#Creative Writing Tips

Writing Tip Tuesday 👉 Here are 4 ways to hook readers from the very first page: 1️⃣ Start with tension, not background. Readers don’t need the character’s entire life story in paragraph one. Start with something happening — conflict, danger, a secret, or an unexpected moment. ✍️ Example: “Emily wasn’t supposed to be in the mayor’s office after midnight—especially not with his safe cracked open behind her.” 🔎 Why it works: Tension triggers curiosity and urgency. Now they’re invested before you’ve explained anything. 2️⃣ Open with a question readers want answered. Create a mystery or unanswered question in the first few lines. A strong hook makes readers think, “Wait… what’s going on here?”. If they need to know the answer, they’ll keep reading. ✍️ Example: “On the morning of her wedding, Lily found a note slipped under her door.” 🔎 Why it works: Curiosity creates a reading loop. Once a question is opened, readers feel psychological tension until they learn the answer. 3️⃣ Introduce the main character through action. Instead of describing who your character is, show them doing something. Their choices, reactions, and dialogue reveal personality faster than exposition. ✍️ Example: “‘Don’t open that door,’ the officer warned. Maya opened it anyway.” 🔎 Why it works: Readers connect to characters through behavior. Action reveals personality faster and more naturally than explanation. 4️⃣ End the first scene with a mini cliffhanger. Your first chapter should end with something unresolved. Give readers a reason to turn the page — a reveal, a shocking line, or a new problem. ✍️ Example: “The message on Daniel’s phone wasn’t from his girlfriend. It was from her sister. And it said: She knows.” 🔎 Why it works: A cliffhanger creates momentum. Instead of feeling like a stopping point, the chapter feels like a launch point into the next scene. 📌 Save this for your next writing session 💬 What’s your favorite way to hook readers in the first chapter? Tell us in the comments 🔗Are you a writer? Go to the link in bio and enter our writing contests! #writingtips #writingadvice

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Writing tips: A pen name, or pseudonym, is a fictitious name that an author uses instead of their real name when publishing their work. Writers use pen names for all sorts of reasons such as privacy, personal preference, or to cross into another genre. Here are some tips for creating yours. ⁺₊✧ (Save for later) ⁺₊✧ CHECK GOOGLE AND SOCIALS: First of all you don’t want to pick a pen name only to find out they’re a famous w@r criminal. 💀 Beyond the obvious though, you might have a smoother ride if your pen name isn’t taken on social media. No big deal if it is, you can always modify the handle by adding “writer” or “writes” or “author” on the end, but if even THOSE are taken, consider going back to the drawing board. ⁺₊✧ CONSIDER GENRE: You don’t have to do this by any means, but readers often have certain expectations based on the genre. Your pen name can signal what sort of content readers might expect from you. A cozy romance writer might choose a name that sounds approachable and nice like Lily Summers over something like Rex Falcon. ⁺₊✧ USE AN INITIAL: This not only gives you some anonymity but it can conceal things like your gender. If this is important to you (for example, you might be writing in a genre dominated by another gender, or you’re a private person) then consider it. ⁺₊✧ HONOUR SOMEBODY: If you’re stuck, look to people you want to honour. This could be a family member, an inspirational writer, or some other icon in your life. You can take their first name, for example, or their surname (if it’s not super distinct and recognisable). Generally avoid taking their entire name unless they’re fine with that. ⁺₊✧ GET FEEDBACK: Sometimes even the smartest people miss a very very obvious drawback. Better safe than sorry! Get some feedback on your pen name. You can do it in the comments section if you want! ⁺₊✧ 👉  Save for later ✨  Follow @schoolofplot for more writing advice, tips, prompts 🔍  Get writing resources and freebies in the link in my bio . Tags 🏷️ #writingadvice #writing #writingtips #writingprompts #writingideas

