This super short list is in the spirit of William Strunk’s The Elements of Style, Rule #13 — omit needless words. The points are drawn from Stephen King’s On Writing.
Finish a novel in 3 months – just one season – or it will feel like dispatches from a foreign consulate.
Write 2000 words a day. Every day. Even on Christmas and your birthday, just keep writing.
Grammar is as grammar does, check the guides, but don’t be afraid to strike out on your own.
Remove excess words, which is ironic advice from someone who writes 200,000 word novels.
Beware the adverb, or your prose will slip silently beneath the murky waters of insipidness.
Active voice is your man. Passive voice and clichés are something good writers should avoid like the plague. And sentence fragments too. Unless you’re using them for emphasis.
Use words that matter. Avoid vague descriptions of stuff.
Bottom line: keep on writing, even when it feels like you’re shovelling shit from one pile to another. And especially then. Just keep moving forward.
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Now my friends, it’s up to you – send us what you got, and share it with the world. We want your weird and wonderful little ideas floating around Twisted Sister – We Want YOU!!
Be sure to check out more on the craft of writing back here. And don’t forget our New Releases and Greatest Hits – crank ‘em up and let ‘em roll.
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