Sara's 10 Basic Writing Tips

Thank you, Sarita. A wonderful, inspirational list.

Going over the replies, here are a few items I didn't see mentioned.


Corollary to Sarita's “hydrate” rule: sleep when you’re tired. I’ve known a lot of writers (poets seem to be particularly subject to this trait) who insist on writing when they’re exhausted. That’s as bad as writing when you’re stoned. It might seem brilliant at the time, but like Orwell, you’ll wake up and see that your genius has somehow been erased from the page.

I know this is part of a popular list on grammar and syntax rules, but it’s an old favorite of mine: eschew obfuscation. Archaisms and ten-dollar words are as dull as weak verbs. Everyone knows you’re just showing off.

Cribbing from Michael Swanwick, if an idea keeps niggling at you but strikes you as too difficult to write about, this is the one you need to work on next. You might have to go through dozens of trial runs to make it work, but if you can’t get something out of your head, maybe your subconscious knows more than you realize.

Be wary of always and never, especially in psychosocial contexts like politics, art, and gender and orientation issues. This goes for writing rules, too. One person’s delicacy is another’s “Christ! You’re going to put that in your mouth?”

Imagery comes in at least seven flavors, and you need to use them all: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, kinesthetic, and emotional. Most writers stick to just three: sight, sound, and emotional. Smell is important because we tend to associate strong memories with strong aromas. For me, Bay rum will forever recall the presence of my Grandfather, who died in 1984. When a car stops, you feel the seatbelt pressing against your body (touch) and the lurch of your internals (kinesthetic). Some think taste only matters when describing something you’re consuming, but I associate long meetings with the flavor of stale coffee—even when I’m not drinking coffee.

Extrovert and introvert describe more than mere comfort preferences. Our thought processes are tied to either external or internal resources, specifically, our problem-solving strategies. Extroverts solve problems by bouncing ideas off of others; introverts solve problems in isolation. So, if you’re an extrovert, you might have no trouble coming up with ideas alone, but the difficult problems will be easier for you to solve in conference.

Thanks for all the advice from this newbie.

Great thread. There is some really great advice. I really like the bit about weak verbs and adverbs.

I loved all of these! Such good things to remember!

Need more of these

Maryn: loved most of your tips. I'm new to this whole "maybe I should try to write for a living deal."
I still appreciate the little things.

Thank you for sharing these writing tips. They are most helpful and I will refer to them often to help me in my writing. I will look into subscribing to word of the days from other websites.

My best advice is to not let bad critiques slow you down. Especially if it is from a person you have argued with about something. Remember then the person is just out for settling a score.

Wow, this thread has some good advice. Wish I had some of my own to give, but I think most of the people here have already shared what tiny bit of writing wisdom I have and then some.

Okay, so this is something I just thought of that I think would help people when writing.

Before you even start writing whatever it is you want to write, write down what you hope to accomplish. What are your goals? Are you writing because you want to get published? Do you want to write an article that will help people who have cancer? Do you have an epic tale that you wish to share with others? By knowing what it is you want to accomplish, you can begin to discover the best course towards making your goal/dream a reality.

I didn't do this, by the way, and I am having loads of issues trying to figure out what the best way to get my book published is.

DGGrace said:

Thank you, Sarita. A wonderful, inspirational list.

Corollary to Sarita's “hydrate” rule: sleep when you’re tired. I’ve known a lot of writers (poets seem to be particularly subject to this trait) who insist on writing when they’re exhausted. That’s as bad as writing when you’re stoned. It might seem brilliant at the time, but like Orwell, you’ll wake up and see that your genius has somehow been erased from the page.

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I find that it is an excellent idea to take the last thing you wrote before went to bed and edit the @#$%! out of it first thing in the morning when you're fresh. I'm constantly surprised at how many times I've said "what the @$%! was I thinking last night?"

VG

Nice advice ... you're such an angel.

Some excellent advice, especially the hydrate one, as an Englishman I go through so much tea during a writing session.

Single most useful bit of advice I've ever heard tho (for me at least) is to write. Some times it doesn't matter what you write just getting into the practice helps, practice is perfect as they say.

Sara, thanks for the writing tips. Especially liked the travel magazine a week trip and word of the day. I'll try the Aveda. You're my first post here. Best of luck. Diane7324

Maryn, I liked your list of writing tips, especially the screenwriting one, enter late, leave early. Thank you. Diane7324

Great ideas, Sarita, nice hat too

Thanks for sharing. Those are some great tips. ;-)

Great tips

there are some bloody good tips here - http://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/feb/20/10-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-two

Michael Morpurgo's really struck a chord with me.

Talk to people where ever you go. I know some writers tend to be loners or introverts, but step outside the comfort zone for the sake of your art. It’s worth it. That silly girl behind the cash register at the grocery store would make a great supporting character, if you only gave her the chance!

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All of these tips are great and I'm already implementing a lot of them!
As for this one, actually, a dude working in retail next to me inspired me to create a story in the first place, with someone based on him as the MC, when I heard that he made a coworker quit by spraying her with air freshener and still walking around with an innocent, pouty little face. His external cuteness and sad, shiny eyes combined with the fact that he's a grown-ass bully spending his shifts being a brat while studying how to take care of others, was just so messed up I needed to eternalize it. Gah, I love him

This has great advice. Thanks for posting it all.

I am a compulsive reader, which means I've actually sat through some really terrible novels. XD The worst is when you read a book and you think "OMG I can rewrite this and make it sound so much better!"

I've also read lots of cereal boxes. That gets boring real fast.

Great suggestions! Thank you, Sara. I especially like your tip about talking to people. I got some of the most interesting ideas for my writing from the conversations with random people. And even if I'm not in the mood for small talk with a stranger, I do my best to say 'Hi!'.

Absolutely amazing helpful tips! I plan to follow through with them and i especially like the one about leaving yourself notes for the next day, it helps keep you motivated and makes sure you're never left stuck not knowing how to start the next day when the inspirational juices aren't flowing. Thank you

Thanks, Sara. Good, practical suggestions to do what I've read all writers must do -- persevere. I'm brand new here. First post. Comment I hope fits here. I have revised and revised and revised again after that. Not much on workshops. I am a taught-myself short story writer. My partner, Julie, read from posts that, without having taken a Master's in fiction writing, you do not possess the necessary "connections" for your stories to appear. I want to believe that those of us self-taught still have a shot beyond the rare occurrence of having a story picked from the slush pile. Thanks.