When Erica started writing her book, she thought she had a pretty good idea of where she was headed with it.
As a pediatrician, she concerned herself in her practice with the physical health of children.
With her book, she wanted to broaden that focus. She wanted to highlight was the dysfunction created in the family when parents depend on the eldest child to carry the burden of parenting.
Born into a family of working parents whose four children had often been left to their own resources, Erica had suffered the pain of being the eldest.
Charged more often than not with her three sisters’ welfare and safety, but having no real authority over them, she had endured the pain of being resented by her siblings and blamed by her parents for everything that went wrong.
And she now felt called upon to write a book that would make the point that the oldest child needs to be allowed to be just that – a child.
The day she first sat down to organize her thoughts, the principal points she wanted to make were clear in her mind. She set them down on paper.
Short, and to the point.
How would she turn that into a book? She had already put down every thought in her head.
All night she wrestled with the nagging voice that told her she really didn’t have much to say.
Day after day she toiled, reworking the same pages time after time. Her descriptions came out clinical. Impersonal. Sterile. Any shred of life they had held she managed to drain out of them.
What was the matter with her?
Discouraged, Erica shoved the computer to the back of her desk and drug herself to her closet to dress for the office.
She braved showing her writings to her assistant, to see her reaction. The girl’s response was noncommittal.
Though she tried not to let it show, Erica cringed. “Don’t quit your day job,” she said with a snicker to the face in the office restroom mirror.
If you have started writing but have hit a wall, if you find your writing uninspired, you may be suffering as Erica suffered. You know you have important points to make – so how can you make them in a way that will touch the soul of your reader?
Here are a few creative writing tips to get you going:
If your writing is lackluster, do something to get in touch with the emotion that will bring it to life. In Erica’s case, she might set up a time to talk with a group of first-born children. (Alone, they might be reticent to talk. But in a group? The trials and tribulations of being the oldest will come out big time!)
Alternatively, she could relax and entertain some childhood memories that would put her in touch with other memories… and lead her to the emotions she needs to communicate.
As a last resort, she could visit a hypnotherapist!
Authenticity is king. Don’t be afraid to delve into your own life for the juice that inspires you to write.
Even if you’re writing nonfiction, it’s not “Just the facts, ma’am.” That’s fine for police work, but it doesn’t work as a writing M.O. The facts are bare bones; it’s the quivering flesh that makes readers read.
All good writing – fiction or nonfiction – is creative writing, and benefits from the application of creative writing tips.
Erica was suffering from a common malady: a debilitating fear of feeling the emotions that are the driving force behind your writing.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t known those emotions. She had known them all too well. It was no accident she had entered a profession that brought her face to face with children’s pain!
How about YOU? Did your profession have its roots in your childhood? What happened to you that touched you so deeply you had to create your business or practice around it?
Consider: What kinds of feelings are you avoiding that could breathe life into your writing?
For a wealth of valuable TIPS on why you should be writing and how to get started
(INCLUDES a COMPLIMENTARY BONUS AUTHOR CHECKLIST), click here: writeyourwaytoprosperity.com/wywtp.
AND claim your FREE PROSPERITY TIPS FOR WRITERS at the top of the sidebar on the righthand side this page.
NOTE: In over 25 years of helping people with their books, my clients have voiced the same issues time and again. Many of my blog posts are composites of their stories to assist you in the realization of YOUR dream of writing and publishing your own book(s).
Chiwah Carol Slater, MAWriteYourWaytoProsperity.comWordWeaver4U.com
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What Creative Writing Tips Will Bring Life to Your Writing?