My Top Essential Tips for Improving Literary CreativitysteemCreated with Sketch.

in #story7 years ago (edited)

The Power of the Written Word


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"Wherever you write is supposed to be a little bit of a refuge, a place where you can get away from the world. The more closed in you are, the more you're forced back on your own imagination." - Stephen King


Let’s just get this out of the way from the get go. Blogging is fun, posting content on Steemit is rewarding and receiving feedback based on your unique written or verbal creation within the platform is a beautiful thing. The fact that someone has taken their precious time to go through your handiwork and formulated an opinion based upon their interpretation of it can be very gratifying indeed.

Yet with so many diverse individuals and groups within our ever expanding community, it stands to reason that one person’s interpretation of your article may differ from somebody else’s. Wildly at times, given the right subject matter. And in the case of a novelist or author who paints their images using nothing but a canvas of words, the above statement holds truer still. Sometimes, our perception of how we want the reader to feel and engage with the content we offer can be quite a tricky affair. Especially given that we as authors clearly see the narrative we wish to express but perhaps not so much from the point of view of someone reading it though for the first time.

So I thought I’d post up a few basic techniques that I use to, if anything, improve the overall flow of the narrative as well as tighten up and structure the entire piece together a little better.


Visualization to Materialization

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"'Harry Potter' gave me back self respect. Harry gave me a job to do that I loved more than anything else." - J. K. Rowling


One of the most useful things I do before even beginning to write anything down is understanding what I want to convey to my target audience. What kind of images do I wish to be conjured up within the reader’s mind eye? What feelings do I want my words to invoke? Will they be seeing the same things I saw when envisioning the story for the first time. I personally believe that it the key notion in creating appealing, magnetizing narratives.

We respond to pictures; it’s been long programmed into our DNA. When we read a story, we visualise it. We watch our own personal movie of the book interpreted through the words viewed on the page. So, I try to imagine that movie beforehand, but in much finer detail and crisp clarity. The characters will be real, wearing certain attire and acting in accordance to their given personality. The environments they interact in should also be in Hi-Def detail and completely lifelike in your own conscious mind. Take the example below, for instance.

An empty cigarette packet blowing down the street, the sun’s rays shining through the clouds hovering low in the sky above, an elderly woman with a limp in her right leg crossing the quiet street ahead.

All the little details add up, they all fit together like a jigsaw to create a new world. But this world has to be as fully understood and realized for myself first and foremost. That's an important component needed to translate those images into words to the best of my ability. This allows me to describe scenes easier, talk about those characters that I’ve already witnessed in my own imagination and keep the story nicely paced as I’ll simply be reeling off sequences of events as they happen. Melding and manipulating imagery is the glue that tied all my stories together in the past and I’m sure it’ll work just fine for you too.


Sorry… Could You Give Me a Little More Detail Please?

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"I deliberately keep myself apart from a lot of stuff; I don't Tweet, I don't do Facebook, I don't blog, and that's largely because I spend my working life staring at a screen and hitting a keyboard, I am trying to cut down on that, not increase it." - Ian Banks


Well, the above subtitle's concept might work well in a court of law, but within the realms of literary story-telling, can prove problematic. Descriptive writing is the most important ingredient for world-building and characterization. After all, you can liken that to the ink that decorates your background. I totally get that.

However, I find there needs to be a careful balance between the overuse of adjectives at the expense of the flow of plot. You should give just the right amount of information to allow the reader to construct the scene you are inventing for them, then let the rest of the picture fill itself in without your intervention. The human brain is a tool made for deciphering. Patterns, sequences, whatever it may be. By design, we are literally made to solve conundrums where partial snippets of information are all we have to work with. In fact, the brain is an highly-evolved organ constantly decoding stream of complex code and interpreting suitable answers. It's happening all the time. Right now even while you are reading this! And this incredible ability we possess has never been more aptly applied than in the context of reading.

Maybe that went a little too deep, but understanding our mechanics allows us to see things from an external point of view with increased awareness. Your readers do not want to be hand-held throughout the journey you are taking them on. Impart just enough descriptive elements to allow the foundation of their imagery to take form. That’s all you need to do. Given equal amounts of time to both the flow and pacing of your story and world-building, without overlapping either, will add volumes to your writing technique and finished product.


Hey… If You Got Something To Say To Him, You Better Say It To Me First

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"Nobody is a villain in their own story. We're all the heroes of our own stories." - George R. R. Martin"


An issue I found when beginning to write on a lengthier scale than before was time allocation. In that, I mean to the characters in each story. I would build a solid fountain for one of the lead’s, endow them with a rich background and unique traits only to leave them hanging and come back to their narrative arc much later down the line. Needless to say, you can see that it led to numerous rewrites and juggling of the plot.

