How to Write Creatively: A Guide to Turning Ideas into Masterpieces

Discover what it means to write creatively and the best methods for actually doing it. 

By Julie Tyler Ruiz

What does it mean to write creatively?

Writing creatively is the act of turning your original ideas into a written piece, a unique reading experience that will inspire your audience. 

Unlike professional or academic writing, writing in a creative way means you use a special set of techniques and styles to infuse your work with emotional texture, innovative use of language, surprising forms, and aesthetic qualities. 

Let's look at a comparison example:

• A legal textbook: a piece of academic writing that defines laws in a straightforward manner, describes historical cases pertaining to those laws. By studying a legal textbook, students gain an understanding of laws to uphold them in their practice.
• A legal thriller: a work of fiction that tells a story about someone wrongly accused of a crime. To write the novel, the author takes creative license to make up the events of the story and how the trial turns out, while showing how laws affect lives. Readers can still learn about laws, as with reading the textbook, but the novel adds multiple layers of entertainment value, including the suspense of the trial and the quality of the writing itself. 

To explore a more thorough definition of creative writing, read my article, "What is Creative Writing? Definition, Types, and How to Get Started." 

How to write creatively: 7 strategies

Now that you know what writing creatively entails, let's go over how to do it. In this guide, I offer seven concrete strategies for unleashing your creativity, expressing your heart and soul, and ultimately inspiring readers. No prior experience or education required! 

Take on these strategies in the order I've listed them to lay a strong creative writing foundation that you can build upon over time.  

1. Cultivate a creative mindset. 

A creative mindset refers to our ability to explore new ideas and possibilities, innovate new solutions, and remain curious and open-minded. This mindset supports your creative writing efforts, in that your ideas will flow continuously, giving you fresh material to write about and the inspiration to spend time at your desk.  

You can cultivate a creative mindset, regardless of your professional background or other passions. This means that even if you work as an investment banker or software engineer, roles that require quantitative and technology skills, you can still apply your ingenuity and curiosity to creative writing. 

Learn more in my step-by-step video tutorial, Reclaim Your Creativity!

2. Develop creative writing skills 

To write creatively and express your ideas artfully on paper, you'll need to develop several skills and abilities. The most important skills to build when you're just starting your creative writing journey include:

• Clarity, to ensure that your readers comprehend the meaning and message of your work.  

• Technical proficiency, meaning you've mastered the different techniques of your genre, such as developing characters or building plot in fiction.

• Emotional depth, to convey a range of emotions throughout a written piece and evoke an emotional response from your audience. 

• Research skills, to educate yourself on the topic of your work and provide a fresh perspective.

• Revising skills, to spot opportunities to improve your writing and refine the quality of a given piece. 

As you continue writing, your skill set will grow and diversify, giving you more options for creative expression.  

3. Study your genre.

Creative writing genres include fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and drama. As a creative writer, you'll likely focus your writing on one or two genres you like best. Study your chosen genre to understand how it works and master the craft:

Here's what to study:

• The forms and styles that make the genre unique, such as a plot in fiction or stage directions in a dramatic work.  
• The writing techniques particular to the genre, such as using imagery in poetry or foreshadowing events in fiction. 
• The celebrated authors in your genre, such as the late Maya Angelou, known for her poetry, storytelling, and autobiographies.

To study effectively, take courses, read extensively, and connect with other experienced writers to discuss your work.

TIP: Be sure to practice using the techniques of your genre on a regular basis. For example, if you're studying fiction, practicing the techniques means you'll think up new characters and storylines. You don't have to turn any of your practice rounds into finish products. Their purpose is for you to learn, gain confidence, and discover what you most enjoy writing. 

4. Articulate your creative vision. 

A creative vision for writers, very simply, is a clear and detailed description of what you want to write. Even if you're already working on a writing project, articulating your creative vision is a crucial step for turning your writing dreams into a realistic plan of action.  

Open a fresh document and write down the following:

• Your goals for each individual writing project. What do you want to accomplish?
• A description of the finished product. What features define it and set it apart from similar works?
• A statement of purpose that explores the why behind your vision. What values, motivations, desires, and needs drive your desire to write creatively?

Here's an example of how a creative vision could start: My vision is to launch a career as a successful novelist, adapting some of own life experiences into works of fiction readers love. My first novel will explore what it's like to immigrate to a new country. I'll base the main character's journey on my own process of leaving home to become a US citizen. 

TIP: Keep your creative vision document handy so that you can refer to it throughout the writing process. Remain open to modifying the details of your vision as your skills improve and your ideas mature. 

5. Brainstorm unique angles and approaches to your work. 

Part of writing creatively is to approach your topic from a unique angle, making your writing stand out from other content on the same topic. For example, let's say you're writing a love story, but you want to avoid overused tropes and predictable plots. So, you brainstorm a few options to try out:

• Setting the story in a remote, foreign village instead of a major city. 
• Developing the romance between two people in their eighties, instead of in their prime.
• Adding an element of mystery or secrecy between the lovers that breeds distrust and threatens their relationship.

Taking fresh approaches not only sets your work apart, but also inspires readers who are looking for novelty and surprise. 

6. Liven up your writing style.  

Once you've mastered clarity, experiment with your writing style. The goals are to:

• Develop a style that is unique and innovative, without obscuring meaning.
• Distinguish your creative writing pieces from professional and academic writing, which usually feature straightforward language, informative content, and a neutral tone. 

Methods for livening up your style include: 

• Varying your sentence structures.
• Using unique or unexpected synonyms for common words.
• Using literary devices such as dramatic irony or personifying an inanimate object. 
• Developing an emotionally charged or personal tone.
• Using figurative or imaginative language, such as similes, metaphors, and imagery. 

7. Explore different structures and forms. 

Writing creatively often involves altering conventional structures and forms to write works that are original, groundbreaking, or in some cases, subversive. You can think of this approach as "breaking the rules." It's important to understand the "rules" of your genre first before breaking them. That way, you can make informed writing decisions and generate skillful work that intrigues, rather than confuses, your readers. 

Here are a few examples of structures and forms that buck convention:

• Blending fictional genres, such as romance and horror, to offer new perspectives on what it means to fall in love while facing frightful circumstances.  
• Narrating a story from a non-human point-of-view, to challenge readers to see the world from a different perspective.
• Writing a story in second-person point-of-view, "You," to engage the reader more deeply and make them feel involved in the story's events.  

Key takeaways

Writing creatively can be a rewarding journey that reveals your talents, your potential, and your very soul. To embark on this journey, you don't need any education or experience. You just need to connect to your writing desires, cultivate the right mindset, practice different techniques, and be consistent with your efforts. Follow the steps I've outlined in this article to experience the most rewards. 

Check out The SoulTruth Journal, a physical creative writing workbook with over 30 in-depth writing prompts (and examples of answers from real writers), to find inspiration and confidence within.