If you’ve got as many questions as I have about the craft of creative writing, you’ll know how important it is to try out new things. The more you learn, the more it seems there is to learn. Every day, as they say, is a school day.
That’s what this alphabet is all about. It’s not a dictionary of answers, more a lexicon of suggestions. Some of them are my own, many are ideas I’ve picked up along the way from people far smarter than myself. If you like the sound of them, why not give them a try?
G is for Genre
Fantasy. Crime. Horror. Romance. Historical. The list goes on. If you think you can only write in one genre, maybe it’s time to try another. Maybe the techniques you thought applied only to one genre apply to another. Maybe they apply to them all. If you don’t experiment, how will you ever know?
H is for Hook
Also known as the elevator pitch. This is how it goes. Imagine you’re standing in an elevator with a prospective publisher. You’ve got fifteen seconds to pitch the idea for your new novel before the doors open and the opportunity’s gone forever. Can you condense all those crazy ideas into a single compelling hook? Give it a try – it’s harder than you think.
I is for Ignore
There are plenty of people out there offering advice to creative writers. Some of it’s good. Some of it’s bad. When you find a piece of advice you like the sound of, try following it. Then try ignoring it. You’ll soon learn to separate the wheat from the chaff. (You can ignore this one if you like.)
Tomorrow: J, K & L
Graham Edwards 