Writing Tips
Many of us are inspired to write regularly and try to produce the best prose or poetry we can, but it's not uncommon to get stuck or fall short, as any published writer will tell you? Here are some writing tips from our authors:Getting started: keep a notebook and jot down ideas; get ideas from news stories and songs; observe the people around you; research something that interests you; try all kinds of writing: diaries, song lyrics, memories, reviews, horoscopes, etc; ask yourself, 'What if?'; write entertaining emails to friends; look at a picture and make it a story; note your dreams; and don't forget to
daydream...
While you're writing: start anywhere, not necessarily at the beginning; start with a 'bang' to grab attention; in your first draft, just go with the flow; show, don't tell; vary sentence lengths and use punctuation to create pace and rhythm; read your work aloud to check its rhythm; use similes and metaphors but go easy on alliteration; use but don't overuse dialogue...
Words, words, words: less is more; think of nouns as bones and verbs as muscle – adjectives and especially adverbs are flab. Which of these two sentences is strongest: 'He walked into the room angrily' or 'He stormed into the room'? Watch out for verb tense, mixing past with present tense – 'sat' and 'sit' – make sure your usage is consistent?
Writer's block: jolt your brain out of its rut – write with your other hand, in colour, in a different place; write random words and see where they lead; write something every day, even just a few sentences; put your writing aside and come back to it later; don't give up...
After writing: re-write and re-write again; be ruthless in cutting and changing; leave time between re-writes; polish and polish again; always proofread – typos, wrong spelling and bad grammar devalue your work; let someone else read your writing for feedback and proofreading; come up with a great title – make it intriguing.
To find more tips and for more ideas you can visit the following authors' websites:
