Creative Writing | Writing Forward

Creative Writing, Art, and Commerce

What is art? People have been trying to answer that question for centuries, but we still don’t have a definitive answer. We know art is borne of creativity. It’s meant to impact whoever is experiencing it. And it comes from a place within the artist that we don’t truly understand. Art remains a mystery, both…Read More

Journal Ideas for Daily Writing and Creativity

Every expert in the world thinks you should keep a journal. Physical trainers suggest keeping an exercise journal, and nutritionists recommend keeping track of your meals. Oprah insists on a gratitude journal, and business consultants promote journaling one’s career. How much journal writing can one person do? Journals are, first and foremost, the forté of…Read More

How to Transform Words Into Writing Inspiration

I recently flipped through my copy of Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge’s Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words (aff link), and after just a couple of chapters, my imagination was on fire. I’m always looking for new ways to inspire writing ideas, and lately I’ve been thinking that we should talk more about a writer’s most basic…Read More

How to Harvest a Dream Journal for Writing Inspiration

There’s something mysterious and magical about dreams. In the dreamworld, anything is possible. Our deepest desires and greatest fears come to life. Whether they haunt or beguile, our dreams represent the far reaches of our imaginations. Journals can have similar qualities of mystery and intrigue. If your journal is full of freewrites, doodles, cryptic notes,…Read More

Creative Writing: Reflective Journaling

A journal is a chronological log, and you can use a journal to log anything you want. Many professionals keep journals, including scientists and ship captains. Their journals are strictly for tracking their professional progress. Fitness enthusiasts keep diet and exercise journals. Artists use journals to chronicle their artistic expressions. A writer’s journal can hold…Read More

Unusual Writing Activities That Will Boost Your Creativity

Writing usually involves sitting in a chair and hammering away at a keyboard. It can get repetitive and mundane. I have often found that when I need a boost of creativity, removing myself from my normal writing environment is a good way to get ideas flowing. If you’re feeling stuck, try positioning your body differently….Read More

A Guide to Journaling for Writers

The world of journaling is fascinating and expansive. There are people who make their own notebooks and fill them with stunning artwork and gorgeous lettering. Others spend months writing in a journal and then burn it when they get to the end, only to start another one. Some people use cheap spiral-bound notebooks for journal…Read More

Tips for Developing Your Voice in Writing

Each and every writer has a distinct way of writing. We repeat certain words, phrases, and expressions; there are patterns in how we arrange words in sentences and paragraphs, and our writing often carries a recognizable tone and rhythm. The term for this is voice. Wikipedia defines one’s voice in writing as “a combination of…Read More

14 Types of Creative Writing

When we talk about creative writing, fiction and poetry often take the spotlight, but there are many other types of creative writing that we can explore. Most writers develop a preference for one form (and genre) above all others. This can be a good thing, because you can specialize in your form and genre and…Read More

A Guide to Writing Creative Nonfiction

Here at Writing Forward, we’re primarily interested in three types of creative writing: poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. With poetry and fiction, there are techniques and best practices that we can use to inform and shape our writing, but there aren’t many rules beyond the standards of style, grammar, and good writing. We can let…Read More