From 101 Creative Writing Exercises: Moral Dilemmas

Today’s creative writing exercise comes from 101 Creative Writing Exercises, my recently published book on the craft of writing.

This book guides writers through an adventure in writing. You’ll explore different forms and genres of writing, including freewriting, journaling, memoir, fiction, storytelling, poetry, and article or blog writing.

101 Creative Writing Exercises imparts proven writing techniques while providing writing practice and creative inspiration.

Today, I’d like to share an exercise from “Chapter Nine: Philosophy, Critical Thinking, and Problem Solving.” This creative writing exercise is titled “Moral Dilemmas.” Enjoy!

Moral Dilemmas (a Creative Writing Exercise)

We each have our own personal philosophies and values. Our values come from our families, religions, and cultures. They shape our morals and the decisions we make.

People are complex. What we believe is right or wrong changes when we find ourselves in real situations. Consider an honorable character who believes that one’s highest loyalty is to his or her family. Then, that character learns his brother is a serial killer. Does he turn him in? Testify against him? Stories get interesting when characters’ morals are put to the test.

We all know the knight in shining armor should risk his life to save the damsel in distress. If he doesn’t, then he loses his status as hero and becomes a coward. What if the knight is forced to make a more difficult decision? What if his true love and his beloved sister are both in distress but he only has time to save one of them?

The Exercise

For this exercise you will put a character’s morals to the test. Below, you’ll find a short list of moral dilemmas. Write a scene in which a character faces one of these moral dilemmas and has to make an agonizing decision.

• In the novel Sophie’s Choice, a young Polish mother and her two children are taken to a concentration camp. Upon arrival, she is forced to choose one child to live and one to die. If she doesn’t choose, they both die. Write a scene in which your character must choose between the lives of two loved ones.
• A single woman is close friends with the couple next door and has secret romantic feelings for the husband. She discovers that his wife is having an affair. Normally, this woman minds her own business but now she sees an opportunity to get closer to the man she wants.
• Some countries have strict laws regarding drug possession. A family has traveled to one such country for vacation. Upon arrival (or departure), one of the teenagers’ bags is sniffed out by a dog. The bag is opened, the drugs are identified, and the guard asks whose bag it is. Both parents are considering claiming ownership. Everyone in the family knows the sentence would be death.
• Your character gets to travel through time and face this classic moral dilemma: the character finds himself or herself holding a loaded gun, alone in a room, with a two-year-old baby Hitler.
• A plane crashes into the sea. Most of the passengers escape with inflatable lifeboats but they do not board them correctly. Your character ends up on a lifeboat that holds eight people but there are twelve people on it, and it’s sinking. Your character can either throw four people overboard and eight will survive or they will all die except your character, who will get rescued after the others drown.

During the scene, the character should agonize over the decision and reveal his or her reasons for the choice that he or she makes.

Tips: Search online for “lists of moral dilemmas” to get more scenarios.

Variations: If you don’t want to write a scene, challenge yourself to come up with a few moral dilemmas of your own.

Applications: These moral dilemmas also work as story prompts. They force you to put your characters in situations that are deeply distressing, thus creating conflict and tension.

Genres in Fiction Writing: Literary Fiction vs. Everything Else

In creative writing, we talk about form and genre. Form is what we write: fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction. Genre is how we further classify each of these forms.

In fiction writing, there’s literary fiction and everything else.

In fact, literary fiction and all of the other genres are so at odds with each other that some writers simply say they are either literary fiction writers or genre writers. But what does that mean? Isn’t all fiction considered literary?

Yes and no.

What is Literary Fiction Anyway?

Let’s start with a simple definition of the word literary. Dictionary.com offers several, including the following:

1. pertaining to or of the nature of books and writings, especially those classed as literature: literary history.
2. pertaining to authorship: literary style.
3. versed in or acquainted with literature;  well-read.
4. engaged in or having the profession of literature  or writing: a literary man.
5. characterized by an excessive or affected display of learning; stilted; pedantic.

So we can use the word literary whenever we’re talking about writing or authorship in general, but it can also mean an excessive or affected display of learning. That’s a nice way of referring to snobbery.

Wikipedia offers a more specific definition of literary fiction: “fictional works that are claimed to hold literary merit.” The article goes on to say that “to be considered literary, a work usually must be ‘critically acclaimed’ and ‘serious’. In practice, works of literary fiction often are ‘complex, literate, multilayered novels that wrestle with universal dilemmas.’”

