15 Tips For Creative Writers

A written word is often seen as liberating - it sharpens the mind, and feeds the soul. The opportunities are everywhere, waking up with every morning, and going to sleep with hopes of finding more ideas in sweet dreams. However, in the world of creative writing there is good and bad, the good being inspiration and imagination creating aspiring writers. As opposed to this, there is the worst enemy of every writer - writer's block. Here are some tips to help you write more efficiently.

1. Create a Pleasant Atmosphere

Before you start writing, invest some time and effort into selecting your little corner where you'll be comfortable. This will prevent distractions, and allow you to fully concentrate on your writing.

2. Don't Put Pressure on Yourself

No matter how much you wish to write a creative piece, don't put pressure on yourself. Pressure is like a really big amount of empty air, aimed at replacing your ideas, talent, and imagination with just that - empty air. If you feel there is too much pressure above your head, take a break for as long as you need it.

3. Allow It Time

This is actually quite similar to getting rid of pressure, as fitting your writing into a very tight schedule can out a pressure on you. So, make some time for your writing, regardless of whether this is half an hour or a whole afternoon - the important thing is that you know this is your writing time.

4. Write in the Morning

The best time to write is in the morning, and this doesn't apply to creative writers only, and writing creative content. Freelance writers writing on any topic and in any direction should also get up early and start spilling their ideas on the paper with the arrival of the morning.

5. No Room for Perfection

Don't expect your every word to be perfect, as you will waste a lot of time on trying to achieve this, and the chances are you won't even achieve it. Nothing is perfect, so don't expect a flawless masterpiece, but allow it to have small imperfections - it is what makes it very close to perfect.

6. Improve Your Spelling and Grammar

Writers should invest time into their language, and this doesn't include only wordiness and having a rather rich vocabulary. It is also a very good idea to learn grammar rules, or at least read through them from time to time.

7. Write Things Down

You never know when the idea might strike, so keep a notebook and a pencil close by, so that you can write fresh ideas as soon as they come to your mind. You surely wouldn't want to forget them!

8. Use a Checklist

Before the process of creation begins, make a short list of the things you want to write about. Use this checklist to help you organize your ideas and thoughts.

9. Write about the Things You Like

Writing about the things that you find interesting, fascinating, and so forth, will give you the opportunity to put your passion and fascination you have for these things into your writing. You need to create a whole new world for your reader, and he needs to believe in your every single word.

10. Enjoy writing

Remember to always enjoy writing, and don't allow it to turn into a job. Writing is fun!

11. Write on a Computer while Being Disconnected from the Internet

When you start writing it might be a good idea to disconnect from the Internet, as this useful tool might easily distract you from your writing. A funny photo shared by your friend through Facebook, and you can easily lose track of time on this social network, forgetting about your writing. Organize your time wisely.

12. Don't Write About the Things You Are Not Familiar With

Without getting into complicated explanations, you shouldn't write about the things you know little or nothing about. Go back to number 9, where you'll find the answer why this is not a good idea.

13. Syncretism - Words from Pictures

In case you need inspiration, try this little writing exercise: take any photo, and try to write a short, or a long text based on what you see. The combination has proven to be ideal for creative writing. A picture is worth thousand words - why not write these words down?

14. Time Limit - Fifteen-Minute Exercise

Another writing exercise is based on the idea that you should use your time in a productive manner. Instead of spending hours staring at your laptop screen, try this fifteen-minute exercise. Tell yourself you have only fifteen minutes to write a story. Regardless of whether this is a reversed psychology or something else, it works like a charm. You'll be surprised with how many ideas you can come up with in such a short time frame.

15. Proofreading Your Work - The Perfect Timing

After you finish your work, don't proofread it instantly. Rather than this, wait for a day or even more before you start proofreading your work. This way you will be a lot more efficient in finding errors, if there should be any.

Two Is Better Than One

"Hey", he sneered my way. "Hey!" a little louder, a little breathier.

I blushed. I always blushed; perpetually, painfully shy, continuously craving invisibility. I stared straight ahead, eyes on the board, palms and pits producing an instant hot sweat.

"You know...you gotta have the ugliest nose I've ever seen." he hissed.

I leaned forward, hands flat on my desk; perspiration mixing with the Comet residue the janitor had left behind, forming a balmy paste over my flattened grip.

