7 Crazy Writing Tips

As writers, we get loads of advice thrown at us all the time. Do this, do that, don't use this word or that word or you suck, so please stop writing. We know that we have to edit, proofread, and have a good grasp of grammar and spelling, but we all know that isn't enough for a good story. In my experience, many readers are happy to read writing with lots of technical mistakes if they're engrossed in the story and the characters.

In fact, one creative writer told me not to worry about spelling and grammar if it hurts your creativity. Even the best-published works still have mistakes cropping up here and there. Editing and proofreading will always be a work in progress for me. So without further ado, let's get on to the seven crazy writing tips.

Torture your characters.

Ever noticed that it's always the characters you love and write about the most that go through the most torture? Hurting our characters and seeing them in pain isn't fun, but it's necessary. It helps make our characters more human and more realistic. I sometimes wonder if I'm going too far with my characters or not far enough. I remember at school an author came to our school. I can't remember who she was, but I remember she said that every story has a problem. If there is no problem, there is no story.

Some of the most famous characters in the history of literature have gone through some terrible stuff. Oliver Twist, for example, an orphan that gets abused and exploited. Harry Potter's childhood is extremely tragic and the books in the series get darker. I loved 'The Hunger Games' series until Katniss' sister, Prim, gets killed.

Then there's Shakespeare, the most famous writer of the last millennium who killed off his characters in Hamlet, made Romeo and Juliet kill themselves and write about Macbeth's rise and fall from grace.

A prime example of this would be the entire cast of Yangyang Mobile's visual novel, The Letter. It's a horror, so you expect lots of gore and death, but you don't expect to be in love with all the characters. Especially Isabella in her coma route.

Then there's Susan Ashworth from The Cat Lady and Downfall. She has a really tragic life and she attempts suicide and is then revived with a task to kill. We don't know everything about her from the beginning, but as we get further into the game we learn to love and root for her during her triumphs.

Being an utter dick to your characters can break them. If done right, it helps readers care about your characters and root for them harder. It helps make their triumphs even more incredible.

When you get stuck, add ninjas.

I guess this works in some genres. Good luck with editing ninjas out in your Victorian romance novel. Or you can keep them if you want. Everybody loves ninjas. Or if you're making your own version of 'Fifty Shades' and you're stuck with the sex scene, you can add ninjas that either join in or embark on an epic fight scene instead to avoid writing the cheese.

If this is the case, then I guess the writers behind Naruto got stuck many times. But you don't have to add ninjas, you could have zombies, or vampires or a horde of flying teacups. Just a little something that adds to your imagination and story.

Reading out loud!

Reading out loud is one I hear time and time again. You may think you sound stupid or silly, but it really does help bring your characters alive. I've read out works in groups, and found out through reading out loud, it's easy to identify faults or things that don't flow very well.

Never give up on your dreams!

We can't all be bestsellers with millions of dollars to our name, but we can work towards making our stories better and continue to work on our writing either as a hobby or a career - or both. In this day and age, writing is still a very important skill. We all want to give and receive information out to the world. And the internet makes it more accessible for writers to achieve their dreams.

Laugh at your own jokes!

Because if you can't laugh at your own jokes, how can you expect anybody else to find them amusing? I once named a character Lavender Knickers, and I thought the name was very amusing. Turns out one of my friends found it absolutely hilarious. Jokes don't have to be just punny names though. You can add your own sense of humour and it can really bring your work alive.

Do what you want!

Nobody is gonna write your masterpiece for you, so in your first initial draft, the world is your oyster. You're welcome to receive advice from others, but at the end of the day, it's up to you whether you take that advice or not. Being open to critique can help brighten up your work, but if you want to write a novel about blue powdered monkeys, then don't let anybody stop you.

Also when it comes to sex scenes, people ask and reply with how much detail you should put in them. I think when it comes to that you can put as much as you feel comfortable with. Unless you're writing erotica or trashy porn, it's often best to leave it to the imagination.

Go out and live!

I've read and gone through many books about the craft of writing and how to write. They either say the same things or don't have the practical advice that you're looking for. Most of them containing quotes and opinions and some parts of these books contain personal life things such as wiping your ass with poison ivy leaves.

But I think if there's one thing that these books really teach you is that you have to go out and live. All our life experiences can help inspire our work. I've found that my job in the care home and travelling around the world has been a huge inspiration towards my work. I've met many interesting characters in both real life and fiction that have helped me craft my own characters.

Sometimes taking a break from writing, I end up getting lots of ideas and I end up going home and writing it all down.