Do you want more imagination in your writing?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell

I do!

I think that is probably the worst thing anyone could say about my writing is that it’s unimaginative. That it needs more imagination. That it’s hard to see, to envision or whatever.

Guess you’ve figured out what my word for the A-Z Challenge and the letter is:

U=Unimaginative

un·im·ag·i·na·tive

adjective meaning – not readily using or demonstrating the use of the imagination; stolid and somewhat dull.

uninspired, uninventive, unoriginal, uncreative, commonplace, pedestrian,mundane, institutional, ordinary, routine, matter-of-fact, humdrum,workaday, run-of-the-mill, by-the-numbers, hackneyed, trite, hoary

Well, you get the idea.

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I don’t know about you, but if someone called my writing unimaginative, I’d probably give up writing altogether. Or at least, until I recovered from my hangover.

Imagination isn’t my problem. It’s showing that imagination in story form.

A story is pictures made of words.

You guys have taught me a lot about using words to paint a story. Thus saving my poor readers from pages filled with dull, boring and unimaginative letters.

Lessons learned:

  1. Don’t rely just on adverbs. Could end up all purple.
  2. Don’t rely just on adjectives. Ditto with number one.
  3. Nouns and verbs can paint a vivid picture too. And anchors the reader doing double duty.
  4. Sometimes less is more. Remember TMI (too much information.) Not every sneeze, look, shrug and smile must be recorded.
  5. Colorful language doesn’t always translate into a colorful story. Make sure the hell bells, and fuck that’s fit the story.
  6. Pretend you’re describing a scene to an alien. Would they understand what’s happening?

So let me ask…

What other tips can you give me to avoid writing unimaginative prose?

Talk to me, the lights on and comments are now open.

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdelland Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

Great reading dead ahead!

Imagination with Powerful Descriptions by Creative Writing Now
Fiction Craft and Story by Rachelle Gardner
Writing: Where Less Can Be More by JAMI GOLD

 

PS

Almost Ready

Coming Soon! (1)

 

15 thoughts on “Do you want more imagination in your writing?”

  1. I think the use of adjectives and adverbs can make you lazy so you don’t have to be creative in coming up with a better way to show what’s happening. I do a lot of critiques and I see it almost everyday. It’s a lot easier to say- He whispered to her lovingly. than to say – He whispered words of love…my sweet, dear lover, my angel… or to say- flirtatiously vs batted her eyes at him.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You sound just like one of my critique partners calls that Purple Prose. 🙂 I swing from one extreme to the other, either my writing is bright lavender or stark black & white. So, either way I end up doing a lot of rewrites. LOL

      Liked by 1 person

  6. I find that music helps when I`m writing, it opens the mind up more. Different music for different stories. Mine ranges from dark goth to dark country. Just realised it`s always dark, lol. Although yesterday I did listen to some country old style. Yes, I need coffee.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. A class I took (long ago) was on teaching children to write (creatively). The gist of the class was “don’t give kids rules give them a prompt and tell them to write without thinking about grammar or punctuation.” I think adults need the same encouragement. A good story can be edited.
    Im blogging from Fill the cracks and Moondustwriter’s Blog. Happy last week of A to Zing!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. The more I learn the harder it is to write with out stopping to edit. Yet that is what first drafts are for. When I make myself do that, the stories are so much better. Thanks for stopping by. I’m gonna hop over and check out your blogs. 🙂

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