I know I said that I'd add any new writing tips to my previous post, but there are so many more that I may as well write another post!
1. Most of what you learnt about creative writing when you were ten years old still applies. Use of the senses is still one of the most powerful literary tools. Metaphors and similes are basic, but the're effective; and you'd be surprised by how many people can't tell the difference between them.*
2. Write what you know. If you know nothing about 18th century France, then -- unless you're prepared to track down some historians, travel to France, and read dozens of books -- don't write a novel set in 18th century France. Of course, you can't get through ten pages of writing without having to research a dozen things, each of which could take anywhere from five minutes to five hours to fully research, but you don't make it so hard for yourself that you have to look something up for every other line of text you write.
3. Some people really, really hate cliches. Personally, I don't mind them, as long as they're not overused. I'd advise that you avoid them where possible, but if a cliche is the only suitable way of describing a situation then don't go out of your way to use a less accurate phrase.
4. When you're writing dialogue, don't be afraid to just write the speech. Dialogue tags are useful at the start of the conversation and every so often to clarify who's talking, but they become redundant if you repeat "he said" at the end of every sentence. Action beats**, which are the sentences in the middle of dialogue, are good to mix in with dialogue tags, but equally should not be overused. Don't list every expression the crosses your characters' faces, and don't use too many signals of their mood. The dialogue itself should give away most of what you need to get across.
5. Vary your line lengths. I'm sure you're aware that short sentences are useful for building tension, but they lose their effect if they're not placed in contrast with a few longer sentences. Using multiple long sentences can sound like rambling (though this might be appropriate in a stream of consciousness narrative), so that's to be avoided, too.
6. Don't start your sentences in the same way, unless you're doing so for effect. In dialogue, it can be powerful if your character is giving a speech (after all, repetition is a rhetorical device, designed for speech-making) or generally trying to sound important. Otherwise, it just sounds boring and samey. To avoid starting your sentences with the same word -- mostly commonly "I" -- you can use poetic brute force: this is where you re-write your work is a sort of poetry format, with each new sentence on a new line. Look down the line to see how similar all your sentence starters are.
7. Have a powerful opening line. Don't dwell on this when you first start writing your story, but don't settle for a mediocore opening line in the end, else your readers will never get sucked in.
8. Long words aren't always better than short ones. While some varied language can improve your writing, simplistic vocabulary will get your point across much better than a series of words your reader will have to look up in a dictionary to understand.
9. If you're struggling for ideas, find something that helps you to
think. I find that walking helps; so much so that at least
three-quarters of my story ideas have come into being while I've been
walking somewhere. This is so useful for me that I tend to pace around
my house all the time. Other ways to get ideas are: make lists,
collaborate, look through a baby name website for character names, go
somewhere new, and -- above all -- read.
*If you don't know, a simile is a comparison that uses the words "like" or "as", whereas a metaphor doesn't use either of these. "She looks like a horse" is a simile but "she's such a pig" is a metaphor.
** In this line, "Hi!" She waved. "How're you?" the bolded sentence is an action beat.
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