My Weird and Wonderful Writing Tips

I wouldn’t describe myself as a conventional writer, or person for that matter, so I will preface this article by saying I’m not a writing expert. I’ve only finished writing one novel and it took 8 YEARS!!! I also have many failed ideas in my computer’s rubbish bin. These are the tips and tricks I have used for both my first story, ‘Wishful Thinking’ and the new story I’m working on. If they help me then hopefully they’ll be able to help you.

A creative thinking

1. Get to know your characters

Meet your characters

Firstly, you need to get to know your characters. Seems obvious. Think about when you go on a first date. Your goal is to meet someone new, get to know them and see if they’ll fit into your life. I take the same approach with my writing.

When I was writing my first novel, Wishful Thinking, my main character Paige De Luca felt like a mystery to me. I often felt lost in her world which made it hard for me to connect chapters and build tension.

I confided in a writing friend about the disconnect I felt with Paige and she recommended filling out a character description. There are so many online. They ask you questions you’ve never thought to ask of your character’s like what is your biggest fear? Do you have a secret and why have you been keeping it for so long?

The question of who is your favourite band was really helpful. I was able to listen to the music Paige liked to to help me get into her head, her favourite singer is Taylor Swift if you were wondering.

You need to remember your characters have had a life before the moment in time of your story. Memories may or may not appear in your novel but discovering these play a part in making your character feel whole.

2. Writing Warm Ups

I’m sure a lot of aspiring writers have found that sometimes the tap of creativity has been turned off and no matter how hard you twist it you can’t get it to turn. Have you ever heard of writing warm ups? Don’t groan at me. Seriously, they can really help, you just need to be open to the exercise.

There are so many writing warm ups online. Maybe you want to look at an image on Pinterest to get your creative juices flowing or listen to the lyrics in a song. It could even be as simple as describing what’s outside your window.

I have found doing a warm up for fifteen minutes loosens my tap of creativity and I’m able to do some decent writing in the time that follows.

Any time when you are writing is a good thing. Maybe one of these warm ups could turn into the idea for a new chapter or a completely new story.

3. Play the Sims 4

Natasha

Ok, yes this is weird. For those of you who might not know, The Sims is a game where you can create your own character, choose their clothes and build them a house. It’s a bit of a power trip really. You control your character’s interactions, relationships, career and bathroom schedule. It's like playing interactive Barbies.

One thing you need to know about me is that I’m a visual learner and I need to see things first hand to help me describe them in my writing.

When I revisited ‘Wishful Thinking’, and my story was taking shape,I was having a lot of issues visualising my characters. Paige’s hair and eyes kept changing colour, I didn’t know what kind of clothes she might wear that fit with her personality and I was struggling to imagine the layout of her house. Sounds like a small problem but I was getting really stuck.

I pulled out Sims 4 on Origin, and I created all my important characters. I was able to look at the different character traits which shape how your character behaves in the game, dress my characters and build their homes. I then took screenshots of my characters in their different outfits and I can use them as my inspiration while writing.

Building their homes has helped me a lot too. I’ve been able to design Paige’s bedroom which helps me move her about the space in my mind while writing. Not only is this fun but it brings me closer to my characters. I feel like I can really understand them. The only risk with this strategy is I can get a bit carried away with the game and not focus my time on my writing.

These are the things that help me when I’m writing a new story. Give them a go if you’re stuck and I’d love to hear your tips and tricks for writing.

Frances xx