Creative Writing

When I first started writing online, I was writing poetry. Now mind you, my poetry is rhyming verse. I’ve been writing in this style since I was in junior high school, and absolutely loved it. I’ve got hundreds of notebooks and binders filled with my poems, but when I tried to find a place for them online, I was quickly told that rhyming poetry is a sure sign of being an amateur. I was devistated.

I tried writing free verse after that, but found out immediately that I sucked at it. So, I thought my days as a poet were over. That’s when it came to me. Rhyming poetry would be a great way to break into the greeting card market. I’ve always been one of those people who stood in the greeting card isle for hours reading all the cards. So, I started submitting my prose to every greeting card company I could find an address for. I also found out that the greeting card industry is filled with a lot of tough competition.

I was just about ready to give up when it came to me to do my own greeting cards. The cool thing is that anyone can do this. Doesn’t matter whether you want to do e-cards or if you’re looking to create actual greeting cards. All it takes is a few creative lines and some ingenuity.

The first thing you want to think about is who you’re creating the cards for. Are they going to be birthday cards, sympathy cards, or just a little something to say hi? The best part about this is that you can make greeting cards for ANY occasion. I’ve even seen some that say Congratulations on your Divorce.

If you can put together a few poetic lines, you can make your own greeting cards. You can go so far as to put together a webpage and sell them online. If you can make cards that are just off the wall enough, you’ll have people knocking down your virtual door to get to them. As far as the card design, that’s totally up to you. You can go with a good printer and some free clip-art pieces. Or, you can glue little pieces of fabric or whatever and create “hand-made” cards. It’s amazing what people will look for online.

If you’re one of the people out there who have a knack for writing rhyming poetry, but aren’t sure what to do with it, try creating your own greeting cards. Who says rhyming poetry is amateurish. Greeting card companies are making millions of dollars every year because of it. Who knows, you could be the next Hallmark on the block.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous article, I get a few of my ideas from the keyword searches for my site (sites). As I was going through my search word list, I found that someone had looked up the term “How do I create a creative writing blog”. That got me to thinking, and I’ve come up with a few things that a person may want to do if thinking about creating their own site. First of all, please understand that I do not think of myself as an expert. I’m simply someone who’s been working on this for the past 10 years online. I can’t promise that what I’m about to tell you will make you successful, because if it does, please tell me how you did it. However, I can tell you that the following has worked for me.

Throw “What You Know” out the window–From the first time I started writing online, I visited every site/forum/message board I could find. And on each of those sites, I was told to write what I know. For someone just getting started, this is great advice, but I quickly found that this really limited my options for publications. So, I started looking into topics that I knew nothing about. Guess what, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

The bigger picture–Creating a creative writing blog doesn’t just have to be about creative writing as a whole. There are a lot of topics within this one topic. For instance, you could write about creative poetry or writing creative non-fiction. You could do a creative writing blog on romance stories or ideas for creative fantasy stories. Sometimes, the more narrow you’re topic, the better.

Talk up, not down–Don’t assume that any of your readers are new to the craft. In fact, it’s a good idea to write as if you’re talking to a room full of experts. Why? Because you’re readers will be able to tell if you’re talking down to them. Remember that you’re readers are also your fellow writers. They’re probably looking more for new ideas than for ways to become a creative writer. Just talk to your readers as though you’re all sitting down to coffee together.

It’s not all make believe–Not all creative writers are fiction writers. In fact, in order to write non-fiction, you’ve got to be very creative in your wording and your ideas. I’ve written both fiction and non-fiction, and I’ve found that fiction is usually easier. When writing non-fiction, you’ve got to be able to stand out from the rest of the pack, without copying someone else’s work.

Be true to you–If you’re going to put together a creative writing blog, remember to just be yourself. You don’t have to try and be the most intelligent person online, nor do you have to know all the biggest words in the dictionary. You only have pass on the information you’ve picked up in your own experiences. You’ll find that within a short amount of time, you’ll have a small following of readers who will look forward to each and every post, and will offer their own insights. Before you know it, you’ve created a creative writing blog and a great writing resource that will last for years to come.

