Improve Your Creative Writing: Why & How

In this video:
00:00 Become a better creative writer
00:49 1. Make a commitment
02:40 2. Why bother?
03:25 3. Keep a diary
05:35 4. Why do creative writing?
07:28 5. How do I start writing?
13:09 6. Draw on your own experience

TRANSCRIPT
Have you ever noticed how there are some people who always express themselves beautifully in their texts, their WhatsApps, their emails? They put thought into each one, and each one you kind of look forward to getting. Maybe they choose their emojis very carefully, maybe they choose their... Just what they write and it hits the right note. Well, that's because they've spent time thinking about how they write. And what I'm going to be doing today is sharing some ideas with you about how you can start nurturing your own writing. Sound good? Cool. Let's carry on. In case you don't know me, my name's Benjamin. I'm one of the teachers from engVid.

Okay, so if you really want to get good at something, you need to practice. Yep, I've said that before. So, if you want to get good at writing, the main thing you're going to need to do is set aside some daily time for writing. Now, according to your sort of commitments and schedule, you will know when the best time is. Maybe you're more productive in the morning, maybe there are less distractions late at night. One famous writer, Burleigh Doherty, used to put her children to bed and then put a fire... Put a log on the fire, and she would write until the log had burnt all the way down. So, that was her daily practice. It was in the evening when there were no distractions. And in today's age, there are a lot of distractions. Our phone is a constant source of distraction, messaging us, and there's always something to look at and do on your phone. Well, if you're going to develop your writing practice, you're going to need to put your phone down at times to concentrate on it. So, find a time that works for you and stick to it. Like, I've tried this before, okay, and it's not easy because you always have a million things that you need to do that will always be an urgent to-do list. But that's not going away, yeah? That will be with us until the day we die. There's always going to be things to do. What you need to do is be able to prioritize and switch off some of those needs and demands on our time so that you make the time for your writing. "Why would you bother doing that?" I hear you ask. Well, I'm not guaranteeing that you're going to be like J.K. Rowling with Harry Potter and be a blockbuster bestseller, okay? There are no guarantees that anything will get published. You have to want to develop your writing because you want to do it, yeah, for the simple pleasure of being able to communicate articulately, concisely exactly what you want to be able to write, let alone requirements for good use of English at work and at exam level. So, there's two types of writing, really. There's reflection, sort of diary writing, and creative writing, and I'm going to look at both.

So, I was reading a quote earlier today by... Who was it? Oscar Wilde, that was it. And he said, "I always take my diary on a train with me because if I get bored..." I'm paraphrasing now. "If I get bored, I want to have something sensational to read about." So, a diary can provide a record that will last a long, long, long, long time. Yep. You might find that your children read your diary in many years down the line. And the process of writing a diary, so at the end of the day, writing down what's happened, and your thoughts, and anything else you want to put in there can be therapeutic. Yep. You're getting stuff off your chest. Yep. Any kind of worries and things, you can write down, and by writing them down, it seems to lessen that stress. You might find that you sleep better. So, it's not actually that good for us to be looking at blue screens before we go to sleep, but if you can get into the habit of writing a diary, it's not always practical. You might find that you sleep better. […]

[engvidBenjamin]

Thanks for watching, everyone. I hope this inspires you to try creative writing!

[syedaanamgilani]

Hey Benjamin! I'm from Pakistan. I really enjoy watching your videos. I was having a huge stress to write but then I found your new video and immediately clicked it. It is really helpful. Thank you so much. Keep motivating and teaching us. I hope you are fine? Stay strong. We love you for your efforts. Keep making these amazing videos. I hope you achieve everything in your life. You are my best teacher and I really respect you. I'm currently writing my first novel and it's quite long and not easy. :'( I want to become an English teacher like you and a writer in the future. I'm working my best for it. Please pray. Have an amazing life. Enjoy and please know we love you so much. Lots of respect. <3

[easonwuc]

Thank you very much, you are a teacher who not only teaches people how to use English, but also how to think in English.

[stanimirgeorgiev.]

Thanks for your tutorial and recommendations.
You inspire me with the things you say. I especially like the part with the personal diary or writing notebook in which one can practice his writing whenever he is on the road or waiting his turn at a counter or checkout. I write and draw. I'm not good at either, but I love doing them. I just go to another world, the world I imagine describing it through words or a sketch. Sometimes I fight the outside world to gain space and time to write.
So thanks for your videos. It's a lot of fun.

[HEAVENLYTABLETS]

This video has inspired & showed up right on time. Thank you.

[britishenglishwithalexande]

Thanks Benjamin, excellent video....Alexander from São Paulo, Brazil.

[abhishekpratapnigam]

I have seen only two videos of Benjamin so far and I feel like I know him

[igorxavier]

I really love your videos and I wonder what accent you speak. It's not Modern RP, is it? I want to get to know more about your accent.

[Pinero]

Writing is a skill to be mastered and plastered across the page..Like any propaganda..Takes gutz and innovation to stand in..or out from the rest of the censored sheep..Good vid

[adnan]

Hello Benjamin, why did you pronounce schedule with an American accent and as we know you are British?