Useful Tips for Creative Writing!

Use words that appeal to the senses

a. The leaves rustled in the trees and the trees swayed slightly, making groaning heavy sounds. The      twigs crackled, snapped and sputtered. 

b. The bells pealed through the clatter and the children shuffled back to class.

Use dialogues

a. “Nag, nag, nag! That’s what I hear all day!” he grumbled. 

b. “What do you expect?” cried his wife angrily. “Four mouths to feed, and another on the way, and all you do is idle about all day with your friends!” 

c. “Guess what!” I cried triumphantly, holding up the letter. “I’ve won it!” 

“Won what?” asked my mother. 

“The scholarship!” I shrieked in my excitement. 

d. “Who do you think you are?” he sneered, looking me up and down. 

e. “My daughter, my beautiful daughter,” I murmured bitterly, my lips quavering, as tears welled up in my eyes.

Write interesting descriptions of people

Appearance – draw attention to certain vivid features

i. When he laughed, he revealed a set of horribly discoloured teeth. 

ii. Everybody stared at her. She had beautiful dark hair piled high on her head, a delicately shaped face, large soft eyes and the most dazzling smile I had ever seen. 

Personality or character

i. For years she had lived with her aunt, a bad-tempered, acid-tongued woman who made her life miserable.

Write vivid descriptions of feelings

a. He sat by the hospital bed, holding her hand. It was clear that the end was near. Tears welled up in his eyes and silently coursed down his cheeks. 

“Please forgive me,” he said, choking with grief. 

b. She ran breathlessly to him with the good news. As soon as he heard it, he leapt into the air with a whoop of joy. 

“Wonderful! Marvelous! Unbelievable!” he kept shouting. 

Then he turned to her and swept her up in his arms. 

Lively style

Begin each sentence differently from the previous one.

i. I opened the door and walked straight into the room. There was Pei Yan sitting by the chair, waiting for me. Quickly rising from her chair, she came towards me. 

Use rhetoric question (questions that do not require an answer)

i. She thought of the unlucky happenings that had just befallen her – her failure in the examinations, her       mother’s    illness, and her father losing his job. How could anyone be so unfortunate? 

Use words that are highly descriptive, vivid and forceful

i. The place was eerily quiet. All around us was a deathly silence. Suddenly it was broken by a mournful cry. It did not even sound human. We looked at each other, terror-stricken, then made a dash for the door. 

Use effective adjectives

i. The forbidden words : good, bad, happy, sad, nice 

ii. Nice book: thrilling book 

iii. Good speech: witty speech 

iv. Selfish: egoistic/self-centred 

Substitute over-used adverbs

i. Very: extremely, astonishingly, shockingly