There is more to writing than just putting down words or making sentences make sense. Writing can be fun; it can be exciting; and people can always look forward to it.

Generally, there are different reasons why people are excited about a book or why they want an author to release another book. For some, it is because they love the twist in the books written by that author. For others, the writing style of the author is what they enjoy, or they just love an interesting story and their favourite author always delivers.

Whatever the case may be, there is always something to look forward to. Therefore, when writing it is important to note that you can deliberately spice up your writing or your books to get people more engaged and eager for your next book. I must also add that this article will be helpful majorly to creative writers, although writers of other forms can learn from it as long as they can apply it to their writing.

Join me as I run you through the different ways in which you can spice up your writing.

1. Don’t give a definite ending:

Like I said earlier, this will pertain more to creative writers. There are times while writing when you just want to leave the ending for your readers to figure out. This type of ending gives the audience a chance to create their own conclusion, or anticipate what the ending should look like. And it endears people to you as they would create groups where they can all discuss the different endings from their own points of view.

Have you ever watched a horror movie where the main actor manages to survive and kills the person of horror? Then at the end of the movie, you are shown an epilogue where the same person of horror is about to attack someone. Many times, as an individual I always wondered what that meant – whether that person died or not, whether it was the same person or someone else, whether he came back to life, or whether a sequel would be released.

And I am pretty sure I am not the only one who thinks like that. People are generally curious. They want to know what happens next and what you are thinking as a writer – or in the case of a movie, a producer.

So to spice up your writing, give the people something to look forward to and make them enjoy it.

2. Add a little twist that your readers will not see coming:

This is also a major point that would make people glued to your book from start to finish because you are bringing something new to the table or because you are taking your readers off the beaten track.

I will give the movie Maleficent as an example. Everyone was made to believe that it was about sleeping beauty and the story charted that course for a while. There was a curse by a witch, and there was a needle prick just like the same old sleeping beauty. But the true love’s kiss was different. Especially with the fact that it was from the witch that cast the spell. Most people did not see that coming but they finally enjoyed the outcome. The same goes for the second part of the movie.

When writing a book, you can change the course of the book to keep the people intrigued. But note that it is not all stories that should have a twist. Note also that a twist done the wrong way can totally discourage your readers and give them a bad impression of you and your writing. It takes a full storyline and a good understanding of your writing and your characters to make this happen.

3. Have a sequel and make it worthwhile:

I would like to mention first that it is not all books or stories that need a sequel. There are cases where there have been sequels and the readers reacted negatively, saying there should not have been a sequel, that the story was better the way it was.

Make sure that if there is a sequel, it takes the story to another level. It has to make sense to both you and the readers, and your thoughts as a writer as regards the sequel must be understood by your readers.

Final words

When it comes to writing, there is no limit to your creativity. Think outside the box. Do something different. Stamp your name as a writer into the hearts of the people. And always remember, when people love something they introduce others to it. That means that if they love your book, they will tell others about it.

Olamide Omolawal is an avid research enthusiast with interest in creative and content writing.