Author Pam Johnson is here again today offering up some more of her writing wisdom.

How Cliche Can Harm Your Creative Writing
Whether you recently submitted a creative writing assignment or did so in the past, your professor or teacher might have written the word “cliche” on it. A cliche is a saying that is generally overused. For example, “Life is short” has become a cliche in modern society. Why do these phrases hurt your creative writing?

They’re Not Creative
The fact that cliches drain all creativity from the sentence is the major reason why they should not be included in creative writing. The point of creative writing is to come up with your own ideas and to express yourself. When you are using cliches, you are expressing another person but certainly not yourself. Your audience wants to see that you brought your own spirit into the writing.

They Show Laziness
When you cannot think of something to write or say, what do you do? If you just throw a cliche in there to fill space, then you are doing a true disservice to your writing. Cliches show that you did not want to take the time to think of something poignant to put in there. As a result, your audience might feel that you really do not appreciate creative writing as an art. Cliches show that you think of creative writing as something you have to do as opposed to something that you want.

Cliches=Rushed Writing
People are taking the time to read the words you have written on the page. As a result, you should at least take the time to write them and express yourself properly. Throwing a cliche in there means that you could not think of anything else to write and that you did not want to wait awhile. Most people realize that you need to take the time to go back and revise a piece when you really care about it. Therefore, if you are using cliches, your audience is going to think that you actually don’t care about the piece or making it sound perfect!

Boring Writing
Cliches are also boring to read. People might not even bother to read them because they are just so superficial. At this point, so many cliches have been used time and time again that they do not have meaning anymore. People just use them as fillers in their conversations, and they do not care about what the words actually meant. When readers see a cliche in your writing, they will probably just pass over it. Sure, some readers might not notice if they are really just looking for a very casual novel or story. Ultimately though, you probably want to break beyond this barrier into a more sophisticated style of writing.

Should cliches be entirely avoided in creative writing? Well, writing dialogue is one exception. You may want to show that a character is a rather cliched individual or someone who uses these phrases all of the time. Still though, be careful of the overuse of any particular device when you are just breaking into the creative writing world.

Author Pam Johnson is a social worker who teaches children to write creatively as a way to cope with their difficult life events. She obtained his degree from one of the Best Top 10 Online Bachelor’s in Social Work Programs.

Author Pam Johnson is here today offering up some of her writing wisdom.

3 Tips for Improving Your Creative Writing Skills
Creative writing is a field that so many people love. This subject allows you to express yourself and to have the chance of getting published one day. You can write your thoughts down and turn them into a story that many people may grow to love. What are some tips that can help you to improve these skills?

Just Write!
So many individuals have trouble getting those first few words down on the paper, but doing so is very important to your success. When you are first starting to write, you do not need to worry about making it sound perfect. You can always go back to edit later. For right now, just say what you want to say. You might find that you practically have a novel in no time at all! Of course, you can self-edit as you go so that you do not have a big mess later on. Still though, simply expressing yourself is often enough to help the creative juices come to life and to give you the motivation to write more. As with so many things in life, the first few steps are often the most difficult when it comes to creative writing.

Take College Courses
Yes, writing does come naturally to some people; however, you can still take a college class to brush up on your skills and to learn some new techniques. When you have never take a class in this subject matter before, you really do not know what you are missing out on. If you are a good writer, the techniques taught in the classes could help you to become a greater one. Perhaps you are a bit weary about your creative writing. Then, the classes will really help you to learn how to utilize your strengths. Do you feel that college class might be too expensive? Well then, look for classes that your community is offering for a lower rate.

Learn to Edit
Editing is a major part of the creative writing process. When you are free writing, making mistakes is going to happen. As far as the grammar and spelling, you really must be an expert. Publishers are not going to want to look at your works if they are full of mistakes. Even just for life in general, knowing how to properly communicate the written word is so important. Do not let it become a dying art. You also must know how to edit content. When you go back to read your manuscript, think about what an audience would enjoy. You want to be sure to express yourself, but you do not want to sound terribly self-indulgent either. Workshop classes are excellent ways to receive critiques so that you are able to really improve upon your own editing process.

Improving your creating writing skills is certainly a goal you can set for yourself. When you are willing to follow these tips and take the time to improve, you might be really amazed at the results you get.

Author Pam Johnson is a social worker who teaches children to write creatively as a way to cope with their difficult life events. She obtained her degree from one of the Best Top 10 Online Bachelor’s in Social Work Programs.