- Outlining
by Xyvah
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…
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- Get feedback!
by Xyvah
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…
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- Character Entrance 5: Setting
by Chiedozie Omeje
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.…
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- Character Entrance 4: Report
by Chiedozie Omeje
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…
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- Character Entrance 3: Addressing The Reader
by Chiedozie Omeje
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…
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- Character Entrance 2: Action
by Chiedozie Omeje
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,…
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- Character Entrance
by Chiedozie Omeje
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…
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- The “Beginning” Lie (Part II)
by Chiedozie Omeje
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…
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- The “Beginning” Lie (Part I)
by Chiedozie Omeje
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…
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- Beginning With “Why?”
by Chiedozie Omeje
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,…
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- Beginning With “Where?”
by Chiedozie Omeje
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,…
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- Beginning With “When?”
by Chiedozie Omeje
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…
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- Beginning With “What?”
by Chiedozie Omeje
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,…
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- The Writing Process: Ways To Begin
by Chiedozie Omeje
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.…
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- Plan And Plan Again
by Chiedozie Omeje
Planning is an essential tool for any writer who takes the craft seriously.
- Get The Ink Bleeding
by Chiedozie Omeje
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 Craft
by Chiedozie Omeje
Study the basic structure of the art you admire. Then build on it with a generous imagination.
- On Beginning…
by Chiedozie Omeje
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.
- Where Should You Write?
by Chiedozie Omeje
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.
- When Should You Write?
by Chiedozie Omeje
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.
- Books are for people
by Chiedozie Omeje
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).
- Knowing your “Why”.
by Chiedozie Omeje
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…
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- Research
by Chartus.X
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…
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- The viewpoint character
by Chartus.X
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…
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- On Modelling…
by Chartus.X
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…
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- Stretch your creativity
by Chartus.X
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.
- Taking A Break
by The.Derah
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…
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- Just Do It
by Chartus.X
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…
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- Diligence
by Chartus.X
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…
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- Begin With A Promise
by Chiedozie Omeje
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…
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- It’s All About The Story
by Chartus.X
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.
- Write Daily
by Chartus.X
Get into the habit of writing daily.
- Read Widely
by Chartus.X
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…
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- See the story behind the scenes
by Chartus.X
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…
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- Live well, then write well
by Chartus.X
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.
- Write what you would like to read
by Chartus.X
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.
- Interpretation
by Xyvah
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.
- Perspective
by Xyvah
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…
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