Writing Tip – Writing the Truth

Sometimes people have it in their head that they can’t think of anything to write. While this may be true in some respects there are some misconceptions that can hinder your writing attempts:

Misconception 1: You need to know what you are going to say to start writing.

Writer's Desk

Writer’s Desk (Photo credit: thezartorialist.com)

This isn’t actually true. You can write anything. Anything at all. You can even write your own thoughts about the writing process and turn it into a story. For example you could write:

I couldn’t think of anything to write. It was bugging me. I wanted to be creative. I wanted to put words to paper and fill up the blankness with noise. But I couldn’t write.

Once you’ve written something like that, you can keep going. All it takes is to find some thread and to follow it and then words will form.

Misconception 2: You Need to Use Flashy/Literary Language

Not true at all. This entirely depends on your choice of style. Write how you want to communicate. Many writers use dialect, slang and not all writers are descriptive. If you want to try descriptive you can do but there are no set rules as to what is acceptable.

Misconception 3: It Needs to Make Absolute Sense

Again, this depends on what your style is. Some writers like to be cryptic and abstract while other go the opposite way.

English: Anxious Athlete Waiting at Starting Line

English: Anxious Athlete Waiting at Starting Line (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Remember, writing is about expression, so just express something. Write whatever’s in your head. If there’s nothing in your head, write, there’s nothing in my head and expand upon it. If you are having doubts about your writing ability write I was having doubts about my writing ability and then build around it. You can start writing with just one word, that’s all you need. For example you could write:


and then follow it with,

3. 2. 1. The shot fired. Our legs sprung from the starting block, propelling us forward as if we were panthers firing towards our prey.

You could even start with an ending, a flashback, dialogue, a diary entry or a news article. So remember if you get stuck, write what comes to mind and see where it leads.


Leave a Reply


WordPress.com Logo


Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Google+ photo


Connecting to %s