Posted by Melissa Donovan on January 26, 2017 on Writing Forward.com
This list includes a mix of writing tips and some of the tips Melissa thinks are essential. However, I believe that these are mostly for the beginner writer and can be used as a reminder for the more experienced writer.
- Read as much as you can (and make sure you read quality writing) and write every day — practice makes perfect.
- Acquire some resources: dictionary, thesaurus, style guide, grammar handbook, and books on writing.
- Join or start a writers’ group and get feedback on your
- Lower your expectations and allow yourself to write badly. It’s better to write crap than to write nothing at all.
- Feeling uninspired? Writer’s block is no excuse; find some writing prompts and exercises. Use them.
- Do you want to write a novel? Launch a blog? Submit your poetry? Set goals and then get busy reaching them.
- Be yourself. You have your own voice; let people hear it.
- Don’t compare everything you write to more successful writers. They started somewhere too.
- Tell your inner editor to take a vacation. Let yourself write freely and creatively. You can always edit and revise later.
- Get organized. All those notes, journals, and all that research! Binders, notebooks, and computer files. Put things in order so you can find what you need when you need it.
- Pay attention to your language: word choice and sentence structure is the difference between an award-winning novel and a book that sits on a shelf collecting dust (poetry exercises are great for this).
- Know your audience. Write for them using language they understand.
- Be creative and take risks. You’ll never know unless you try.
- Revise, edit, proofread, and polish everything you write before anyone else sees it!
- Show, don’t tell (you knew that was coming).
Do you have any writing tips to add to this list? If so, then leave a comment. And keep writing!