No matter how long we’ve been writing, every author should strive to make themselves a better, stronger writer than they were the day before. This month I have five tips for helping you do just that.
Was, Thought, Felt
Are any of the above three words in your story?
Okay, they probably need to be in there somewhere but do check how many times you’re using expressions like he thought he heard a loud noise, change it to, he heard a loud noise, or better yet, the sound of glass shattering woke him from his sleep.
Write Every Day
They say once you’ve done something for 10,000 hours you can consider yourself an expert. No matter how busy you get set yourself the goal of writing every day (even if it’s just a paragraph). Remember what they say about practice making you perfect.
Varying Your Sentence Lengths
All great writing has one thing in common, varied sentence lengths. You’ll never see all short sentences or all long sentences, but a mixture of both. One way you can check for that leads me to the next tip.
Read Out Loud
No matter what you’re writing, fiction, blog post, or an e-mail to someone, read it out loud. I know it sounds strange but you can catch errors and get a feel for the rhythm of your words (and those sentence lengths).
Work on Your Weakness
Do you know what your writing Achilles heel is? Mine’s description and one way I’ve dealt with my weakness is by tackling it head on rather than avoid it. Three times a week I’ll sit down for ten minutes and write nothing but description. Maybe yours is dialogue or not creating three dimensional characters. I say don’t run way from your weaknesses but work on them instead.
Do you have a writing question you’d like answered or what to see a specific topic covered in the Writer’s Room? Leave a comment and let me know.
Susan Palmquist is the author of 100 plus books including writing instruction, lifestyle, romances and mysteries. Under her pen name, Vanessa Devereaux, she writes erotic romances and erotica.
Since 2010 she’s been tutoring aspiring authors and offering workshops through various chapters of Romance Writers of America. She recently launched a mentoring/coaching service for both aspiring and established writers. You can learn more about Susan and her work at www.susanpalmquist.com www.vanessadevereaux.com and her writing blog at www.thiswriterslife.com and check out her self- paced writing classes at https://writersroom.zenler.com/
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