Creative Writing
"Without words, without writing and without books there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity." - Hermann Hesse
Creative Writing Ideas
Write about your own experiences
A lot of the short stories I have written have been based on my own experiences. I don’t purposely look through my life for creative writing ideas. I just happen to find a lot of what I experience to have a lot of potential in stories.
If you can’t think of story ideas, look for ideas as you live your life from day to day. You might be able to think of ideas out of nowhere, but there’s just something about writing from your own experiences that is so much better.
It’s easier to write what you know
When you are writing about something you don’t know, you have to research and put in a lot of time to familiarize yourself with the topic. Even if you have a general area, you have to be sure that your whole story is consistent with location, relations, etc.
If you are writing about your own experiences, you have all the hard work done for you. While you might not want to write your exact story with all the exact same characters, tweaking the story shouldn’t be nearly as hard as coming up with something new.
You will avoid inaccuracies
You never want to be caught by a reader with any inaccuracies. It’s like watching a movie and noticing someone is holding something they weren’t two seconds earlier, or their hair is arranged differently.
It’s worse with writing because, even though it won’t be as easy to spot, it can really kill your story.
If you are describing a city you’ve been to and know well, you are less likely to make mistakes.
You can relate with your readers
There’s something about writing what you know that can often get you more emotionally involved in your story. That’s not to say that you can’t have a deep connection with completely new ideas.
If your readers feel like you relate with your story, they will be able to as well.
Of course, a truly amazing writer should be able to craft a perfect story whether it’s from experience or not. Still, keep a look out, and you just might find a gem in your personal experiences that is the start for a killer story or a great novel in the making.