In other words, literary fiction has meaning and significance. I’ve also heard literary fiction defined as paying diligence to the craft of writing (or the art of stringing words together), exploring the human condition, and making bold commentary or criticism of society and culture.

Literary Fiction vs. Everything Else

I love literary fiction. Some of my favorite novels are The Grapes of Wrath, The Catcher in the Rye, and To Kill a Mockingbird, all of which would be classified as literary fiction. These are the kind of books that people study and analyze. They’re taught in schools. People read them for decades, even centuries, after they’re published. They win prestigious awards and are beloved and celebrated by bookworms and scholars alike.

As much as I love literary fiction, I’d have to say that my heart belongs to science fiction. From A Wrinkle in Time to The Hunger Games trilogy, the science fiction that I love best has done everything that literary fiction can do and then some.

In an interview with the Paris Review (which I highly recommend), the great Ray Bradbury said that “Science fiction is the fiction of ideas.” He also observed that science fiction often goes unrecognized for having literary merit and expressed his chagrin:

“As soon as you have an idea that changes some small part of the world you are writing science fiction. It is always the art of the possible, never the impossible… The critics are generally wrong, or they’re fifteen, twenty years late. It’s a great shame. They miss out on a lot. Why the fiction of ideas should be so neglected is beyond me. I can’t explain it, except in terms of intellectual snobbery.”

Some of the other genres have it even worse. When was the last time a romance novel or horror story won critical acclaim or took home the highest literary honors? Science fiction and fantasy writers have enjoyed more critical and commercial success in recent years: J.K. Rowling, Stephanie Meyers, and Suzanne Collins have dominated book sales, and they are all genre writers. Ray Bradbury himself won several prestigious literary awards. Sometimes it seems like the literary academics (the literati) are coming around and slowly opening their minds to genre fiction.

Yet there is still a stigma attached to genre fiction in certain literary circles. Just recently, I heard someone say they refused to read The Hunger Games because it was about kids killing kids and was therefore garbage. Yet kids are killing kids all over the planet: in gangs, in wars, and in school shootings. It’s not garbage; it’s truth, and that is the purest form of literature.

Looking for Merit in Creative Writing

Of course there is an argument to made about the merit of a work of fiction. I’ve read plenty of literary and genre fiction that said absolutely nothing about humanity or the world in which we live. Some of the literary novels I’ve picked up recently have been so abstract, obtuse, and erudite that after a few chapters, I  gave up and moved on to the next book. And I’ve read plenty of genre fiction that is good fun but will never change the world.

Ultimately, each of us decides for ourselves which stories hold the most merit. We get to ask ourselves whether we want a gripping story or a story that makes us think, feel, and question. Do we read to be entertained and to escape or do we read to broaden our perspectives and enlighten ourselves?

Have you ever watched a film or read a book that you thought had a lot of artistic or intellectual merit only to learn that the critics shot it down? Have you ever experienced a story that you thought was just awful and learned that it won awards and prestige? What are your thoughts on the divide between literary fiction and genre fiction? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Proofreading and Editing Tips to Improve Your Writing

From the archives…

The best way to achieve better writing is through daily writing and reading, but proofreading and editing are near the top of the list too.

If you want to improve your writing, it’s imperative that you review each piece to check for typos, mistakes, context, and tone.

Creative writing tips often fail to mention the mechanical side of writing. It’s fun to focus on language, plot, characters, and rhymes, but polishing your work diligently will make you a better writer. And once you nail grammar and develop a habit of proofreading, you can focus on coming up with creative writing ideas rather than worrying about the technical aspects of your work.

Proofreading and Editing Tips

These proofreading tips and reminders will help you produce better writing – work that is polished and professional but still creative and compelling.

Catch Your Typos

Nobody likes typos. They look like misspellings, only it’s usually obvious they are mere oversights, the result of tapping the wrong key. It happens a lot when writers rush, and it happens a lot less when writers proofread their work before submitting or publishing it. Most writers are going to miss a typo every now and then; nobody’s perfect. However, when you read a writer’s work regularly and typos are just something you expect every time, that’s a sign of poor or nonexistent proofreading.

Read Out Loud

One of the best ways to edit and proofread your work is to read it out loud. If you enunciate every word, you’ll be better able to catch mistakes. It’s common for writers to leave words out while composing a first draft. During a review, the mind automatically inserts those words because the writer knows they’re supposed to be there. Reading out loud will help catch missing words. Oft-repeated words often stand out while reading aloud as well. It’s also helpful for determining whether a piece lacks clarity or if phrasing doesn’t sound quite right. It’s your chance to make sure everything makes sense and ensure that the language flows smoothly.