One good technique I tend to use more now is character referencing. You may have already established certain key characters in your book but need to expand on certain other ones first. Character referencing is especially more poignant when first introducing them into your story as the reader will likely forget a lot of what initially read about them and the smaller intricacies of who they are until familiarity develops further down the line.

So, as the story unfold, a conversation between two characters in the future may drop a specific name you wish to remind the reader of. Or even insert some descriptive fact associated with the character. Always keep in mind that whatever is read by someone is in fact completely retained. Every detail. It’s just gets tucked away into the subconscious, awaiting for that key reference word to manifest that memory once again. Cross referencing when writing a book or any story-based narrative can be invaluable to collating all your characters within your reader’s mind’s eye and therefore keeping interest levels piqued.


Break Down the Barriers of Printed Artistic Excellence

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Well, there you have it. This is by no means an exhaustive list but a few key methods I employ to approach what I write. In fact, one of the best analogies validating my points above is when going to watch a movie.

You see the trailer, get a good idea of what’s going on but still have yet to see the finished article. Well, the day arrives when you actually go to watch it, but in that time, you’ve subconsciously imagined what you expect to see. Your favourite action heroes getting out of last-minute danger, a cliff hanger at the end where a sequel might be in store, fight scenes that you’ve longed to see on the big screen.

We imagine what the experience will be like and go to check out whether the actual finished product meets those expectations. Imagination and the human mind are technological miracles.

The power of the written word turns the cogs to unleash hidden realities. I consider that …. Real magic.


Sources: 1,2,3,4,5

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The power of the written word IS magic. It would have to be. Humans look at ink put onto pressed pieces of dead tree and vividly hallucinate for hours. Excellent post! Upvoted and followed! Keep on Steemin!

Straight up the truth, very well put!! Loving your words and thank you so much for the humbling comments.

Steem on, my bro!!!

This is brilliant @ezzy !!!

Hey there, lovely @mammasitta! Thanks so much! Means a hell of a lot coming from you. I hope everything is great your side. Can't wait for us to meet up again.

Bless, awesome @mammasitta. :)

I am learning from you. I read many of your stories.......
All is good here in Vienna because finally I feel the sunshine. The winter was brutal.
I hope that @roelandp is cooking something for @steemfest 2. Can't wait!

Can't wait. Imagine you, myself and @exyle end up at another café at Steemfest 2 sitting and reminiscing about the past. That'd be a dream come true. :)

This would be super nice

This is such an awesome list! The best one I've seen so far here, and I'm not just saying that because you're my friend. Coming from such an esteemed author, it's awesome to read about this. It's like peeking inside your mind and learning from your process. I'll definitely use these tips to improve and be more like my bro @ezzy :D

Definitely resteeming this tomorrow. I just want my recent post to breathe a little longer at the top of my blog list first ;) Great work, brother. Your words are gold!

Hey, my brother @jedau! Listen, I want you to understand that "you" are "my" inspiration. You amazing individual you! I just have to put that out there because your inventive and creative originality I consider second to none. I thank you so much for finding some gold in my post. But these are just techniques I employ. You overflow with talent and that's something that resides deep within.

Bless you, my awesome @jedau! :)

I could say the same exact thing about you, my brother! If it weren't for your support, I wouldn't have even posted A Day in the Clouds and would've just settled with ordinary posts or walk away from here. You have such a gifted mind, and I'm glad that you have such a high proficiency in putting it into written words so that others would be able to bask in your greatness :D

Well, if I was the catalyst for the Steemit publication of one of the most original and clever books I've ever read, I'm honoured and proud of my actions. Your work belongs in high street book stores. You just need the right person to discover your creations and lift you to the stratospheres of recognition you so rightly deserve. I say again, "you" inspire "me" when it comes to writing and that is a true gift I'll never squander.

Man, if our work gets discovered, that'll be huge! For sure, I'm going to drag yours, @dreemit's and all our friends' stories with me if I ever break that barrier. I won't ever feel comfortable operating without the people that have stood by me when nobody is reading my work :D

My sentiments exactly, bro. It's the bridges you build with other individuals that socially define us as human beings. Onward and upwards for us all! :)

Once everyone else discovers the benefits, our fellowship would be way too stronger to catch up with! :D

This is excellent, I especially love that you pointed out what we were discussing the other day about just enough detail to allow the readers imagination to fill things in for themselves :) I have a difficult time reading Anne Rice books for this reason in fact, she goes much too heavy on the detail, forcing the readers to see what she sees and also dragging out scenes because of it.
I think it was John Steinbeck who said that he tries to say as much as he can with as few words as possible.
Love the peek inside your process my darling friend!