It was Valentine's Day and the Carnations would be delivered soon. You could feel the buzz in the room. I tried to focus on that. Once my flower came, I'd be vindicated. He'd feel so stupid for taunting me. He'd realize I might be popular and that someone out there might think I was pretty.

The Carnations were a big deal at our school; a yearly tradition. They cost three dollars of hard-earned pocket-money so selecting the recipient was taken very seriously. Boys sent them to girls, girls sent them to boys, girls even sent them to each other. Most were fired off anonymously; the only ones signed stemming from legitimate daters and official best friends. No one else dared to be so outwardly presumptuous.

"I bet you think you're gonna get a flower, don't you?" he jeered.

I tried to lift my hand discreetly, bringing it up to camouflage my apparently hideous nose and my now stinging eyes. I would not cry in front of him, but the smell of the Comet coming from my grit-covered hand was burning my nostrils and losing me my battle.

"You think you can hide that big banana?" he laughed. "Good luck with that. Good luck with that and that grease-slicked skin of yours."

I liked to think it was the fumes, but my eyes were brimming regardless of cause and I knew he would be sure he'd gotten under my skin, fumes or not.

"Are you crying?" he mocked. "God, you're such a baby." Out of the corner of my eye I could see his knee bouncing up and down. His leg jostled a mile a minute causing the frayed hem of his jeans to swing back and forth.

Although tears were the last thing I wanted him to see, they did make him back off. No one wanted to be responsible for making someone cry in class. It meant a trip to the office and a call home, neither a favorable outcome.

I tilted my head and stared through the window. Outside was bleak. It had been a particularly cold February and the wind was whipping through the trees. I swallowed the lump in my throat and longed to be out there. Being outside in blustering gales coatless would be better than having to sit here, enduring him.

I tried to pay attention to the lesson being taught. I tried not to think of my rumbling belly, my chemically transformed skin, my imminent flower or the jerk next door. I had almost accomplished all of it when there was a knock on the door causing an eruption of excitement amongst the other students.

I simply froze. What if it hadn't worked? Or worse, what if I had somehow messed it up and it wasn't anonymous after all? The sweat magnified and became a fast-trickling stream flowing straight down my spine.

"You're getting greasier by the second, loser." he said in a snide tone.

My eyes were glued on the flower bearers. They were shouting out name after name and at long last, mine was called.

As hard as it was to have all eyes on me, I lifted my cement-stiff body out of the desk and forced my heavy legs to move towards the front of the room.

As I got closer, confusion set in. Two flowers were being held out.

"Do you want me to pass one to someone?" I whispered, my face flaming with prickly heat.

"Nope, both for you. Lucky," the girl said enviously. "I didn't get any." It shouldn't have, but it made me tingly inside.

The tingling shrouded the walk back to my desk and shielded me from the stares and snickers. I sat down in a trance-like state, eyes glued to the blossoms laid out in front of me. Their sweet aroma replaced the smelly Comet, their pastel shades swapped for the unicolor scheme outside.

A legit Valentine's Day Carnation. I did a quick mental check; nope, I'd only sent myself one. I was sure.

"Two?" I heard him exclaim. "I don't believe it," he almost sounded wounded. "You sent those to yourself," he guessed. "You had to!"

My face seared and my throat tightened. He'd managed to break through my bubble and yank me back to miserable reality. Only reality didn't seem all that miserable anymore. Someone had thought of me, someone liked me.

The bell to end the school day rang and he got up quickly. "See ya later, freak show."

I waited for everyone to leave, their chatter slowly quieting as they filed out one by one.

I wanted to pack my flowers in my bag without the other kids knocking around. I wanted to make sure they went unharmed.

As I swung my legs, now light, around the side of my seat, something caught my eye; a pink ticket that hadn't been there before. I recognized it instantly and my heart skipped a beat as I quickly looked around. If anyone had seen it, I'd be the laughing-stock of the school, the butt of every joke, as opposed to now, being the butt of only most.

I reached down to grab the Carnation receipt, my fingers fumbling over the waxy paper. But, as I brought it closer to my face, I realized it didn't belong to me. My name was boldly printed in the recipient's box sure enough, but the printing wasn't mine. It was his...the jerk next door's.

Okay, we all knew that was coming. Except for...maybe the boys...