Proofread to Perfection

I’ve been teased for being so enthusiastic about proofreading and editing. Yet if I want to produce better writing, shouldn’t I keep reviewing each piece until I don’t catch a single error or need to make any more changes? Sometimes I reread a piece once and everything’s fine. Other times, I go over it five times, maybe ten. I proofread and polish everything I write — usually more than once.

Don’t Make Excuses

Young and new writers often have issues with revision and proofreading. I don’t want to change the original, they’ll claim. That’s like a furniture maker not bothering to sand a table. If you’re truly attached to that first draft, then save a copy, but don’t get so sentimental that you go and submit or publish it with all its errors and imperfections.

Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself

Even though editing and proofreading are important to your professionalism and essential for better writing, they aren’t everything. Mistakes slip through now and then, and you shouldn’t beat yourself over the head about it. Great writing will always outshine the occasional error.

Proofreading and Editing Habits

Editing and proofreading have become habitual steps in my writing process, and I’ve come to enjoy this part of the process since I now know that it leads to better writing.

Every time I fix a mistake, I feel good about it, knowing I just improved my writing and made it more readable. That’s another thing — proofreading is considerate to readers. Typos, misspellings, and poorly placed punctuation marks throw readers off and jar them from the flow of a piece. So don’t skip the revision process: proof, edit, and repeat. Then, if necessary, do it again!

Do you have any better writing or proofreading tips to share? Please leave a comment.

Writing Tips: Write What You Know

If there’s one piece of writing advice that took me years to truly understand, it’s write what you know.

When I first heard this instruction, I thought it was odd. I don’t remember where I first heard it, but I do remember thinking that as far as writing tips went, it was absurd.

What about writing from your imagination or your feelings? How do genres like science fiction and fantasy fit into the idea that you should only write what you know?

It all seemed rather limiting. Was I supposed to write about American suburbia? Because that’s what I knew, and it was the last thing I wanted to write about. One of the reasons memoir doesn’t appeal to me as a writer is because I don’t want to write what I know. I don’t want to relive my life. I want to use writing to live outside of my life, to explore what I don’t know.

I decided to disregard the advice and write whatever I wanted, whether I knew it or not.

What Does It Mean to Write What You Know?

Over the years, I began to understand that write what you know isn’t one of those writing tips that is meant to be taken literally. It’s not a piece of instruction; it’s a guideline.

Think about the world of Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling invented a world of magic, a world that many of us might dream about but none could know in the literal sense. Yet she based that world on our world and on the many fantastical, fictional worlds that already exist in literature. Even if we’re not consciously aware of it, we are constantly influenced by what we’ve read, seen, and experienced. My guess is that in one way or another, the seeds of Harry Potter’s world came from Middle Earth, Narnia, and a galaxy far, far away.

The most fantastical worlds in storytelling are beloved because they are full of truths. They tell us who we are as individuals and as a society. I would guess that Ms. Rowling knows a thing or two about friendship and loyalty because there is a truth to the relationships that exist between Harry and his closest friends, Ron and Hermione. These relationships have ups and downs but are constant.

While flipping back and forth between two channels late at night, Suzanne Collins saw kids competing on reality TV and footage of the war in Iraq. The images blurred in her tired mind, and the Hunger Games were born. She didn’t know a world where children are thrust into an arena to fight to the death. But she could take what she knew (or could learn), add a heap of her own imagination and render a believable world.

To write what you know does not mean to only write about experiences you’ve actually had or people you’ve actually met. It means to use what you know about life, nature, and humanity and use it as the foundation for your stories.

Write What You Want

I believe the best writing is a balanced mixture of what the writer knows and what the writer seeks. Maybe the setting is the writer’s home town and the characters are based on her friends and family, but the plot is completely outside her realm of experience. Maybe the plot is taken from history, which the writer has researched (and therefore knows), but the world in which it is set is drawn from his imagination. Creativity and art are all about combining existing elements in innovative ways.

