Creative Writing Keys

Welcome to 2022. Since it’s a new year, I figured it’s only fitting to start off the year with the dreaded O word. If you’re a writer, you might have shipped yourself into one of… More

It is commonplace for new writers to be protective of their work. And there’s nothing wrong with that… except that it robs a writer of opportunities to improve their craft and story. Feedback from peers… More

This method of character intro is not so much about the character as it is about the setting. However, by dwelling on the setting, you shade the sketch of the character in the reader’s mind.… More

This method of character introduction brings a character on stage by reporting how other characters perceive him. Therefore, who the character is or eventually becomes to the reader is who other characters in the story… More

This method of character introduction is pretty simple – the character is the narrator of the story. So, your readers can only see the story (or that portion of the story) unfold from the narrating… More

It is safe to say that stories are about actions. Often in telling a story, it might be inevitable to explore the motivations and consequences of your characters’ actions. While this exploration might be essential,… More

It is often the case for storytellers to drop a character into the story without considering the significance of such an introduction. As long as the story moves ahead, they believe the character works.  But… More

Now that you know what story beginnings are, and how to craft one for your story, let’s look into one more likely misunderstanding you could have about beginnings just by the very nature of the… More

I hate to break it to you right after the five long weeks I took to share with you the five W’s (Who, What, When, Where and Why) you can explore to begin writing your… More

As a way to begin a story, “Why” is best applied if the priority of your story idea is about the Reason or Meaning of what happened. In the end, every story explores why sometime,… More

As a way to begin a story, the question of “Where” is best applied if the priority of your story idea is about a place. In the end, every story has a place where something,… More

As a way to begin a story, “When” is best applied if the priority of your story idea is about a particular time in history. In the end, every story has a timeline when what… More

As a way to begin a story, “What” is best applied if the priority of your story idea is about a thing or an idea. In the end, every story is about something which sometime,… More

No stage of the writing process makes a writer doubt their ability like the beginning. The beginning is when, no matter how you start, there always seems to be a better way to do so.… More

Planning is an essential tool for any writer who takes the craft seriously.

Writing is something you have to do and do again. When you carry this consciousness, you will know that it doesn’t really matter what you started with.

Study the basic structure of the art you admire. Then build on it with a generous imagination.

Creative writing as an art has no rules. This means that as a creative, you can write about anything in any of the known and unknown writing art forms. However, every perspective of an idea has a genre known to capture it better than the others.

when you train yourself to reduce creative writing to comfortable environments, you make your creativity a potential that can only be fully alive under such environments.

It all comes down to that old search for certainty and the right mood. But you should know by now not to fancy phantoms. Certainty is a mirage and the right mood is within your power to create. I cannot tell you the exact time you should write, but I can tell you that the years you spent wondering when are the years you did not write.

Readers’ demands are not particularly expressive. It is your duty as a writer to deduce the secret fantasies of your audience. Find out and give them what they want, or what you think they need (even if they don’t know it yet).

WHY DO YOU WANT TO WRITE? Through the holiday period, we’ve been thinking of the best way to set your writing permanently on a more productive trajectory. This year, we wish to start by cutting… More

Giving false information or a sloppy account of a thing or known event is pretty much an insult to your readers. There is a large component of make-belief in writing fiction, but the need for… More

Every story has an aim or reason driving its telling. The purpose of a story informs the perspective from which it is told. Point of view simply asks, from whose eyes shall your readers witness… More

All readers are drawn to stories about things they recognise: Dreams, Ambitions, Fears, Courage, Dilemma, Safety, Rejection, Hatred, Love, etc. Storytelling is a means of giving people a chance to experience all the things they… More

I think the only time you should take Write What You Know seriously is when it’s obvious that your story is lacking in logical and emotional sense.

As an upcoming or professional writer, there will be days where the zeal to write is missing or our motivation levels seem very low. Sometimes, this feeling may span from a day and could even… More

Interested in writing? Got a great idea for a book but aren’t sure how to begin? Here’s some simple advice: don’t complicate things, just do it. It’s in the execution of an idea that you… More

Putting in careful and persistent work or effort is a major key to going a long way in creative writing.  As a writer, you will not always be in a constant state of flowing creative… More

Creative writing, especially when writing a story, should begin with a promise of worthwhileness. Your readers need the assurance that, of all the things they could be doing, they haven’t chosen wrongly by reading your… More

As a writer, it’s important to develop your writing style, plot, and all the surface drama, but the honest truth is this: what really grabs is the story.

Get into the habit of writing daily.

Reading widely not only broadens your vocabulary, it also expands your mind and exposes you to new concepts and ideas you would never have dreamed of. You learn different writers’ expressive styles and, in the… More

There’s a back-story to every scene playing before you. The young woman driving by in the red and black ford, the little spotted dog that runs up to you with his ball every time he… More

The creativity flows from your heart. When your heart is open to new experiences, that joy, excitement and sense of adventure in you seeps onto the pages of your book/story.

There’s nothing more frustrating than writing stuff you’re not interested in. The words will lack passion, and it will come through to your readers.

Conceptualising and expressing ones observations is a skill largely acquired through practice and experience.  Every writer has a voice, a way of expressing their ideas. This voice evolves from their main style of interpreting events. 

The creative mind is one which sees life from a different perspective to that of the average person.  Creative ideas are inspired by the things we see, hear and experience in our everyday lives, and… More