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Creative Writing Online Course

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Becoming a Better Writer - A 10 Step Guide

Creative writing is all about playing around with words on any given subject. It allows you to let your imagination run wild. Those of you thinking of writing your first novel tend to have that one vital ingredient required, an active imagination. It is through the power of that imagination that your first novel will be created.

More often than not when thinking of creative writing, we tend to believe it's only for certain people when really anyone can do it. It's a great release for your passions and thoughts, giving you an ideal opportunity to put down all that musing. Creative writing is about committing to paper whatever you want, in the way you want to do it. The challenge of actually doing this, however, can be overwhelming to most people yet, if that's all there is to it, then why don't more people do it? The challenge doesn't have to be as daunting as it may seem.
The urge to write fiction seems God given for some, a learned skill for others. One thing is certain - it requires practice and a particular mindset but, if you're a beginner, where do you start? Creative Writing Online Course

The following 10 tips will help kick-start your writing habit, whether you're a complete novice, or perhaps a pro who has lost their way!

1. Step Away From the Car, Sir.

Slightly detach yourself from your surroundings. Stop participating and begin observing. In social situations, watch people, see how they act and - more importantly - interact.
Don't pass judgment. Take it all in - and draw on it later when you write.

2. Look Harder, Homer

Stop and look around you. Consciously notice the buildings, what's underfoot, overhead, and what's right in front of you. At home, look at something you take for granted. An iron, for instance. Find yours and study it.

3. Write Thinking Will Be Rewarded.

A simple technique. Your mother is making tea and you are chatting to her. Take a mental step back and describe the scene. Similarly, when you're outside, describe your environment as though you were writing it down.

4. What Reasons Do You Need? Don't wait for inspiration - just write!

Force yourself to write anything at all. A shopping list. An overheard conversation. Describe your bedroom. It doesn't matter how personal it is, or how trivial, just get it down! Creative Writing Online Course

Contents at a Glance

Creative Writing Online Course
The Secret Ingredient to Your Writing
Creative Writing Programs
Writing - QED
Experienced Author Rob Parnells Guarante...
Genuine Testimonial

Creative Writing How To

5. Wakey Wakey!

Set your alarm clock for an hour earlier than normal. When the alarm goes off, get up. Don't dress, bathe or eat. Don't even make coffee. Just stagger to your writing space and write the first thing that comes into your head for five minutes.

6. Oh God - Not That!

Think of the most awful and embarrassing thing you've ever done - the more cringe-worthy the better. Now write about it. All of it, in all its gory, horrible detail. Then hide it away for a year or so before you read it again!

7. Like Your Style, Baby.

Don't limit yourself. Write poems, songs, dialogue, fact, fiction, even practice writing advertising copy or horoscopes. Your expertise improves in all areas - an improvement in one area can reap benefits in another.

8. The Sincerest Flattery

Take out a classic book from your bookcase. Copy out a paragraph. Think about the words as you write them. Don't get intimidated!

9. Wanna See My Invention?

When you're not writing, string together stories in your mind. Think of plots, characters, settings, dénouements. Ask yourself what you should do next to improve your writing. Develop this technique into a habit.

10. It's A Goal!

When you start writing regularly, set yourself small goals. Anything from 200 words a day, or just a commitment to writing in your diary.
Later extend to finishing a short story, or an article or a poem. Perhaps one in a week. The trick is to set goals you can achieve easily. That way you'll get the writing habit - and you won't forget to enjoy it! Best regards and keep writing! Creative Writing Online Course

The Secret Ingredient to Your Writing

Okay, so what do you need to succeed in your writing career?

To keep it simple, I would say just five things - the first four are obvious enough but the last one may shock (and comfort) you.

Let's go through them in order:

Technical ability

This doesn't mean you have to be Saul Bellow or Toni Morrison before you start but it does mean that there is a certain level of competence expected of you before you begin showing your work to the outside world. But don't beat yourself up about it. It's an ongoing process; writers learn all the time. It's an attitude thing. As long as you're open to the idea that you will need to improve your understanding of the mechanics of writing, then you'll be well placed to absorb new ideas, the teachings of others and learn through reading and study.

Persistence

The past tells us that writers rarely have an easy path to immortality. We all must suffer rejection a thousand times it seems before we are ready for the public to recognize our efforts. You may despair sometimes at the unfairness. You may be frustrated at every turn by a seemingly uncaring world but - remember this - all writers have been down this well traveled road and the best and most persistent arrive at their destination better equipped to endure - simply because it wasn't too easy.

Make 'never give up' your personal motto and you will succeed - it's the way of the Universe.

A Little Bit of Talent

Anyone familiar with the content of my ebooks and courses will know my attitudes on talent. Simply put, it's not some nebulous item that you can pluck out of the air and consume. Neither is it some innate ability that only the chosen few can possess.

Rather it is the courage to 'tell it like it is' and the willingness to hold nothing of yourself back from your writing. You will find that the more open and honest you are (however much it hurts) the more people will describe you as talented and original. This is because it's your vision of the world that makes you unique - and unique is rare and therefore special.

Make it your goal to always tell the truth in your writing - let that be your talent.

