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Effective writing advice for aspiring writers

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How to come up with great creative headlines

This is a guest article by Peter Lee. If you want to submit a guest article of your own be sure to read the guest article guidelines.

The simple truth is, your content may very well be the next best since sliced bread, but if you don’t have a strong headline that will get the readers to click on it and read the rest, you don’t really have anything. Yes, you have the finished article into which you have put your heart and soul, but if the end result is almost exactly the same as not having written anything at all, what’s the difference?

Why Are Headlines Such a Big Deal?

Now, this number varies from place to place, but on average, about 80% of the people will only read the headline, while the rest will take their time and read the actual content behind it. That is why a headline to your article is like a window to your shop. You don’t just want people to take a look at it and keep on walking. You want them to stop, peer through the glass to see what’s inside, and ultimately, come inside the store.

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How to become an outstanding writer

This is a guest article by Nancy Lin. If you want to submit a guest article of your own be sure to read the guest article guidelines.

An outstanding writer strives to become a perfectionist and never settles for second best. For top writers, every paragraph, whether it’s part of a novel, a short story, a shorter literary piece or even a poem, must be perfect.

It’s not just the best use of grammar and vocabulary that a writer needs to pursue but it’s how the text unites to create a unique flow of words that captivates the reader.  Once the writer has achieved an individual style it will become easily recognisable by the writer’s followers.

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Demolish your writer’s block

This is a guest article by Edwin Henry. If you want to submit a guest article of your own be sure to read the guest article guidelines.

A lot of people want a magic bullet to either motivate them to start writing for the first time, or a method to get around a mental block. Writers’ Treasure has talked about this before, with Idrees relating his solutions for shaking off stagnation and mixing things up.

There is a romantic idea that inspiration is something that strikes you, and after that light goes off, you’ll dive into your magnum opus and come out the other side with a complete work. The reality is, writing takes work, and if you’re blocked, it feels like that work is impossible to follow through with.

That paralysis can really jam up your creative track and make you struggle to get even a couple of words out onto a page. Especially if you have an inkling of what you want to talk about, but feel kind of stuck on how to achieve it.

Here are the things that have and continue to help me. Some of them are based on when I first started writing, when blocks are powerful things because self-doubt is hard to counter because you may be lacking evidence to dissolve it.

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How to pick out a character for your novel

This is a guest article by James Thompson. If you want to submit a guest article of your own be sure to read the guest article guidelines.

Believe it or not, but the profession of your novel characters play a major role in making your novel a big hit. Using clichéd professions such as doctor, lawyer, detective, or an actor won’t suffice — unless it’s the only relevant choice. The profession of the characters, especially the main character, is what sets the scene for your book. Readers prefer reading something “fresh”.

How often do you read about a wizarding profession? (I’m sure we all clearly remember the famous books with those characters). All right, these aren’t all technically “professions”, but they set the scene and add more flavor to the character. They make a character more memorable.

A character’s profession affects the entire novel. It pinpoints to a personality type.

For example, what kind of a personality would you expect a detective to have? Clever, unsocial, and offensive at times? How about a rich guy? Bold, clever, and slightly arrogant? The profession also affects the plot. Since the profession forms the personality and “role” of a character, it’s bound to alter the plot and the way the character acts and reacts in it.

I have stressed enough about the importance of the characters’ profession. Now, let’s move on to how to pick out a suitable career for them. Relax, they are only characters! They won’t complain about freedom of choice.

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How to write tight sentences

This is a guest article by Drusilla Richards. If you want to submit a guest article of your own be sure to read the guest article guidelines.

Many bloggers and writers today have trouble writing tight sentences. So, what really is a tight sentence? It’s a sentence(s) that is clear, concise, and written in a manner that makes every word count.

So, if I’m going on and on giving “background information” such as where, what, why, who, and you know all that stuff, before I get to the point, then clearly — my sentences are not “tight”… similar to this sentence. Yikes!

Loose sentences cause a number of problems for the readers.

First of all, readers fail to understand the real topic of discussion for a long period of time. The author takes so long to get to the point, that meaning is lost within the details. A reader might have to re-read the piece just to look for the main point.

Secondly, loose sentences make a writing piece boring. Readers are yawning, stretching, and daydreaming before they get to the main idea.

Here are a few tips on what you should be doing to avoid “loose sentences” and make your sentences look as fit and “tight” as they can be.

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Creative writing in 2015: here’s what you need to know

There are few things constant in the world, and creative writing is not one of them.

Sure, it may not look like it on the surface. After all, creative writing is one of those things which stays evergreen, supposedly. Books on creative writing written decades ago still have relevance in the present. Creative writing advice from years ago is still useful today.

It’s the reason why I wrote Creative Writing 101 in 2010, and it’s the reason why that resource remains the most popular on Writers’ Treasure, as well as still being evergreen content. Outdated? Of course not.

But it’s been five years since Creative Writing 101, and as specified, it was a beginner’s guide. What about an upgrade? What about the next level? …..

So here you have it. Announcing Creative Writing 201 – a new series of articles, a new creative writing resource aimed to upgrade your creative writing skills to the next level. The aim is to upgrade a creative writer to become an intermediate and then an expert.

Intended as a proper successor to Creative Writing 101, this series of articles will be even more in-depth, more readable (like always).

We’ll start from a macro look at creative writing as it stands today, move on to the macro issues, macro tips and techniques, and macro examples of effective creative writing.

See the keyword? Macro? What does it mean? And our topic today: creative writing in 2015. Isn’t this topic contradictory to what I said a few paragraphs ago? The answers to these questions – and many more – are found in the full explanation below!

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