Creative writing is wonderful because it allows you to express yourself more and bring to life your imagination on a piece of paper. While this form of writing comes naturally to some people, there is a huge number of people that struggle with it. Their work can sometimes feel unpolished because they lack creative writing skills. This article will look at the 5 unexpected Ways to Boost your writing process and level up your creativeness.
Listen to some music
Music is poetry in motion and depending on what we are listening to, it can affect us in a variety of ways.
Music helps you to focus
One of the benefits of listing to music when you are writing something like an assignment is it increases your focus levels. When you have a good playlist on YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud, Amazon Music, or Apple Music, it will help you control the sounds you hear around you which can sometimes get very distracting.
If you decide to do your assignment at a public place like a coffee shop or your college campus, you will be distracted very easily by random conversions by people. Have a playlist full of classical music as the soothing sounds will help your mind focus even more and remember to always listen with headphones.
Music sets the pace
In the same way that doing exercises influences the heart and lungs, music can give you the extra momentum you need. Some students have said that when they write their assignments without music in the background, their productivity goes down. Music can help you maintain a good writing pace and ensure you are at your creative best.
Music eliminates boredom
Boredom means not feeling like doing anything because you don’t have the desire. This is a very dangerous place for a student to be in especially if they have deadlines looming. Music does a great job of getting rid of the feeling of being bored by providing an uplifting atmosphere that can boost your creativity. When you are bored, you are less creative but when you are in good spirits, you are always at your best and will produce good content all the time.
Music stimulates your brain
There comes a time when you might suffer from what is known as writer’s block. This is normal and even some top writers in the world say there comes a time when they are struggling to be creative and write something.
Music does a good job stimulating the brain and making sure your creative juices are following again. You might hear something in a song that can spark you to life again when you are lacking inspiration and that is the wonderful power music has on our brain.
Music helps deal with stress
It is no secret that the life of a student can be very stressful especially if they have a mountain of assignments to work on. Music is poetry in motion and listening to some relaxing music can help deal with stress.
When you are stressed out, you will not be able to think logically and produce good content. Music puts you at ease and this will boost your creativity as well as the speed at which you will be able to produce content.
Music can motivate you to write
We all know about motivational speeches sparking people into action, and music has the same effect on people. If you are not feeling motivated to write anything, there are so many songs out there that will kick your brain into gear and motivate you to finish your work ahead of time giving you opportunities to do things you enjoy like spending time with family and more.
Get some much-needed fresh air
If you are indoors more often than you are outside, you are not giving your body the much-needed fresh air it deserves. They are a few positives that can be experienced if you give your body some fresh air.
Fills your brain with oxygen and is good for your digestive system
When our brain is low on oxygen, it will not perform at its maximum capabilities. When you are outside getting some fresh air you are simulating the brain and giving it the oxygen it needs to boost your creativity. As far as the digestive system goes, fresh air helps you digest food quicker providing your body with the energy it needs to write without feeling tired.
Fresh air will improve your heart rate and control your blood pressure
If you stay indoors for too long without spending some time outside, it is not good for your blood pressure or heart rate especially if the room is very hot. By getting some fresh air, you are allowing your body to breathe in new oxygen which is good for both your heart and blood pressure.
Fresh air will boost your immune system and make you happier
When we are stressed, we are not able to write properly or think straight but getting some fresh air not only makes you happier but also boosts your immune system. Supplying your white blood cells with oxygen will help them fight disease-causing germs and bacteria.
Fresh air sharpens your brain
Experts say that if you spend time in the great outside, you will feel refreshed by the time you return home. The more oxygen you give your brain, the better it will function which increases your energy and concentration levels. We get vitamin D from the sun, and it is important for our teeth, bones, and more.
Learn to create polished content
This is all about producing content that doesn’t have any mistakes in it as that can lead to marks being deducted.
Know the punctuation and grammar basics
When you know all the punctuation and grammar rules associated with the language you’re writing I’m, you will notice that your work will flow properly. Content that is filled with grammar mistakes can be off-putting for readers hence why you need to spend some time studying how to use punctuation and structure your work properly.
