{"id":6940,"date":"2018-02-21T16:02:14","date_gmt":"2018-02-21T16:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/?p=6940"},"modified":"2021-08-18T14:11:12","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T14:11:12","slug":"creative-writing-mistakes-solve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/students\/creative-writing-mistakes-solve\/","title":{"rendered":"Creative writing mistakes and how to solve them"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the age of fifteen I wrote my first novel on scraps of notepaper whilst bored during my Science GCSE classes<\/a>. Six years later, with a second novel written and the first one rigorously redrafted and edited, I\u2019ve learned a lot on my writing journey through making mistakes. The following are the ones I did most often, and still sometimes do, whilst writing.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Overly formal or poetic dialogue<\/h2>\n

John Green\u2019s teenagers may speak in metaphors and similes but, unless you\u2019re a very skilled author, writing your dialogue as poetic and formal as the narrative<\/a> is going to make it unrealistic and awkward to read.<\/p>\n

Dialogue in writing is no different to dialogue in real life. It will reflect the character\u2019s individual personality, their speech patterns, and their background. Every character will speak differently. Be an eavesdropper \u2013 wherever you are \u2013\u00a0then use that for your own writing to create characters whose voices actually speak to the reader.<\/p>\n

Finding different words for \u2018said\u2019<\/h2>\n

From the moment we learn creative writing our teachers censor the word \u2018said\u2019 like it\u2019s a swear word. And instead getting us to use an eclectic mix of synonyms. Now, rewrite everything you\u2019ve learnt.<\/p>\n

Read your favourite author\u2019s books \u2013 do they use said? Yes. Do you notice it? No. \u2018Said\u2019 is just a background indicator of who<\/i> is speaking not how <\/i>they speak. How the character is speaking should be shown in the dialogue itself. So don\u2019t tell the reader a character is stuttering, show it through ellipsis and repeated words.\u00a0 This, again, will make the dialogue far more realistic and the narrative less clunky. Thus,\u00a0expanding your writing ability by forcing you to write effective dialogue rather than relying on descriptive words.<\/p>\n

Writing too-perfect characters<\/h2>\n

No one\u2019s perfect. That\u2019s a fact we learn in real life, but it\u2019s something a lot of writers haven\u2019t yet learnt for creative writing.<\/p>\n

There are so many books where the character is a flawlessly beautiful, kick-ass black belt Karate expert and leader of an anti-government rebel group who also has the time to get 100% on their homework and help old people across the road.\u00a0 Even fictional characters need to be rooted in some sort of reality, so give your characters flaws, both in terms of appearance and personality. All of these flaws will make your character more likeable, not dislikable. Because your reader, as a flawed person themselves, will be able to connect and sympathise with them.<\/p>\n

Using clich\u00e9d description<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s easy to resort to well-worn phrases such as \u2018he ran as fast as a cheetah\u2019 or \u2018her eyes were like emeralds\u2019 when you\u2019re stuck for description, but clich\u00e9d metaphors and similes will likely lose the reader\u2019s interest and the story\u2019s originality.<\/p>\n

Creative writing really does demand creativity. Is \u2018he ran as fast as a cheetah\u2019 actually the best way to describe your character\u2019s speed? Or would \u2018he ran as fast a man who has just remembered he left his oven on at home\u2019 be more accurate, visual, and memorable? Either rework clich\u00e9d phrases or come up with some new ways of describing the world.<\/p>\n

Telling the reader too much<\/h2>\n

Say it with me: \u2018Show not tell, show not tell.\u2019 Then repeat that over and over again in your head whilst you\u2019re writing and you\u2019ll be one step closer to a great story.<\/p>\n

But what does it mean?\u00a0 Well, your friend is unlikely to say \u2018I\u2019m worried.\u2019 You\u2019ll guess they\u2019re worried because they\u2019ll bite their lip, or fiddle with their hair, or talk less, or seem preoccupied. When you\u2019re walking outside, you don\u2019t have a voice in your head saying \u2018it\u2019s sunny\u2019. You know this from the warmth on your skin, the light breeze lifting your hair, the fresh smell of grass, and the sound of birdsong.<\/p>\n

Although fictional, a story should still feel like real life to the reader. So don\u2019t shove obvious information in their face, but make them read between the lines. Subtly reveal the story through feelings, sensations, and emotions.<\/p>\n

Enjoy writing<\/h2>\n

And the final, worst mistake…creative writing shouldn\u2019t be hard work. It\u2019s a chance to explore your imaginative capabilities, to fall in love with writing, and to create interesting worlds you\u2019d like to live in and fascinating characters you\u2019d like to meet. Most importantly, writing means you can finally tell that story you\u2019ve been itching to tell.<\/p>\n

\n

Written by Florianne H.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the age of fifteen I wrote my first novel on scraps of notepaper whilst bored during my Science GCSE classes. Six years later, with a second novel written and the first one rigorously redrafted and edited, I\u2019ve learned a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":6941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[789],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nCreative writing mistakes and how to solve them | MyTutor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I\u2019ve learned a lot on my creative writing journey through making mistakes. 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