Writing is a skill like any other: to be skilled in crafting words, you need practice, rather than talent. Most people don't realise this. Take artists - they draw or paint all the time. It's a passion. They think about things in terms of what it offers them artistically. They see something on the street, in the countryside and it inspires them. They copy other painters' strokes or use of light. It's something they dedicate time to. 

Most people fail because they don't set aside time to practise it. They expect to be able to write well and shape their words without even having practised it. Compare this to running. If we can walk, we can run. But we're not all able to do a sprint or a marathon. If we want to do a marathon, we practise for one. We prepare. We get all the right equipment. We eat properly. We train. We find mentors and coaches. We analyse. And then, for 26 miles, we run. Even sprinters do this. 10 seconds running will be preceded by hours and hours of training, analysis, coaching and preparation. It's that practice that makes Average Joe into Usain Bolt. 

My top ten tips for becoming a better creative writer are:

  1. Read. Read widely and broadly and experience a range of good writing. 
  2. Gather and catalogue stimuli. Take photos, collect drawings, listen to people's stories and make notes afterwards. Keep a journal and add to it. 
  3. Set aside time for inspiration. Actively seek out cultural experiences and rich environments and be mindful of what you see or hear or experience. Take it in and digest it. 
  4. Find a mentor. Even if it's just someone whose work you admire. Learn about them and how they write. Analyse how they write and explore what you like about their writing. 
  5. Talk to others. A writer rarely works in isolation. Seek out others who give you alternative views. It's easy to look for people whose ideas corroborate your own: they flatter and reinforce. Seek out your critics too. Take on board what they have to say. Giant peaks rarely exist in isolation. Everest is surrounded by other high peaks. It is on their backs that it stands. 
  6. Make writing a habit. 10 minutes a day is fine to start. Write freely and allow yourself time to develop a natural style. 
  7. Learn about writing. Learn the mechanics, the building blocks. Remember texts are like matter - they are composed of tiny elements that create a whole. Punctuation, word choice, sentence construction and paragraphs are just as important as the brush-strokes on a canvas, as molecules in metals. They make the whole what it is. 
  8. Be reflective. Make notes about your writing. Comment on your own writing. Think about your writing. Deconstruct your writing. 
  9. Make a change. Do something differently. It's easy to fall into patterns. Some artists favour clay or glass. Choosing a different medium for expression can alter and expand your viewpoint.
  10. Publish. Share. Writing's purpose is communication. It can be self-expression. It can be instructional but it is designed to be read. Practise getting your work read. 
Fables, parables and allegories all form part of the same team: stories that use symbols to give a moral or didactic message. 

The most famous fables are Aesop's Fables. The morals and symbols from these have passed into common parlance in everyday English. Being a dog in a manger is a favourite of mine: a person who cannot benefit from something themselves, but will not allow others to benefit from it either. The fable tells of a dog who lies in a cows' manger for a nap. The cows come to eat the hay, but cannot because the dog is in the way. The cows low and the dog cannot sleep. He will not move to let them eat, but he cannot sleep himself. It's a metaphor for a stubborn person who is unwilling to do things differently, even if the things he does currently are not getting him anywhere. 

Chances are you know about the hare and the tortoise, and the idea that slow and steady wins the day. You'll also know what 'sour grapes' are, for a person who is resentful. The Boy who cried Wolf is also a fable, as is the tale of the North Wind and the Sun who compete to get a man to take his coat off. 

Parables are slightly different. Parables often have a religious rather than a general message. Fables come from the word for 'story', the word that gives us 'fabulous' (made up!) and a confabulator (someone who lies) Parables more often than not include people, rather than symbols. So the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan are both well-known parables. 1001 Tales of the Arabian Nights are also fables, illuminating some moral message. 

An allegory has a wider symbolic meaning, and the moral message might not be as obvious. An allegory can take a situation or event and parallel it with symbols. For instance,  George Orwell's tale 'Animal Farm' is an allegory of Communism - its rise and fall. The pigs represent the leaders of Russia, Boxer represents the hard-working proletariat. The Farmer represents the Russian monarchy. 

My Top Ten Fables, Allegories and Parables:
  • Aesop's Fables  
  • The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
  • Animal Farm by George Orwell
  • The Prodigal Son
  • 1001 nights - the Arabian Nights
  • The Little Prince - Antoine de St Exupéry 
  • Lord of the Flies by William Golding
  • Moby Dick by Herman Melville
  • The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen
  • Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The impact of symbolic tales on modern language and literature is huge. Understanding the canon of figurative literature is key to understanding many cultural and historical images in modern fiction. They are very useful starting points for short stories in which a writer can consider a moral. They are also useful in how the plot and characters serve only as a way of sharing a key mora