This can be done by reading, speaking with tutors regularly, writing services, or even fellow students. Some of the best grammar apps a student can use include
- Grammarly
- Hemingway
- NounPlus
- Ginger
- After the Deadline
- WhiteSmoke
- LanguageTool
- ProWritingAid
Don’t fill your work with too many adverbs and adjectives
Many students tend to over-write their content by adding unnecessary adverbs and adjectives. This makes readers not get to the information they need very quickly because most of it is filler content. If you want to be at your creative best, make it a habit to cut down on this major problem and ensure quality is prioritized over quantity.
Proofread before submitting content
Making mistakes while writing is normal however the biggest mistake you can make is submitting something full of grammar mistakes. Once you have written your draft, you should scan it for any punctuation, grammar, and spelling errors. You could have a good paper on your hand with so many good points, but mistakes can drag it down.
Many writing experts say that it is a good idea to take a break from your content and revisit it when your brain is refreshed. This lets you spot any grammar mistakes you might have missed the last time you touched your paper. There are a few ways a student can proofread their way successfully.
- Read the content out loud
- List all the commonly made errors and look out for them
- Look out for one type of mistake at a time not multiple
- Read the content backward
- Scan the document carefully and slowly
- Double-check it from top to bottom, page to page.
Edit your content
When you are satisfied with what you’ve written, you shouldn’t rest on your morals and put them to the side. You should take the time to edit your paper to make any requirements set by your tutor.
If anything doesn’t make sense, take it out of your paper so that the information is clear, and flows better for the person reading it. Editing and proofreading are similar in a way, the only difference is one looks at ways to improve the overall paper while the other is all about correcting mistakes made.
Link up with other writers
You can interact with other writers by joining various writing groups either at your college or on the internet. These people will be able to offer you constructive criticism and highlight any areas that you should work on to improve your content.
Share your work with them as much as possible as this is the only way to get feedback. When feedback is provided, don’t be offended by it, instead, take any advice given on board as that will make you a better writer.
Manage your time properly
Time is a very important luxury that must be spent wisely especially if you are a student. Investing in the wrong actions can significantly affect your creativity and writing process.
Practice writing every day
They say practice makes perfect and the only way you can massively boost your creativity and writing skills is by setting time aside to practice. Even as little as half an hour every day can make a massive difference to your writing skills.
Some students try to have a diary that they can use to take notes or write about their day. The more you exercise your writing muscles, the better you’ll get at writing and ideas will flow in your head naturally. You can even schedule a writing time on your phone just in case you are tied up and might forget.
Read a lot of books
When you look at content that has been written by others, you will learn not only new words but also how to keep readers engaged. If your work isn’t engaging from the beginning, readers might lose interest in it. When you study how experts put together their content, you will be more creative and ensure your work flows properly too.
Make it a habit of reading at least 2-3 chapters a day if there is some spare time in your schedule. If you are an old school student, you can use the school library or a public one to read as many books as possible. Alternatively, you can access plenty of books on the internet via devices such as kindle, tablets, computers, and mobile phones.
Search for writing prompts
If you want to take your creativity to the next level, you can consider using writing prompts found online. There is no shortage of websites that have prompts you can use for inspiration. You just have to pick the ones that interest you and take them from there as these prompts can inspire anything from poems, stories, reports, proposals, essays, and more.
Get ideas by watching people
Many writers in the past have credited observing people as a major source of inspiration for some of their content, and you can do the same. You can sit in a park and watch people go by in their daily lives and gain inspiration from there. If the park isn’t your thing, you can go to the shopping mall or sit in a coffee shop.
Give existing stories your spin
There are so many stories that have been written many years ago. You can try to rewrite them in your own words or simply update them so that they cater to the current generation of readers. Take the story of Cinderella, for example, you can write a 2022 version of that story as a fun little exercise.
Give yourself a deadline
A common mistake that many students make is brushing deadlines under the carpet. Tutors set deadlines so that students learn how to work under pressure and do things well in advance. If you have work that needs to be finished by a certain date, make a note of it either on your phone or diary so you don’t forget.
We live a very fast-paced life where it can be easy to forget certain things. You can set yourself a word target each day and treat yourself every time you hit it. The deadlines that you set for yourself have to be realistic because you don’t want to bite off more than you can chew.
Have a journal
Many expert writers always say that they always have a journal with them so that the moment they think of something good, they can just write it done. There comes a time when ideas can easily flow in our heads at any time, and we can easily forget them because of the fast-paced life we might be living. Having a journal means no ideas are lost and everything that one is thinking about is documented and then added to any content one is working on.
