Top Ten Writing Tips for Fiction Writers

As an author, it's so easy to get wrapped up in our characters, plot, and background details that we can overlook these simple yet important rules in writing. Read over this checklist then go over your manuscript with a keen eye to see what you can toss out or rewrite. The key in getting published, whether for the first time or the hundredth, is to look like a professional.

1. Write your story straight through without editing as you go along. Leave your story alone for a couple of weeks, then go back and edit. This does wonders in helping to spot errors, breaks in rhythm, and other problems. This cooling off period is essential to producing your best work. Nothing is perfect the first time around, and by giving yourself a break from your "baby" you'll be able to look at it a bit differently than if you polish it over and over again right away.

2. Remember to use all five senses. Use specific images so readers can actually see, hear, feel, taste and smell what's going on. Writing something like this is just okay: "It smelled bad." However, writing a descriptive sentence like this is ten times better: "It smelled like sour milk." Okay: "She was old." Better: "Her face was brown and shriveled like a prune."

3. Try to avoid using many clichés. (Hard as a rock, thin as a rail, sick at heart, etc.) You want to make your writing your own. Better to leave out a cliche and just write how the character looks or feels. By using descriptive words over cliches you can allow your own style and voice to shine through. Cliches often become a crutch and are a lazy way of writing. Try to "avoid them like the plague".

4. Go over your work and try to omit as many of these overused words as possible: Just, even, like, also, although, besides, almost, maybe, and, if, but, too, unless, sort of, that.

5. If you want to make your story strong and real, try not to use: Appears, seems, as though, seemed like, seemed as though. It takes the reader away from the story since you're letting her/him know that what you're describing isn't really what you're describing, it just "seems that way."

6. A strong word of warning here: Stay away from "suddenly" and similar words. "Suddenly there was a gunshot!" That type of sentence only expresses a thought. You want to impress the reader with your writing, not express a thought. A few others are "in the next instant," "then right away" or "just then."

7. As you proofread your work, try eliminating these "to be" verbs: is, am, was, were, are, will, be. Writing should be kept in the present tense. "Sarah was walking over to the table then turned around to face him." This sentence doesn't feel up close and personal. It's too passive. By making a few changes you get something much more immediate. "After walking over to the table, Sarah turned to face him." Add commas as needed and/or turn sentence around to make it stronger.

8. Make your writing as simple and clear as possible. That's not to say you should write "down" to your reader, but in fiction people want to get wrapped up in the story, not try to decipher long sentences, long words, and long speeches. Readers tend to skim over these or ignore them completely. You want to leave out the parts your reader will skip over.

9. A hook is vitally important. Grab your reader with the very first paragraph of your story. Better yet, capture their attention in the first sentence. A writer has about three seconds to hook their reader, so you want to make every word count. It's always a good rule of thumb to open with a bit of dialog since it shows action. Sprinkle background information throughout the story instead of opening with long passages that "set things up."

10. Do your characters live inside their heads too much? Instead of relaying everything the character is experiencing as if we're right there in his/her head, show thoughts through action. A smile, a frown, a sigh, stomping away, throwing a glass, and other actions keep the reader interested. Allow your characters to interact, not sit on the sidelines watching.

Although this isn't an exhaustive list of writing do's and don'ts, by keeping these ten rules in mind you'll be well on your way to a published story!