A Little Bit of Luck

On the radio the other day I listened to a Vocational Expert talking about careers. He'd studied 1000 people and was surprised at how many lives had been defined by seemingly chance events. He talked about all the things we're familiar with: the opportune meeting, that phone call, the time we were just following a whim, the totally unexpected break.

His message was clear. All too few of us take luck into account when we plan our careers. The fact is, I believe, to a certain extent we make our own luck. We may plan, we may write, we may persist but we must also learn to let go and follow our intuition. Luck - being in the right place at the right time - has a way of happening whether we plan for it or not. I think the trick is to believe that luck will help you - and, for reasons great and mysterious, it will! Creative Writing Online Course

Creative Writing Programs

So What's the Secret Ingredient?

Now, don't groan, or mock, or do that skyward look on me as I tell you the secret ingredient is love.

Let me explain.

You cannot succeed in a vacuum. Success is relative and - in our world - requires the assistance and support of those around us to happen.

Love is the crucial factor that facilitates our success

First, you must love your writing. Only then will you give it the attention it deserves and make it the best that it can be. You must love writing, and the writings of others, for showing you the way and for providing the medium of communication that means so much to you.

You must love those around you for the support they can give you. If you show those around you hate or anger or bitterness, they will not want you to succeed and will unconsciously sabotage your success. Not good. You must love the people you deal with in your professional life - the agents, the publishers and fellow writers. Treat them with suspicion and resentment and they will not want to work with you and help you. Love and trust your peers and your contacts and you'll be surprised how much more they are willing to help you.

But most of all, you must love yourself - the greatest love of all, as they say. Treat yourself kindly, nurture your talent and support your writing habits. Start here and now, loving what you do and who you are and practice loving everyone and everything around you...you'll be amazed at the difference it makes. Use love as your secret weapon...and success may be just a whisper away. Creative Writing Online Course

Writing - QED

Good fiction is about forward thrust.

It's your job to propel the reader through your story without having them feel they are wading through your writing. In fact, your ultimate aim is somehow make the reader feel they're not actually reading at all.

It's what I call transparency - the idea that there is nothing between your reader's mind and your story - nothing as ugly as the text getting in the way!

Q.E.D. is a little acronym you might want to use to help you remember what you need to create compelling fiction on every page of your stories. Q.E.D. stands for:

Question

Empathy

Drama

Questions encourage people to look for answers. When readers read fiction they are asking themselves a series of questions about your characters and about your story. Only when you satisfy your reader by feeding questions and later-on providing answers will the reader feel entertained.

At the beginning of a new sheet of paper, ask yourself, What question am I going to place in the reader's mind on this page? You must have one - it's what makes the reader keep reading. Without constantly stoking curiosity, a reader will simply get bored and not read on.

Empathy is crucial too. We looked at this. Not only is it important that you create empathy for your characters early on, you will also need to keep reinforcing it as you go.

Hopefully the actions that your characters make will take care of some of this. But you should be aware that if you feel your characters slipping away from you, it's probably because you're not keeping them human enough to be compelling.

A reader's total empathy with a character can be powerful. It is the hallmark of all good fiction writers. To create a hero that is credible and popular is the goal of most leading authors. Because once you've done that, you can take your readers almost anywhere with them.

When it's done well, the reader is totally in your thrall and will trust you to take him further, on the adventure that is your novel, or series of novels.

Use it consciously. Readers rarely spot that you're doing it deliberately. They only know what they like and that is, for the time they are reading, they like being your lead character.

Lastly, D is for Drama again. It's important that you create drama, conflict and tension at least once on every page. It's the way of modern fiction.

People want to be entertained. But they've seen it all before. On TV and at the movies. Try to think of new ways of being dramatic.

Don't get bogged down with description. You don't need long explanations or descriptions of things they are familiar with. It's just not necessary. Readers want to be thrown into the thick of things immediately. There are a hundred ways to do that but most of them involve action, conflict and drama. If you find yourself wandering from the point and nothing in particular is happening, cut back to where the last piece of conflict was, delete all the verbiage and static writing and move off again - this time at high speed!

Imagine you're a soap opera writer where every scene counts, and every exchange is emotionally charged. Try not to sink into melodrama - but be aware that you're writing primarily to entertain. At the beginning and ending of every new page ask yourself:

Q.E.D? Have I fulfilled the three requirements of compelling fiction?

If the answer is yes then you're probably on the way to becoming the next bestseller writer! Creative Writing Online Course

Experienced Author Rob Parnells Guarantee To Success

So, if you are ready to start your Creative Writing Online Course, or want more information then CLICK HERE and claim your FREE WRITING TIPS

Creative Writing Online Course

Genuine Testimonial

Rob Parnell's book "The Easy Way To Write A Novel" breaks new ground in the writers help category. This system prepares your mind and body to write that elusive novel - and all in 30 days. Here is a method that has clear and direct advice that lifts the reader to the level they wish to write at. I am impressed with this system and have no problems recommending it to the first time or well experienced authors...Good on you Mr Parnell, for producing a program just about every writer will need.....International Literary Agent, Robert N Stephenson, Altair