Get the materials needed together
No matter what you’re writing, you will need to gather materials for it, and you have to make sure that everything is up-to-date. If you use materials that are out of date, you could be penalized by your tutors when they are making your paper and if you have a target audience reading your outed content, you will lose credibility.
If you are going to use secondary sources of data like books, reports, journals, and more, you need to check when they were published. Anything older than 10 years should not be used because a decade is a long time in the world and a lot of things do change. If you need some inspiration, you can read what other people have written to polish up your skills.
Pick a good writing place
Your creativity will be at its maximum if you have a good place you can constantly use to write your content. You need to make sure that this place has fewer distractions as possible as the local library, your dorm, in your bedroom at home, or you can have a designated space.
Set up a writing time with limits
When you are writing, you need to set yourself a writing timetable and limit because if you write too much, you will exhaust yourself. If you are constantly exhausted from too much writing, your creativity will suffer because your brain will not be at its best. Set yourself a daily or weekly milestone and when you’ve it, you can reward yourself with a treat or do something you enjoy.
Don’t ignore any homework
Tutors assign homework to their students so that they have something to work on when they leave class however, most students seem to not know how important it is. Homeworks are not designed to bring added stress to a student’s life but as a way to make them do extra reading and improve away from class. Don’t ignore any homework given to you, participate and research any topics provided by your tutor. You will notice that the more homework you do, the more creative you will become.
Assign yourself writing tasks
This might sound crazy, but it is a wonderful way to improve your writing and creativity because you are challenging yourself. There are so many writing exercises on the internet that you can assign yourself to fine-tune your skills and many experts say that as long as these tests or exercises are free, a student should take full advantage of them. If you are weak in the sentence structuring department, take tests on those until you master this flaw.
Work with others
Collaborating with others can bring out the best in all of us as long as they are the right people who can challenge us to be better.
Get a writing partner
If you are studying at a university or college that has a very large campus, the chances of you finding someone who is a great writer are very high. Speak with your classmates and collaborate with them on assignments or projects.
Working with someone a little more intelligent than you and getting feedback from them will only make you a better writer, and they might spot areas you need improving. On top of helping you get better as a writer, they will be able to hold you accountable should your standards drop.
Find an editor
If you can find someone to work with at your college or university, you can find an editor online. They will be able to look at the work you produce and offer their expertise as well as ideas on how to make your work better. Letting someone look at your work can be difficult, but the key here is to learn from constructive criticism.
Sell your content
You can choose to become a freelance writer and work with clients to produce content for them. The more you interact with different clients, the more creative you will be because you will have to deal with different requests. If you build a name for yourself, you can become a successful writer, earn a good income and have a large clientele.
There are so many resources out there that can help you become great at writing, and it is all about using the right one. Always remember that even some of the best writers in the world today started as novices. As long as you respect the craft and work hard, you will easily boost your writing process and level up your creativity.
Advantages of having a writing process
1. You will have a predictable writing routine
The best way to boost your writing is you have a set routine and a writing process helps with that. A healthy writing routine not only gets you into the habit of writing but also makes you creative.
2. You will see an increase in your confidence
The more you write, the more confident you will be and that is down to having a good writing process. Once your confidence is up, you will be able to focus more and see things from multiple different angles. The confidence that you build here can be taken into the real world when you eventually graduate and find a good job.
3. You will overcome writer’s block
One of the biggest pitfalls that many writers face is called writer’s block. This is where one’s creative juices are not flowing properly and are struggling to come up with ideas for the piece they are writing. Both students and full times writers use a writing process to avoid procrastination and polish up their writing skills.
4. You will be able to break down your work with ease
If you have ambitions of becoming one of the best writers in the world, you need to have a system that you can trust and is fully developed. No one becomes an amazing writer overnight, and it can take you years however, a good writing process help develop your style and creativity.
Final thoughts
Music does matter in this day and age, and it helps students in a variety of ways from the points mentioned above. It can reduce stress, and anxiety plus it does a great job boosting your creativity and imagination. Fresh air is also good because it provides oxygen to the brain which does wonder for your immune system, blood pressure, and bone. If you are in your first year of college or university and are struggling to write assignments as well as be creative, use the methods above. You will be producing good quality content that will impress your tutors in no time effortlessly.