It is true: you should write what you know, but you should also leave room in writing for the unknown, room to explore and discover new truths, ideas, and possibilities:

• Write what you feel. Use your personal, emotional experiences and share them with the reader through characters you’ve invented. Emotional truths make a piece of fiction honest and compelling.
• Write what you imagine. Let yourself explore a world of possibilities: fantastical beasts, mythical creatures, aliens, and strange, magical worlds.
• Write what you experience. Every experience you’ve had can be translated to fiction. Remember your first day of school? Tweak that experience and give it to one of your characters, even if the character is an elf or an alien.
• Write what interests you. You can write what you know after you’ve learned it. Conduct research about things that interest you and then use those things in your stories. Pull facts and ideas from history, current events, and textbooks.
• Write what matters to you. It goes without saying that your work must matter to you. Write about what moves you, stirs your passion, fills you with joy or rage. If you’re invested in your project, it will come through in your writing and it will speak to higher truths.

What do you write?

How do you feel about writing tips like write what you know? Do you try to write what you know? How far outside of what you know do you take your writing? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment, and keep writing.

 

Creative Writing Prompts from Far-Off Places

Travel and adventure are the themes behind some of the greatest poems ever written and best stories ever told.

Blockbuster movies like Star Wars and the Indiana Jones franchise, TV shows like Lost, and books such as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn all use adventure as a premise to telling a riveting tale.

Today’s creative writing prompts are designed to get you out of the house and away to a far-off place. You can go anywhere you want — some of these places are fantastical while others can be found on any map.

Creative Writing Prompts

You can use these creative writing prompts any way you see fit. Write a poem, a story, an article about a similar experience you’ve had, or just draft an entry in your journal (write whatever comes to mind). Change these writing prompts as much as you need to so that they work for you. And have fun!

1. You have a chance to take an all-expense paid trip to anywhere in the world, but you’ll have to spend three months there. Where do you go and why?
2. You’re flying somewhere — anywhere — but when your plane lands, you and the other passengers quickly realize you didn’t reach your intended destination. In fact, you’ve arrived in a strange, wondrous (or terrible) world that you never knew existed.
3. Sometimes, to go someplace, you don’t even need to leave your home. Some people travel far and wide in their dreams.
4. What if you discovered a portal to another world? Where is the portal? How does it work? What’s on the other side?
5. Some adventures are nothing more than a series of mishaps. The flight is delayed, the hotel reservations were made for the wrong dates, there are no available car rentals.

Use these creative writing prompts to write anything at all — poetry, fiction, essays, or just sit down and start freewriting.

Do you ever use creative writing prompts to spark writing sessions? Have you found them helpful? Got any writing prompts of your own to share? Leave a comment!

101 Creative Writing Exercises – Kindle Edition on Sale for 99 Cents

Do you have a Kindle or smart phone? If so, you can get a copy of my book, 101 Creative Writing Exercises for just 99¢ now through Sunday 4/29.

The paperback is also on sale for just $5.99.

About 101 Creative Writing Exercises

101 Creative Writing Exercises takes you on an adventure through the world of writing.

You’ll experiment with fiction, poetry, journaling, blogging, and more. Each exercise imparts literary terms or writing techniques, so you’ll learn about the craft of writing as you make your way through the book.

In any craft or career, practice is essential. Surely, by now you’ve heard that it takes 10,000 hours to become a master at any craft. That means you’ll spend 10,000 hours writing before your working at the expert level. Writing exercises are an excellent way to gain practice and practical experience.

These exercises are designed to teach you about writing and to give you plenty of practice, but they will also inspire you. If you’ve ever struggled with having too many ideas, not enough ideas, or simply trying to find the right idea, then you know how vital inspiration can be. This book is packed with it.

Every exercise also includes a variation, so you get double for your money.

Amazon Paperback $5.99

Amazon Kindle 99¢

How to Find and Choose Ideas for Writing a Book

Every writer on the planet wants to write a book.

Some have finished a manuscript and others are already published, but many more dream, talk, and think about completing a full draft and seeing their name on a book cover.

Some already have a book in the works while others have several half-finished drafts floating around. Some can’t even get started. They have too many ideas to choose from, or they are waiting for the right idea.

You could spend your whole life waiting.

The world is full of inspiration. Think about what moves you. What gets you excited? What are your goals? That’s where you’ll find your best writing ideas for books and everything else you want to write, whether it’s short fiction, poetry, essays, or a blog.

Ideas for Writing a Book

There’s no mystery to writing a book. You just do it. You work on it every day, and you don’t let yourself get sidetracked or distracted. You don’t drop your project to chase tempting new ideas. You chip away at it, and then one day, you have a complete draft. That’s all there is to it.

But to write a book, you have to start with a concept. Before you can sketch characters, draft an outline, or select pieces for a collection, you need a vision.

