The Art of Creative Writing – Quick Tips By Fahmida Mehreen

As humans with fully functioning brains and myriad thoughts, we have plenty of ideas which remain unshared because we are scared or hesitant to articulate it through speech or writing. But, penning down thoughts in the form of creative writing requires no magic! It is a simple task which only requires organized contemplations and proper presentation.
Everyone has their own style of speaking and writing, and it is not fair to categorize any one style as ideal or perfect. However, to make your job of creative writing easy, here are some quick tips that will give you a headstart.

Understand your subject
Thoroughly knowing what you are aiming to write, is the first condition of any kind of writing. If you do not have a clear idea about the topic, the subject matter, and the fundamentals, it will be difficult to squeeze down your broad horizon of thoughts into a piece of writing. So, do some background study on the topic and define your specifics i.e. to what extent your writing will cover.

Know your readers
It is very crucial to know who your primary readers are before you start to write your piece. Depending on the readers, your content, use of words and expressions, style of writing, and so much more will vary. For instance, if your target readers are teenager you have to be very vigilant about what and how you write because this a very vulnerable age group who gets easily influenced. So, your writing has to be well chalked out and prearranged to give a clear message which cannot be negatively interpreted. On the other hand, if you are writing for adults, you may focus on more serious subjects and even raise controversial issues which will act as food for thoughts for adult minds. Thus, before selecting on the style of writing, cherry-pick and understand your readers closely.

Decide on the style of writing
As a writer, you may choose to write fiction or non-fiction. For fictional writing, you may base it on real life aspects or imaginary state of being. For non-fictional writing, factual writing with lots of information and data works best. At the same time, if the writing is fictional, try to choose a genre i.e. thriller, comedy, romantic comedy, tragedy, action, or something else.
That way, you will find it easier to incept your considerations more evidently into your writing.
For factual writing, always mention the source of data that you are using in your write-up in order to avoid plagiarism and to enhance the credibility of your writing. Alongside, find interesting ways of opening your write-up and drawing a conclusion.

Choose a word limit
If you have been provided with a word limit by your publisher, you are free from the hassle. If not, it is always better to have a word limit set at the back of your head so that your writing is well composed and not haphazard. For cover stories, roughly fifteen hundred and more words are expected while for feature writing, usually eight hundred to one thousand words are considered to be a standard.
For brief write-ups like movie reviews and book reviews, five hundred to seven words should be good enough. However, this is a subjective matter and depends on the publisher.
So, if you are writing for yourself, make your own choice as per your desire; if it is for a specific publication, better to have a clear understanding of the word limit so that you do not exceed the allocated word limit or fall short. Remember, writing a few extra words will not do much harm but not being able to meet the given word limit is likely to be seen as a shortcoming from your end as a writer, depicting shortage of content and improper wording.

Use descriptive language
To make your write-up more appealing to the readers, use lots of descriptive languages like adjectives, adverbs and figures of speech like metaphors, similes, idioms, etc. This will captivate the readers and help them envision your words and make it more relatable for them. Plain narration with inadequate descriptions and expressions makes the writing blunt and monotonous for the readers. Do not hesitate to pour your heart out and draw the imagery on the surface of your mind on the paper you are writing on. Make an interesting buildup and style it as charismatic and entrancing as possible for the readers. For your help, keep a thesaurus handy. Or, in today’s modern era, Google has it all. All you have to do is to track your way down.

Read lots of books and literary works
In order to write well, you have to be a keen and reflective reader yourself. This will not only improve your writing skills but will also make you more thoughtful and philosophical, which in turn, will improve your writing skills through systematized thoughts. You may also get worthy insights to write on and expand your literary abilities. Nowadays, people are less inclined to read newspapers and magazines, but try to build a habit of reading newspapers and magazines once in a while to be well informed and to understand the latest trend in writing.

Always carry a notebook
Maintaining journals and writing about what you see, experience and feel on a day to day basis can be a good apparatus to assist you in writing. If you are having trouble to find a subject to write on, open up your notebook; I am sure you’ll find something or the other. As a writer, being observant is essential, and your observations should be documented so that it does not get lost in the mumbo-jumbo of busy life.
A writer’s world knows no boundaries. It is wider than the sky and deeper than the sea. Sometimes just simple language and short sentences leaves a great impact, while at other times, elaborate and detailed writing is required to prove a point. As a writer, no one should limit oneself. People should explore the literary world and find their own place in it. Do not aim to be popular or famous. Not everyone can be Charles Dickens, J.K. Rowling or Anderson Cooper; just be ‘you’. Have influencers, but do not forget who you are, else your writing will not be yours. It will be just a stranded piece of jumbled words.
Therefore, pick up your pen and write. Write to your heart’s content. If your writing is able to reach out to even a single person and leave an impression, consider yourself to be successful because not everyone is gifted to achieve that bit.
Fahmida Mehreen is a young aspiring writer.