Writing is not an innate talent. It can be learned from years of reading. Thus, it is every seasoned writer’s advice to novices to read as many books as he can.
If fiction writing is your passion, then it is a pre-requisite that your first love is reading. However, it is not just being a voracious reader that a writer succeeds in this craft. There are a lot of works in story writing.
Although fiction stories are not real, the readers want stories that mirror reality. They want it to be believable. A good story is the key and the writer’s ability to play with the plot and come out with a book that looks unique and fresh is essential.
What if you have a limited plot? In a romance novel, for example, the authors are facing limited plot - a man meets a woman, sparks fly. They fall in love, then, there’s a conflict. They got separated. They resolved the conflict and got back together. This kind of story has been retold over and over again in hundreds of love story books. However, this genre continues to flourish in the literary market and is one of the most-sought after by millions of readers.
Having a limited and familiar plot calls for the writer’s creativity. A good writer can use the same familiar plot and can still come out with an interesting book, giving the readers no clue that they are reading the same story, only with different names of characters, settings, period and some twisted theme.
The key to fiction writing is the writer’s ability to deeply absorb the lives of the characters. It is the writer’s responsibility to make his characters come alive in the eyes of the readers.
Like writing, being creative can be learned also. Through research and continuous reading, writers can learn new techniques on how to twist the story in a manner that is new to readers.
Some of the exercises to be creative include studying a book that you like most. Pay attention to descriptions of characters and settings. Take note of the plot that the author used and how he executes the ideas in his story.