Read more ⬇️ —- 🫶 let’s be writing buddies 👉 follow @notetrail for writing tools, tips and free resources 💌 Save for later —— Copy: Unresolved Subplots: * Example: If you introduce a character searching for a lost sibling, ensure their search has a clear outcome by the end, even if it’s just learning the sibling’s fate. * Tip: Create a checklist of all subplots and make sure each one is addressed before the story concludes. Inconsistent Character Behavior: * Example: If a character is established as afraid of heights, don’t have them casually climb a mountain without explanation or development. * Tip: Keep a character bible with notes on each character’s traits and motivations to maintain consistency. Ignoring Established Rules: * Example: If your story’s magic system requires a spell to be cast using certain ingredients, don’t let a character cast the same spell without those ingredients later on. * Tip: Write down the rules of your world and refer to them often to ensure consistency. Convenient Resolutions: * Example: Avoid having a character find a hidden map that leads directly to the treasure right when they need it most, without prior hints. * Tip: Foreshadow important resolutions early in the story, so they feel earned rather than convenient. Timeline Discrepancies: * Example: If a journey is said to take three days, ensure that the characters do not arrive in one day without a clear and logical reason. * Tip: Use a timeline or calendar to map out events and their durations to maintain a consistent chronology. Tags. #writingadvice #writing #writingtips #writingprompts #writingideas #writersofinstagram #bookstagram #authorsofinstagram

They’re missing these 3 crucial elements: 👇 🎯 1. Using contractions and incomplete sentences Real people rarely speak in perfect, complete sentences. We mumble, trail off, and skip words. ❌ Don’t do: “I cannot believe that you would do something like that to me.” ✅ Instead do: “I can’t... you actually—how could you?” 🔍 2. Adding verbal tics and filler words People say “um,” “like,” “you know,” and “I mean” all the time. Your characters should too (just sparingly). ❌ Don’t do: “I believe we should reconsider our strategy and approach this differently.” ✅ Instead do: “Look, I just think—I mean, maybe we’re doing this all wrong?” 💭 3. Cutting the small talk and pleasantries Unless it reveals character, skip the “hello,” “how are you,” “goodbye.” Get to the tension faster. ❌ Don’t do: “Hi, how are you?” “I’m good, thanks. How about you?” “Great! So anyway, I wanted to talk about...” ✅ Instead do: “We need to talk.” “About what?” “You know what.” Remember: Dialogue on the page isn’t a transcript of real conversation—it’s the illusion of real conversation. Tighter, sharper, but still authentic. The best dialogue sounds like people talking... just with all the boring parts cut out. Want more dialogue tips? Comment DIALOGUETIPS for my free guide to writing conversations that actually sound natural! 💬✨

Delete these words from your writing 🚫 Before we start, I’m going to give the obvious disclaimer that there’s nuance to this, and you shouldn’t take a catchy hook as a hard rule. The following words can often be deleted from your prose just because there are often stronger, more effective ways to write. That said, if there are places where you think they work, LEAVE THEM IN. Also, this doesn’t count for dialogue. . SUDDENLY: See if you can convey suddenness instead of writing ‘suddenly’. For example, you could swap ‘suddenly, the door opened’ to ‘the door burst open’. . FELT: (As in the past tense of ‘to feel’, not the fuzzy fabric.) There are some cases where this word works fine, but see if your sentence could be stronger if you described the feeling instead of just saying ‘he felt X’. For example, instead of ‘he felt agitated’, show him pacing, write his scattered thoughts, describe his fidgeting, and so on. If you need some guidance, check out the ✨FREE BODY LANGUAGE CHEAT SHEET✨ linked in my bio for a handy reference. . SAW/HEARD: Sometimes these words have a purpose, but they can often be replaced with something stronger and more direct. Instead of ‘he heard a man walking’ you could write ‘footsteps echoed down the hallway’. This can be more vivid. It allows readers to experience sights/sounds firsthand instead of filtering them through the character’s perspective. . SEEMED: Again, this word has its place. If you want your sentence to sound more direct and concise, remove it. If you want to keep an air of uncertainty, keep it. For example, you could rewrite ‘everyone seemed to agree’ with ‘a wave of applause rippled through the crowd’. . 👉  Save for later ✨  Follow @schoolofplot for more writing advice, tips, prompts 🔍  Get writing resources and freebies in the link in my bio . Tags 🏷️ #writingadvice #writing #writingtips #writingprompts #writingideas