Whether you have too many visions or not enough, there are a few creative strategies that you can use in your quest for ideas or in your decision-making process. Choosing the right idea is critical. If you pick a project that you believe in, there’s a much better chance that you’ll actually finish it.

I’m one of those people with way too many ideas. I’ve also started plenty of books that I never finished (and never intend to finish). Every half-finished project was a lesson in how to better focus my energies so I can finish a book, which I finally did. Here are some of the thinking strategies I’ve been using to decide which ideas for writing a book are worth pursuing:

Explore Your Passions

If you want to write a book, start with your own passions. Are you crazy about horror stories? Write one. Are you a political junkie? Write about politics. Do you like to grow your own food? Write about that. Your passion for your project will keep it going and it will come through in your writing.

Tip: write a list of all things you’re passionate about. Spend a few minutes brainstorming ideas about how to turn each one into a book. Let your list marinate for a few weeks. Which idea haunts you the most? That’s probably the best one to choose.

Tell a Story

Are you full of stories? Do you love fiction? For most writers, the big dream is not just writing a book but writing a novel and getting it published. Once you decide to write a novel, the trick is coming up with characters and a plot that you can’t stop thinking about.

Tip: give yourself twenty minutes a day to work on your story and try to burn through that first draft as quickly as possible. You can revise later. If you come up with other story ideas while you’re working on it, jot them down in an idea notebook and then get back to work.

Trigger Your Imagination 

Some of the best art happens when artists experiment and take risks. If you’re juggling ideas or can’t seem to find the right one, take an abstract approach. Forget about form, genre, and structure. Just write.

Tip: get a notebook and set aside fifteen to thirty minutes a day to write in it. Fill it up with whatever comes to mind. You can write about your own experiences, make up stories and characters, or scrawl abstract ideas and images. When you get to the end, go through and harvest the notebook to gather ideas for writing a book.

Use Your Words 

I meet a lot of writers who want nothing to do with poetry, and that’s a shame. Other than reading and writing, poetry is one of the best ways to strengthen your writing skills, and to write poetry, all you need are words. While it’s difficult to get a book of poems published through traditional publishing, you can easily self-publish a book of poetry.

Tip: write one poem a day for ninety days. Then, give yourself three months to polish your poems. Look for a theme in your poetry, and choose poems that fit. Finally, bring those poems together into a book. Makes a great gift!

Engage Your Expertise

Many authors find success writing about their field of expertise. You have a job or a career, and that’s one obvious subject for a book. But what about your hobbies and other interests? Have you spent thousands of hours playing video games? Attending the ballet? Perusing fashion magazines? Write a book about what you know.

Tip: a great way to write a book on a specific topic is to blog about it. You can use your blog to build an audience and you can compile some of your blog posts into a book.

Get Personal

Readers are passionate about memoirs. There is something unique about your life and your perspective on life. Tell your story. Share your experiences. Express your thoughts and feelings.

Tip: if you’re thinking about writing a memoir, start keeping a journal. You can also work on personal essays, and these can be published separately or as a collection.

Put a Collection Together

Have you already written a lot of short stories, poems, or essays? Were some of them published? Instead of writing a book, make a collection of your finest writing.

Tip: as an alternative, you can collect pieces of writing from various writers and act as the editor of a collection.

A Few Things to Consider Before Starting a Book Project

Here are a few final things to consider before you jump into a long-term book writing project:

• Why do you want to write a book?
• Do you intend to publish your book?
• Will you self-publish or will you try to land an agent?
• Do you have a platform or an audience? If not, should you start building one while you’re writing?
• How much time can you spend working on your book every single day?

I hope you found these tips and ideas for writing a book helpful.

Have you written a book? Are you working on one (or several)? How have you found your best ideas for writing a book? What’s your biggest challenge in sticking with a book project? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

 

Beyond Character: Meeting, Interactions, and Relationships

Today’s guest post is by author Harry Bingham.

New writers are taught a lot about characterisation. Writing courses and workshops often assign exercises that supposedly make characters fresh, quirky, interesting, lifelike, flawed yet somehow empathetic.

And that’s all good. Essential, in fact. Only most characters are human and humans really only leap into full life when they interact with other humans. To a huge degree, the art of character is really the art of characters in relationships.

That means that writers need to think carefully about those crucial interactions between characters. Not only do the characters need to be fresh, quirky, and lifelike — so do those moments of meeting and interaction. If you have two key characters, the first meeting will be charged with significance. The choices you make there will echo through the rest of the book.