Awesome @dreemit. I think we may possibly be kindred spirits, lol! I was over the moon when you made that observation about my narrative because I try to base most of what I write in the same vein. But then again, it's hardly surprising seeing the astonishingly brilliant level of quality your posts enjoy.

So, yeh, I thought I hardly ever write a "blog" in it's traditional sense so why not break the mould and give it a try. Of course, you were the catalyst. I actually have a few Anne Rice novels back logged on my Kindle for reading and will look out for that. But we can certainly relate to a few authors who like to bogged us down with way to much exposition. I feel fine-tuning that aspect is an art form in itself and well worth addressing.

So, I gotta say thank you for helping us open new creative avenues through your insightful comments and inspirational work. A true gem of a person in every sense of the word.

Steem on, amazing @dreemit! :)

Say as much as you can with a few words. I like that!

@ezzy what tool do you use to write your stories, books ?

As in tools, do you mean which methodologies I use? Because normally it's just me sitting in front of Microsoft Word with a bunch of notes scribbled out in front of me, lol...

Thats interesting and good enough and fun advice :) Thought there are special tools to make writing easier.

Oh, @mammasitta. My mind is the only tool I use (apart from my computer, lol). But I've read your articles and I'm sure you already know how good you are. You really know how to cook up a storm when it comes to blogging.

Blogging is very different than writing a book or even screenplay I will not publish on steemit. Too personal :) I was wondering what professional writers do to help themselves. For now I also use word or the submit tab for steemit stuff or even esteemapp via phone.
Anyways the dream, to finish a proper book with a completely different writing style, will take some time but on my mind and some on paper. I consider myself a storyteller so I might choose a ghostwriter to edit my thoughts at some point. Damn movie is in my head hahah !

Totally right. It's weird because my personal comfort zone is getting lost in a story-verse. We all have our areas we excel in and I must admit defeat when it comes to blogging per se. I guess it just comes down to preference. But I honestly urge you to complete a book if you can. It's quite an exhilarating achievement and I know you'll do well! Watch the mind movie and begin! :)

The room I'm sitting in is hot. Another hot spring day has passed. It's the third one in a row. I can hear my dog heavy breathing trying to sleep. He still needs to lose his fur. The warm weather arrived way to early. He just farted in his sleep and it's not helping me breath. Shouldn't give him fish next time. I'm choking.

My laptop barely can stand the heat from the day time. The fan is blowing non stop. My laptop explodes when I read @ezzy post. It's to damn awesome! I'll buy a new one tomorrow.

Lol!!! Oh man... Now if ever I needed an example to showcase the points I was trying to make, this would be perfect! Except I think you don't have to imagine this story, it's sounds to me more like your actual real day events!!

Man... It's always such a pleasure to get any feedback from you. I couldn't have hoped for more! :)

great post... will digest this soon. Thanks :) resteemed

Bless, thanks very much! :)

You are welcome :)

Bookmarked for later, as I'm having some difficulty in this area myself. Hoping to find some inspiration.
Also, not sure how I wasn't already following you. Problem fixed. :)

Thanks for dropping by, my friend! I can only hope my post lives up to even some of your expectations! Might I add what a talented photographer you are after perusing through you blog. You have a keen eye, sir and certainly speak to us through your incredible photographic imagery.

Easy follow from me, @winstonwolfe. :)

Thank you! Also, if you can, be sure to tune in to @steemittalk Podcast today at 2PM CST / 7PM GMT.
I'm making a point to mention your post on the air for this week's episode. :)

Oh, that's awesome! Thanks so much! I'll make it a point to be there! :)

Brilliant post. Right on point! I also believe that imagining it beforehand is better than jumping to writing it! :)

You and I are on the exact same page, my friend! All the best on this awesome platform! :)

You too!
Have a nice day :)

Fantastic tips there! Before joining steemit a few days ago I have not written much for ages. I believe it's much like a muscle that needs to be exercised regularly. I will bookmark your post and refer back to it often. Thank you for sharing!

Steem on!

Oh, thanks a lot, really! Please remember, just post regularly and keep your content at a high standard and you'll do great. I wish you the very best, sir and thanks once again for your great comments. :)

My pleasure!

Good job @ezzy

Thanks a lot, my friend!! :)