Random Writing Tips vol. 2

21. The key to writing characters of the opposite sex and people of different ethnic groups right is writing more than one of them. Eventually you’ll run out of stereotypes.

22. Nuke the passive voice.

23. Limit the use of words that end with –ly… severely.

24. Know your target audience. Research the sales of your specific genre, you may be surprised who’s buying.

25. Always raise the stakes, never decrease them.

26. Only let your audience know where the story is going if they don’t want to go there. Destiny is always a bitch.

27. Transport the audience to another time and place. That’s what they’re paying you for.

28. Start a scene as far into it as possible and end it the first chance you get.

29. Sequences build pace. Use long scenes, paragraphs, and sentences to slow down pace and short ones to quicken it.

30. Avoid too many eye/seeing words: gazed, peered, looked, scanned, observed etc.

31. Avoid confusion with words and sentences, misspellings, changing of the word’s meaning (death vs. deaf)

32. Avoid description that doesn’t make sense or the reader might take literally: His eyes rolled around the room.

33. Shadows create drama.

34. Easy on the adjectives.

35. Avoid other words for “said”. Great dialogue doesn’t need much help... he scoffed.

36. Easy on the exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!

37. If you didn’t feel emotion writing it, neither will your readers.

38. Writer’s block is a good thing. It means there is something wrong in your story. Find out what and fix it.

39. Write to your strengths and manage your weaknesses. No Olympian is great at all the games. Focus on being the best in a narrow aspect/field in your chosen profession.

40. Be so good they can’t ignore you.