Part of your job is to reveal character. What choices does Joe make when he meets Sally? What does Sally say and do when she meets Joe? You’re also trying to suggest a mood, to drop some markers that get, somehow, to the very essence of the story you are telling. That first meeting is like a miniature picture of the main themes in your book.

If that sounds a little too vague, then an example may help. Here is an excerpt from my fifth novel, The Lieutenant’s Lover, where the protagonist (Misha) meets his future beloved (Tonya):

Misha was about to bend down to check the stove, when he realised that the door out onto the corridor wasn’t closed and the space outside wasn’t empty. He straightened. There was a girl there, dark-haired and serious. There was something very still in her manner, and something remarkable in her stillness. She was still in the way that a white owl is, or a deer grazing in snow. But there was also something watchful about her, untrusting. She didn’t come or go. She didn’t speak. She didn’t even look away when she saw Misha looking at her.

‘Zdrasvoutye,’ he said. ‘Good day.’

‘Good day.’

She didn’t move.

Nothing has happened yet. The conversation thus far is hardly scintillating. The encounter hasn’t yet found its line of movement. But that thing about the deer grazing in snow – Tonya’s silence, her capacity for stillness – can you already feel how that image is going to haunt the book?

Notice that there’s a lack of action at a moment where you would expect some kind of explanation or movement or something. And that’s good. If you make your characters too quirky, they might seem contrived or unbelievable. But as long as your key encounters are charged with something unusual – something that might arise from the situation or a clash of motivations – you have created enough intrigue to keep you readers glued to the page.

Now, the excerpt above comes from a love story. But the same logic applies no matter what kind of tale you’re writing. Think of the frisson where the detective first meets the lead suspect or the killer or the crucial role played by character intersections in modern classics such as Jonathan Franzens’s Freedom or Curtis Sittenfeld’s American Wife.

Characters need to interact and their realism and believability dwells in those interactions. If you get those interactions right, you’ll be on your way to writing a wonderful book.

Harry Bingham is the author of a number of novels, including most recently Talking to the Dead. His website, the Writers’ Workshop, offers a variety of writing courses.

Ten Grammar Rules and Best Writing Practices That Every Writer Should Know

The more experience I gain as a writer, the more I’m convinced that writing is one of the most difficult skills to master. It’s not enough to tell a great story, share an original idea, or create an intriguing poem; writers are also obligated to pay diligence to the craft. While the content (or message) of our writing is paramount, the way we use language can be just as critical.

Bad grammar is a distraction. If you can write a riveting story, readers will probably overlook a few grammatical problems. However, each mistake or incorrect construction will momentarily yank readers out of the story. Sure, they can jump back in, but it makes for a negative or unpleasant reading experience.

Good craftsmanship involves more than simply knowing the grammar rules or adhering to a style guide. It includes making smart word choices, constructing sentences that flow smoothly, and writing in a way that is neither awkward nor confusing.

10 Vital Grammar Rules and Best Writing Practices

The best writing follows the rules of grammar (or breaks those rules only with good reason) and is clear, coherent, and consistent.

In my work as a writing coach and as an avid reader, I see a lot of the same mistakes. These mistakes aren’t typos or occasional oversights. They appear repeatedly, among multiple writers and pieces of writing, and they make it weak or dull.

Most writers don’t want their work to be weak or dull. We want our writing to be strong and vibrant. If we learn the grammar rules and adopt best practices in the craft, our writing can shine.

Here are ten of most frequently ignored (or unknown) grammar rules and writing practices:

1. Commas: except for the period, the comma is the most common punctuation mark and the most misused. It’s a tricky one because the rules are scarce, leaving usage up to style guides and writers’ best judgement. In weak writing, there are too few or too many commas. Be consistent in how you use commas and strike the right balance.
2. Avoid weak words: very, really, and the verbs to be, to have, and to do are often markers of weak, amateur writing. Sometimes, we need to use these words, but there is often a more specific or vivid word available.
3. Verb and tense agreement: these errors are often the result of shoddy editing and proofreading. A sentence that was originally in perfect past tense is changed to simple past tense but one of the words in the sentence is overlooked and you end up with something like She went the store and had shopped for produce. Another example would be The cats has one bowl. 
4. Stay away from passive voice: avoid passive constructions like The book was read by the girl. Passive voice is awkward, renders unnecessary verbiage, and sounds old-fashioned. Active voice is better: The girl read the book.
5. Check your homophones: homophones are little devils because spell check won’t catch them and they often sneak past editor’s eyes. Too many youngsters aren’t taught proper homophone use (in other words, they don’t know spellings or definitions of their vocabulary). From common sets of homophones like they’re, their, and there to more advanced words like complement and compliment, it pays to learn proper usage and to proofread meticulously.
6. Rare or uncommon punctuation marks: if you decide to use a punctuation mark like the ellipsis (three dots) or semicolon (comma with a period over it), then take the time to learn what it’s called and how to use it properly.
7. Watch your pronouns: too many pronouns in a sentence cause confusion and makes it difficult for the reader to keep track of who is saying and doing what. Use the noun or name first in a paragraph, then use pronouns to refer back to whomever (or whatever) you’re talking about.
8. Only proper nouns are capitalized: for some reason, a lot of people have taken it upon themselves to freely capitalize any words they think are important, a practice that is rampant in business writing. The Product is on Sale Now is not a grammatically correct sentence.
9. Extraneous words (verbiage): verbiage is not text or writing; it is extraneous, unnecessary language. The best sentences and paragraphs contain only words that are absolutely necessary. They communicate as simply and straightforwardly as possible. Keep it simple and edit the excess!
10. Consistency is key: the grammar rules don’t cover everything. As a writer, you will constantly be challenged to make judicious decisions about how to construct your sentences and paragraphs. Always be consistent. Keeping a style guide handy will be a tremendous help.

Of course, this list is just a taste of grammar rules and best writing practices that are often overlooked. What are some of the most common grammatical errors you’ve observed? Do you have any best writing practices to share? Leave a comment!

Self-Expression in Creative Writing

A lot of young people first come to creative writing because they have a burning desire to express themselves. Emotions are running high, ideas are flying, and opinions are in full supply. What better way to get it all off you chest than writing it down?

Personal expression is the heart and soul of all forms of creative writing from fiction and poetry to memoirs and essays. We combine our inner thoughts and feelings with what we perceive in the outer world and put it into words.

When we balance what’s happening inside of us with what’s happening outside, real magic happens: that’s the sweet spot where we connect with readers.

For some of us, self-expression couldn’t be easier. Give us a pen and a piece of paper and our ideas will come pouring out. For others, putting thoughts and feelings into clear, coherent sentences and paragraphs is a challenge. Everything comes out garbled and only the writer can make sense of it.

Freedom and Expression in Creative Writing

Sometimes, self-expression can come across as little more than navel gazing, egotism, or pontification. If we’re writing strictly for personal reasons, it doesn’t matter whether we write clearly or in a way that interests other people, but if we want to write professionally, to connect with an audience, our personal expressions must be clear and they must go beyond ourselves; they must resonate with readers.

Grammar and vocabulary matter: we need to communicate clearly when we’re writing for an audience. Personal shorthand, rambling, and bad grammar have to be reigned in. When it’s difficult to put our thoughts and feelings into words, we need a bigger vocabulary. If we study the language and rules of written communication, then our creative writing will be coherent and more likely to draw an audience.

Honesty is the best policy: the best writing is full of truth. Even fiction and poetry, however abstract or fantastical, contain a kind of honesty that comes from the writer being forthright. That means we must embrace who we are. We have to be ourselves. Don’t write what you think people want to hear and don’t hold back your personal truths.

Connect with readers: we’ve all read essays and poems that were all about me, me, me (me being the writer). You can certainly write a great piece about yourself (your thoughts, ideas, or experiences) but in order for people to find value in your writing, it has to include them in some way. You can write drafts for yourself, but during revision, give some thought to your readers. Why should they read this? How will they benefit from it?

Know your purpose: why do you write? Do you have ideas you want to share? Are you trying to influence people’s opinions? Will you help people see the world from a fresh perspective? Is your goal to enlighten or entertain? A little of both? When you know why you’re writing, you’ll have a much better chance at writing something worthwhile.

How Do You Express Yourself?

I’ve come across a lot of writers who insist on the sheer pleasure or therapeutic value of self-expression through creative writing. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s healthy to give yourself a personal writing space that isn’t influenced by the thought of someone else reading what you’ve written. It’s also good writing practice because there’s freedom in writing without inhibition. But what if you want to take your writing to the next level? What if you’re ready to turn your self-expressions into poems, stories, or essays that people will read?

When you write, do you think about how readers will respond? Do you plan your creative writing projects with an audience in mind or do you focus on expressing yourself? How much of yourself do you put into your writing?

How to Become a Better Writer

There’s more to writing than pushing a pen across a piece of paper, and there’s more to being a writer than having written.

