Creative Writing 101: Everything You Need to Get Started

Creative writing is an art with its own set of challenges, especially if you intend to pursue it as a profession. There is a low bar to entry, anyone with access to a pen and paper or word processor can start. However, to become skilled requires study, practice, persistence and a desire to develop and improve.

The Tools of the Trade

It’s true that you can start writing at any time with whatever you have at your disposal. A notebook and pen is the old-fashioned way of doing things, but most people use a word processor like Microsoft Word, Google Docs or Scrivener. 

My personal preference for writing software is Google Docs. It doesn’t have as many features as Scrivener, which is designed with longform writing projects in mind. However, it is comparable to Word (and in some ways better). Google Docs are also completely free, anyone with a Google account can use them. Additionally, you can use your account’s Google Drive to organise your notes and chapters or even store inspirational images like mood boards or concept art.

Software such as Campfire or World Anvil can also be useful. They are designed with worldbuilding in mind, helping you chart the history, lore and rules of your world in a variety of convenient ways. Although, I would hardly call tools like these essential - especially outside of large scale fantasy and sci-fi epics. For most people, a Google Drive or notebook is plenty good enough.

Proofing and spell-checking software like Grammarly can also be useful. Although, again, I wouldn’t call it necessary. Especially because, for the most part, software like this will never be able to replace a human editor or beta reader.

Honestly, the most useful resource you have at your disposal is people. Not only is a good human editor or beta reader much better than software, but people can give you an indicator of the actual enjoyability of your work that software can’t. They can also tell you about their experiences to help educate you or give you writing advice. If you can find yourself a community of other writers to involve yourself with, I recommend it.

A Developmental Mindset

Nobody starts out brilliant and even the most experiences and gifted writers can still find ways to improve. Just like with any artform, to get good at creative writing, you have to be willing to learn. Luckily, there are a number of ways to go about this.

One of the best ways to improve as a writer is to read the work of others. By reading a lot of different works from a diverse set of voices, you provide yourself with the opportunity to decide what you like or dislike about those stories and then analyse why you like or dislike them. You can then put what you learn from that analysis into practice in your own writing. 

Cast a wide net too. Don’t just read stories in your genre. In fact, don’t just limit your story analysis to books. There is a lot of great writing across television, film, comics, narrative podcasts and so forth as well. Consume a wide array of different media. Every story you interact with can be a tool you can use to grow as a writer.

I advocate for reading, watching or listening to story and literature analyses too. There are a great many essays, video essays, newsletters and educational podcasts out there that can teach you new writing strategies or provide new perspectives on stories and media that you can learn from. You could also take creative writing courses, of which there are many easily available through the internet.

For most of us, the biggest obstacle to improving our writing is ourselves. It’s easy to not want to change things we’ve spent hours working on or alter our comfortable writing habits. But improvement necessitates a willingness to learn and adapt.

Practice

Of course, the only real way to get started is to start. Then, once you’ve started, the only way to improve is to keep going. It doesn’t matter how many courses you take or books you read, you have to put what you learn into practice to really see signs of improvement.

That isn’t to say that you have to churn out pages upon pages of novels that you’ll never publish. Shorter stories are a perfectly valid entry point into creative writing as well as a great way to practice. The same basic storytelling principles are present in stories of every length.

Consider trying some simple writing exercises too. Writing individual scenes or random paragraphs can help you work on specific things you want to improve. Another great method is to paraphrase an existing piece of fiction into your own words, which is a great way to isolate what does or doesn’t work for you about someone’s writing.

Through all of this, it’s important to remember that creative writing as a hobby or a profession isn’t a one-off event. It’s a continual process of growing and evolving. Sometimes that means you’ll produce something you don’t like. That’s just part of the process. Keep motivated and keep trying and eventually you’ll get to a standard you’re happy with. Then keep trying to improve further still.

Summary

Whether you want to write as a profession, or just for fun, it’s easy for it to seem like a daunting task. For a lot of people, just beginning really is the hardest part. However, the only real way to become the writer you want to be is to start writing and then keep on writing after that. Luckily, there’s also a bunch of tools and advice out there that can make your writing journey easier.

If you’re interested in reading up on more specific writing advice and analysis, try checking out some of my other articles. Alternatively, if you want to pick apart someone else’s writing, feel free to take a look at any of the free stories I have available on this site or purchase one of my books.