Creative writing tips for pen lovers

If you’re going to buy a pen online, whether it is a perfect Caran d’Ache or a stunning Diplomat, there’s no point investing hundreds of pounds in a tool if you can’t get a little enjoyment from it.

From all the lovely people who buy from us, whether they are using their pens in a professional manner or not, we tend to find that they are often open, artistic and creative people (which suits us down to the ground!)

With that very thought in mind, what’s the best way to start writing creatively, and away from a laptop or tablet device?

For writing fiction

Although you may read a lot of books, it does not necessarily mean that you will be able to write a novella or longer piece straight off the bat. Structures, form and style need to be thoroughly panned out before any writing begins.

Nigel Watts, author of Teach Yourself Writing a Novel, says that:

“There is a common belief that because most of us are literate and fluent, there is no need to serve an apprenticeship if we want to become a successful wordsmith. … That’s what I thought until I tried to write my first novel.

“I soon learnt that a novel, like a piece of furniture, has its own set of requirements, laws of construction that have to be learnt. Just because I had read plenty of novels didn’t mean I could write one, any more than I could make a chair because I had sat on enough of them.”

Don’t let this put you off though; if you don’t try you don’t know, and giving writing a long piece of fiction a go may, despite its challenges, be the most satisfying thing you do for yourself this year!

For writing poetry

Although poetry might not be the most popular art form at the moment, it can be one of the most beautiful, rewarding and enjoyable things you can do.

Sir Andrew Motion was the Poet Laureate for the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009 and he made the following points:

“It sounds a slightly self-aggrandising thing to say, but I’ve always thought that death was my subject. You don’t find your subject, it finds you.

“Writing poems for me is not simply a matter of grieving, though very often it is that, it’s wanting to resurrect or preserve or do things that pull against the fact of our mortality.”

He also says that it’s very important that you read your poems out loud so that you know what noise the words make when read aloud, rather than just in your heads, and that doing so is ‘indispensable’ to the poem writing process. 

For writing an article

Some people might think that writing an article or news story is not particularly creative, but that opinion may just come from someone who has themselves never written one. The truth is that you can indeed create beautiful pieces of work in the form of a piece of writing that happens to be non-fiction.

Journalist, Caroline Mortimer, says that:

“It may seem counter intuitive not to write when you are most passionate about something but rage clouds a person’s judgement. Pitch angry, sleep on it and come back to the computer when you’ve calmed down.

If you still care greatly about the subject you’ll then have the benefit of clear vision, which makes it easier to demolish counter arguments in calm and succinct manner. Otherwise it is often just a diatribe.”

So, are you feeling inspired? Why not give some creative writing a go – be it fiction, poetry or an article.