Inventiveness is defined as the quality of being creative. Inventiveness is not only important to every writer; it’s a virtue. Inventiveness is what makes a writer look at things from a different perspective. It’s what makes him formulate “what if” questions and draw a potential story from the answer. Without a sense of invention, a writer’s perception is limited, and he will confine himself to the mundane aspects of life’s monotony. He becomes repetitive, static, and at worst, feels drained that he might be tempted to copy other writer’s ideas.

Inventiveness gives a writer the capacity for empathy, as he not only sees but feels what others are feeling. The writer transcends his own personal experience to write about the lives of others. The writer’s maturity reaches a new level as he becomes more attuned to what makes other people click. He understands that every human footprint has trodden a path that tells a unique story. It is no longer a simple skill in developing a plot. It becomes a source of encouragement and inspiration for the writer to believe in writing his story. Even among the most speculative of fiction, the writer’s inventiveness fuels him to believe that his “what if” premise may not happen, but that the message of his theme could spark readers into believing that it is a figurative reflection of the human condition. His inventiveness pushes him to craft a story that sparks an audience to an eye-opening possibility. As long as the writer’s inventiveness fuels him to believe, he will always find an audience.

You may be asking: How can I tell if my story is inventive enough? Consider these five questions as a checklist. If your answers are all affirmative, then you have created something inventive:

1. Am I telling an interesting story?

2. Are my characters three-dimensional, and do they have dilemmas that identify with their situations in their immediate vicinity?

3. Is my plotline interesting enough to make readers want to know more?

4. Is the reader familiar with the story, yet somehow he can’t tell what will happen next?

5. Can the reader identify himself with my characters enough to the point that he cares about what will happen to them at the end?

Your answers to these questions determine how much inventiveness you have put in your story. The next step you must undertake is to write the story in a way that will convince your readers that your story is believable, even if you write about aliens or vampires.

A writer has that built-in inspiration when beginning to work on a book-length fiction or nonfiction. The dream of getting published and of reaping fame and fortune pushes him to believe that these things could happen. He labors for months, even years. He believes in himself, in his inventiveness, and in the possibilities of what his work could bring him at the end of his writing journey. These beliefs are necessary to fuel inventiveness. Readers are always on the lookout for books that will keep them turning pages.