Being a creative writer can be a lot of fun. Whether you're writing novels, short stories, fan fiction, or even poetry, you can create worlds. Unfortunately, being a creative writer can also be really challenging. It's not just difficult to imagine new things all the time—coming up with new and interesting ways to say things is also part of the challenge.

There are some words in creative writing that are terribly overused and common. Luckily, a good dictionary and thesaurus can work wonders on strengthening your writing.

So, we've rounded up some of the words writers most often use over and over. We're not saying you should never use these words, but there are more interesting alternatives you might want to consider next time you sit down to write.

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If you’re a fiction writer, you know this feeling well: you’re toiling away at your story, charting out your plot and reaching points that will no doubt choke up your reader … when you come to the realization that it’s time for one of your characters to sing their swan song. But how are you going to kill them off?

A heroic death by sword seems a bit cliché. If you’re willing to step outside your comfort zone, you can think of better ways to send off your beloved characters. Read on to get some inspiration for your next story!

1. Don’t be afraid to get gruesome

Some of the most iconic deaths are ones that make us feel that secondhand pain, or ones that are so inventive we wonder how they could possibly happen in real life. A great example can be taken from the king of character death, George R.R. Martin. In the Game of Thrones series, over 160 major characters have met their maker. One of the most memorable is Viserys Targaryen, who was given a crown … of molten metal poured directly over his skull. Ouch!

Hester, Jo March, Lisbeth Salander, Hermione Granger, Pippi Longstocking. Great female characters abound in literature—though they certainly could abound more!

These women and girls come to life on the pages of our favorite books and on the big screen, as they engage, enlighten, and enrage, and inspire us to look at our own lives a bit differently.

But, what makes a great female character?

They’re as different as different can be, but they all have characteristics that make us want to cheer for, befriend, hug, shake our firsts at, or just be like them. They make us feel something and connect with them, no matter how far our lives may be from theirs.

Here are a few tips on writing that great female character.

Some classic activities are perfect for a night out camping: sitting around a campfire, making s’mores, singing songs, and … telling scary stories. There are classic campfire tales, like Bloody Mary and The Hitchhiker. But maybe you have a hankering to write a scary story yourself to tell around your next campfire.

Here are a few steps to make your next scary story session a bone-chilling success.