My Top Ten Writing Tips

Every writer has their own method to their madness. Here are some ideas you can add to your own.

10) Take acting classes. The classes will teach you to get under the skin of the characters you write, a valuable skill when it comes to writing a character. You also need to learn to swiftly shift between characters (this will especially make dialogue easier to write), and if you have a deeper understanding of your characters you can not only make those sudden shifts, but it helps you keep them straight as well as avoid out-of-character moments. It may even help you solve problems as they come up.

9) Study scriptwriting. Look at more than just the format; consider pacing, beats, and why the three-act structure works, as well as proper escalation. Prose writers tend to worry more about plot and character development when it comes to writing, while scriptwriters tend to worry more about the visuals and pacing, and it shows when they are talking about writing. Thus, studying scriptwriting fills in a lot of holes.

8) Take some journalism classes. As a writer, you need to learn that less is more, and this is probably the best way to do it.

7) Spend some time in a bar or a park. You want somewhere busy, where people are talking to one another, the busier the better. The idea is that you're going to need to learn conversation, and where better to learn than where people do a lot of talking? Just keep in mind that you are looking for the rhythms, vernacular, and general dynamics; you will be editing a lot of the fillers (ums, uhs, and pauses) out when you actually write.

6) Get used to killing your darlings. Too many writers, especially pantsers, tend to feel that if they write something they need to use it; they don't so get over it. The cool scene you really, really love may end up being the final straw that kills whatever you're working on. You can always copy it into a separate file for possible later use it later; just don't feel obligated to use everything you write.

5) Character>Plot. Don't force your characters into doing things that they wouldn't do. If your plot requires that your villain make a really stupid mistake, give him a realistic reason for making the mistake, like his girlfriend is breaking up with him or he has some serious bad news to deal with. The problem is that a figure breaking character is the easiest way to force a reader out of the story and you want to avoid doing that. Period.

Put another way: If your plot only works if your characters break character then there is something wrong with the plot and you need to either adjust it or the characters so that it works.

4) Avoid gratuities. Always tip your waitress, but don't use sex, violence, and language unless you have a reason, and just for shock value isn't an acceptable one. Using them just to use them usually takes your readers out of the story and that will always be a bad thing.

3) Read and watch as much as possible. Any arguments re: "But then you don't have any of your own ideas" are BS. You would be surprised when those bits of trivia come in handy and it's always interesting to see how different writers handle the same material. It will show you how to solve problems when they come up in your own work. And watch the bad as well as the good; you never know what diamonds you'll find in the mud.

2) Have fun. While you do need to take this seriously, it doesn't mean you can't have fun with it. The more fun you have, the more you will push yourself, and that's a good thing for your writing.

1) To thine own self be true. If you're doing this to pick up girls, to get famous, or even to become rich, this is the wrong way to do it. Write because you need to do as badly as breathing, not because you want to get rich or laid.

These suggestions are based on one concept: Look for ways to get better at being a writer. It's a craft, but one that is truly organic; if you're not looking for ways to add to the pool of available experiences and tools, then you will never get better. If you are always learning, then you will always get better, and you may even surprise yourself every so often.