“I only see one rule: be clear. If I’m not clear, my whole world collapses to nothing.” -Stendhal
Good writing is an art, but it is also a science. Here are some tips and secrets I’ve gotten over the years. Feel free to steal and use.
1. “The secret to being boring… is telling everything.” -voltaire
Many novice writers, especially those trying to write fiction, blurt out the details and don’t stop. They describe exactly how each character looks, thinks, and feels to the point of exhaustion. And every interior and exterior is described in painstaking detail. And let’s not forget the overuse of adverbs. Enough. Details are important, but add just enough to paint the picture and be sparing with adjectives and adverbs. Let your reader do most of the work; it works better that way. Read some James Joyce for a good example of this. Even long descriptions of it are the lifeblood of economics. Consider the following passage from her short story Eveline:
He sat at the window watching how night invaded the avenue. Her head was resting against the window curtains and the smell of dusty chintz was in her nostrils. She was tired.
2. Show and tell.
A very common writing tip is “show, don’t tell.” But there is a time to do both. I recommend switching between the two just enough so that the action is real and engaging, but not bogged down in too much expression and detail. Sometimes you just want to say “She was tired.” as Joyce does in the example mentioned above. And other times you need to elaborate.
3. The threat of death must always be present.
This applies more to fiction than nonfiction. Behind the happy exterior in all good fiction there must be something beneath the surface, stealthy and dangerous, waiting to pounce and set the action in motion. Call it the death threat. The lack of this element is why I find young adult fiction, particularly romance, hard to read: there just isn’t enough dramatic tension to make the story compelling. So your protagonist finally marries her boyfriend, who she almost never married. Bully to her, but it’s not good fiction. Many cheap novels are entertaining because they obey this rule, even if it blurs the rest.
4. Always tell the truth.
All writing, fiction or nonfiction, goes off the rails when it tells lies. What do I want to say here? Certainly fiction is about making up a story, but all good writing must contain truths. I am not referring to religious truths, but the statements made and the action of the characters must ring true. This is the most difficult principle to explain, but it is perhaps the most essential. When you write, say what you’re really thinking, and when you’re not quite sure what you’re thinking, say so. To become an adult in polite Western society, you must learn to lie. Writing is not about being polite. It’s about telling the truth. You ever knew how to tell the truth but you forgot when you grew up. Get in the habit of telling the truth now.
5. Review. And then check again.
Proofreading alone won’t make you a great writer, but you won’t write well without proofreading. Hemingway said that “the first draft of anything is bullshit.” I am not sure that more needs to be said about this principle.
6. Brevity
This is similar to principle number one but deals more with the paragraph and chapter level. Delete and remove anything that would slow down your writing or add more detail than necessary. “Kill your loved ones,” Faulkner said. Stop crying and do it.
7. Let your words play on each other. Just be careful that they don’t get hurt.
So you want to use a big word when a little will do? Or do you want to use the passive voice on purpose? Sometimes that’s the right thing to do. Break some rules, but make sure you know the rules you’re breaking. Puns arise spontaneously the more you write. Let it be; do not force it. But make sure it serves the purpose of the whole piece. And when you are more advanced, you will be able to study the various rhetorical devices (such as parallelism, tricolon, etc.). Read anything by Abraham Lincoln for a good example of this.
8. Write an outline; don’t write an outline.
Some famous writers dress up writing an outline. Others write from within. Do what works for you, but stick with it.
9. Master the grammar and usage basics, and don’t forget to edit.
Sometimes your submission to a publisher can get rejected just because you missed too many stupid mistakes. I highly recommend learning grammar and usage basics, as well as how to correct your own writing. Read the great essay “Will spelling count?” by Jack Connor to understand why paying attention to small details will naturally make you a better writer. Is magic.
10. Write what interests you younot what is popular.
If you tell us something truthful, chances are it sounds original too, even if it isn’t. If everyone else is writing fiction about vampires or fairy princesses or aliens and you hate all of that, then write about something else. The same goes for popular nonfiction topics. Write what interests YOU and there is a chance that someone else will also be interested. Once again, principle #4 comes to mind. If you work like hell to tell the truth, something good could happen.
There you go. The rest of all the writing advice is just an expansion of any of the listed principles. In fact, even these ten principles contain some overlap. But hey, I wanted to get to the magical number ten, so that’s what happens. If you are interested in the help of a professional ghostwriter, don’t be afraid to ask. Your input can go a long way in improving your writing skills.
keep writing…
