This week one of my classmates was making a presentation about writing, called “Make Your Writing Your Own” (as far as I can remember). And she shared a lot of excellent tips. I took a creative writing class once a couple of years back, not offered by SFU, just an online course I found through a website like ‘Coursera’. And one of the two points that really caught my attention from this in-class presentation is ‘write what you would want to read’.
Seeing yourself in the reader’s shoes as a writer provides a valuable framework for creating information that has an effect on your audience. Think of the characteristics that capture you in a review: sincerity, engaging stories, in-depth research, and a strong feeling of passion. Incorporate your own sincere responses and thoughts into your writing, just as you would as a reader looking for real and reliable evaluations. Examine reviews that grab your attention and apply those aspects to your own writing: clear language, a range of viewpoints, and a mix of emotions that draw readers in from the first word. To accommodate a wide range of reader tastes, aim for usefulness and various genres. It is similar to making investments because it is usually a first suggestion – investing in the companies which products you use yourself.
Moving on to a second point which is to keep your ‘notebooks’ nearby. And this is kind of similar to journaling. Whether it’s a physical notebook, a digital notepad, or a voice recorder, having a tool on hand to quickly ‘pen’ down thoughts, concepts, or inspirations is so important. Ideas habitually appear at unexpected moments—while reading, walking, or even during conversations. By writing them down right away you are making sure that they won’t be lost or forgotten, who knows you might need those for later. Applying this method creates a supply of raw material, enabling authors to use their imagination and transform temporary concepts into fully formed, influential works.
I use this concept in particular not only in journaling but also while writing book reviews. Sometimes a thought about the book may hit you while reading the other, which could be an interesting point to unravel while writing a review, so it’s important to capture them at the moment.