Here’s the truth most writers never hear 👀 You don’t create distinct voices by writing more; instead, you create them by choosing intentionally. Tiny, repeated choices (the words your characters naturally reach for), become their invisible fingerprints 💛 Here are three ways you can do this in your draft 👇 1️⃣ Give each POV their own signature words. Not catchphrases. Not quirks. Just the handful of words they default to without thinking. Because real people repeat themselves…and so should your characters to help them feel real too. Examples: ⏩ One says “maybe…” ⏩ One says “actually—” ⏩ One refuses to use contractions (I am / we will) ⏩ One thinks in metaphors tied to their world: baking, prayer, farming, astronomy… Your reader won’t notice the pattern; they’ll just feel the voice 😊 2️⃣ Keep the signature word list small. Like… 5–7 words small. If you give a character twenty “signature” words, none of them are signature. But a carefully selected handful? Suddenly, their voice stabilizes across 300 pages. 3️⃣ Let those words reveal psychology. ⏩ Maybe = uncertainty. ⏩ Actually = defensiveness or precision. ⏩ No contractions = guarded, formal, controlled. ⏩ Baking metaphors = nurturer. ⏩ Biblical metaphors = faith-driven worldview. Remember: voice isn’t just decoration, it’s building character. Readers don’t remember characters because of what they say. They remember them because of how they say it. Share this post if you like it + follow @pen.and.polish 🙌😊 ⏩ Does your character have a signature word?

Top 4 tools for any beginning writer: • K. M. Weiland’s Outlining Your Novel and Structuring Your Novel workbooks. When I first started to really take writing seriously I used these resources to help me figure out my process for structuring, outlining, and plotting the entirety of a novel. The workbooks provided multiple different approaches for how to do this, and I was able to build my own personal way of outlining once I saw all the ways it could be done! •Dry erase boards. As a beginning writer I found that my thoughts and ideas were all over the place, so I’d brainstorm my ideas and write them all on a dry erase board, erasing them and adjusting as I saw fit. Something about being able to do this by hand – while also being able to easily erase – really helped. •Google Docs. Though I went through various different platforms (Microsoft Word, Pages, and Scrivener, to name a few), Google Docs has always been the most user-friendly for me, and makes formatting easy. Also, being able to create folders within folders within folders in Google Drive has also been deeply helpful. •Storymatic. This was a card game my family got me once I started to show a deep interest in writing again. Even though I no longer use it, the cards are filled with different scenes and character ideas! It’s a perfect place to start when you’re stuck in the middle of a chapter and are running out of motivation. Let me know if you end up using any of these, and what you think! #writing #incorrectquotes #wip #newwritersofinstagram #poetry #youngwritersclub #teenwriters #author #write #writercommunity #newwriters #booklover #artist #bookcandles #writercommunityofinstagram #futureauthor

Are you a writer? Then finish this... #writings #writingsociety #writercommunity #writingprompt

“I have an idea, but how do I start writing?” Here’s how I do it: By starting small. I write a summary and a brain dump before I’m ready to start on my first draft. #writers #writing #books #novels #writingprocess #writingtips

The technique that changed everything ⤵️ But first, make sure you’re following so you don’t miss any writing tips and tricks. I used to think that asking for help with my writing meant I wasn’t good enough as a writer. I USED to think that truly great writers were the ones who only had raw, natural talent… And if I asked for help, then I wasn’t one of them. Well, that was dumb. But hey, we all make mistakes, right? Which is why I felt super silly when I finally created a technique that worked… And it was stupidly easy. I call it my Signature Q&A Method, and it uses targeting questions to develop each part of your story, no matter the genre. I gave it to my students and they started writing like crazy. One of them even finished her first draft in 90 days! Want to see it for yourself? Comment METHOD and then check your DMs 🫶 (And make sure you’re following, or the DM may not go through) Let’s write that novel! #writersofinstagram #writer #writersofig #writertok #writerproblems

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