writing when they do not feel like it. Discipline to keep re-working a piece until it really is as good as they can get it. Discipline to take the rejections on what they feel to be their best work, and turn their disappointment into a desire to improve even further.


A desire to improve. The discipline to keep trying. An instinct for storyline and character. These are the keys to being a good writer. To be great? I don't know, but I'm going to keep searching for an answer.

Have to agree with this. You get to a point where you have got the construction/grammar aspect pinned down as best you can (though you can, and will keep learning) You have the story in your head ready to go. It is then a matter of hard work to get the story out into the world.