These days, everyone’s a writer. We write emails, text messages, and lists. A free blog is just a few clicks away. Self-publishing has drawn tens of thousands of dreamers who have scrawled stories and uploaded them to the web for all to read.

Everyone’s a writer, including you. But how do you differentiate yourself? How do you stand out from the crowd? How do you make your words and ideas resonate with a reading audience?

Becoming a Better Writer

There’s more to becoming a better writer than improving your writing, although that’s certainly part of it. Here are a few ways you can become a better writer:

1. Make the commitment: sometimes the difference between a working writer and would-be writer is as simple as making a commitment to writing (and then sticking with it).

2. Do the work: write as often as you can, every day if possible. Spend more time writing than talking about writing or thinking about writing.

3. Engage with other writers: they will keep your fire burning, and they can help you with your writing. Find a writing buddy or group of writers and swap critiques.

4. Study the craft: there’s always more to learn. Writing is a complex and intricate field. I don’t think anyone can learn it all in one lifetime, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying!

5. Read: the single best way to improve your writing, develop ideas, and stretch your imagination is to read.

6. Know the industry: if you plan on being a professional writer, you should familiarize yourself with the business side of things. Make it your business to learn about submitting your work, publishing, and marketing.

7. Be diligent: revise, edit, proof, repeat. Nobody wants to read your rough drafts, including agents, editors, and fellow writers who are critiquing your work or helping you with proofreading and editing.

8. Build a platform: thanks to the Internet, it is cheaper and easier to build a platform today than it ever was before. Learn how to market yourself, find your readers, connect with them, and sell your books!

9. Know your audience: I like to think of a reading audience as a group of people connected by a common interest or passion. Who are your readers?

10. Be yourself: don’t write what’s hot, write what’s in your heart.

How much effort do you invest in improving your writing? Do you take steps every day to become a better writer? What steps have you taken to develop your craft and grow as a writer? Do you have any tips to add to this list? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment, and keep writing!

From 101 Creative Writing Exercises: Your Gang

Today’s writing exercise comes from my book, 101 Creative Writing Exercises.

This book takes you on an adventure through the world of writing. You’ll explore different forms and genres while learning practical writing techniques. You’ll also get plenty of writing experience and ideas for publishable projects.

Each chapter focuses on a different form or writing concept: freewriting, journaling, memoirs, fiction, storytelling, form poetry, free verse, characters, dialogue, creativity, and article and blog writing are all covered.

Today, we’ll take a peek at “Chapter Three: People and Characters” with an exercise called “Your Gang.” Enjoy!

Your Gang

Writing about one or two people in a story or piece of nonfiction isn’t too hard. Even a scene with three or four characters can be well executed by a beginning writer. When you start approaching casts and ensembles with seven, eight, nine primary characters, you risk turning your story into a riot. Everybody gets out of control.

Ensemble stories in fiction tend to be epics; they span long periods of time (sometimes several generations). Often in these stories, there are many main characters but only a few are in focus at any given time. You’re more likely to find a good ensemble on television or in a movie than in a novel. But in all mediums, there are great stories about groups and families.

Writing a true ensemble piece requires considerable mastery in writing. As the author, you have to constantly keep all your characters in play, rotating them and managing their complex personalities. You can’t forget about any of your characters and you can’t let any of them hog the spotlight. It’s a balancing act.

The Exercise

Choose an existing ensemble from a book, movie, or TV show and write a long scene or a short story featuring all of the characters. Don’t retell some story about the characters from the source material. Take the existing characters and make up your own story or scene for them.

As an added challenge, relocate the characters to a different setting. For example, take the cast from a book and put them in the setting of a movie.

The minimum number of characters you should work with for this exercise is six. Aim for eight.

Tips: You can write big scenes with all characters present. You can also put the characters in different locations and write a series of scenes that take place in these various locations. One example would be a huge family gathering for a holiday weekend. The characters will disperse to different rooms. You have to move through the house showing the reader what everyone is doing, and it all has to tie together in a meaningful way.

Variations: Come up with your own ensemble. Write a series of short character sketches and establish a setting in which these characters would be thrown together. They could be family, coworkers, passengers on a subway, or students in a classroom. You can also attempt this exercise with real people and write either a scene from a real-life experience or make up a scene featuring your friends and family (a holiday gathering, school field trip, or work meeting). Make sure you give all the characters equal weight. Remember, it’s an ensemble.

Applications: If you can write an ensemble scene, you might be suited for television writing!