Up to this point, I’ve only talked about ways for you to tap into your creative side.  But, when I came across this, I had to pass it along.  I got a comment in my last post from a gentleman who wanted me to check out his site, but really didn’t want to bang it out there because it might look like spam.  That really caught my attention and I feel that I must repay his kindness.  The site is called CompletelyNovel.com, and looks like it could become a great social resource for all writers.  The one thing that I do need to mention is that this site is currently by invitation only.  However, you can fill out the form on the homepage in order to be added to their waiting list. 

Here’s the thing, though.  They are currently holding a free writing competition through September 1st, for all writers over the age of 18.  The theme for this contest is “And now for something completely different…”.  I love it.  Gotta love Monty Python.  Basically, they are looking for stories about change, imagination, and innovation.  The stories cannot be more than 2500 words, and must be previously unpublished.  The 5 top stories will have be published in the first ever CompletelyNovel anthology.  Plus, the winning authors will have the chance to publish any other manuscript.  This includes typesetting, file converstion, and even 10 paperback copies of your book.

Finally, I’ve got to talk about the CompletelyNovel blog.  You don’t have to be invited to enjoy this part of the site.  Here, you really get a chance to “meet” the people behind the website.  You’ll also find interesting news and tidbits of writing information among the posts.  The site is relatively new, but from what I can see, this is going to be a great resource for writers. 

No matter what genre you write, one thing is certain for all writers.  You’ve got to hone your skills on a constant basis.  So, how do you do this?  Well, that depends on the person.  Some people like to write poetry, some write editorials, while others simply write letters.  One of the ways I work on my creative skills is by writing reviews.

Writing reviews is a great way to work on your creative side.  So, what should you review?  Anything you want.  Review your favorite t.v. show.  Talk about the characters, the plot line, the actors, anything that has to do with the show.  You can review a recent movie you’ve seen in theaters, or one you’ve rented and taken home.  There are a ton of things that can be reviewed.  Me, I review commercials, among other things.

Want to get really creative?  Review something you’d never normally think of.  For instance, review the way your mail carrier delivers the mail, or review the cashier at your local grocers.  They might think you’re a little nuts for watching them, but who cares, you’re a writer.  We’ve always been thought of as a little eccentric.

Here’s one for you, review a local sports team.  This can be your child’s little league team, or a favorite college team.  You can even review your favorite professional team.  Doesn’t matter, just try your hand at reviewing.  It’s actually a lot of fun.  And the best part is that if you get good enough at it, you can actually make a few bucks in the process.

Next time you’re sitting there staring at a blank computer screen or sheet of paper, and can’t think of a thing to write about, write a review.  If nothing else, review yourself.  It will get you writing, and will get your creative side moving.

When was the last time you really challenged your creative side?  I don’t mean tried to write a hundred articles in a single day, but really challenged the limits of your own potential?  I recently had the chance to do just that.  I was hired to write 15 articles about a subject I knew nothing about, well almost nothing.  I had to write 15 articles about cellulite.

The thing about this was that I knew very little about the subject.  I knew what it was for the most part, I knew why I had it, and I knew that it wouldn’t have been my first choice in article topics.  But, I took the gig and began doing my research.  I read everything I could find on medical websites, health and fitness sites, even exercise equipment sites.  If it had to do with cellulite, I was reading it.  When I had finished the articles, I knew more about cellulite than I ever wanted to know.  But, I had learned something.

Being a creative writer isn’t something only meant for fiction writers.  Those who write non-fiction sometimes have to be even more creative.  The non-fiction genre is a tough crowd.  There is a lot of competition and everyone is out to top everyone else.  In order to be part of the game, you not only have to know what your talking about, you have to do it in a way that makes you stand out.  That’s the hardest part.

Whatever you write, I challenge you to go above and beyond what you’ve done so far.  Challenge yourselves to move beyond the “what you know” scene and become informed about any subject you know nothing about.  Once you’ve broke that boundary, I challenge you to do it again.