Suggestions for Writers

Write what you enjoy. Don’t try to write something you don’t like (or even read) just because it’s the latest guaranteed money fad.

• Write the story you promised your reader. They decided to read your work because of something that caught their attention. A blurb. A cover. An opening chapter. A recommendation. Give them the story all of those things were pointing at.
• Write short stories. Great if you can get them published, but that is a side benefit. Short stories are complete tales and teach you to write with a conservation of words (publisher’s word limit training), how to hook a reader fast, how to build the narrative to a satisfying conclusion.
• “But I write novels!” Cool, but what are novels, really? They’re a series of shorts in a logical sequence. When on panels at conventions, I’ve often said that novels are short stories flying in a tight formation.
• “OK, I wrote some short stories. Happy?” No, because they’re taking up hard drive space. Polish it and ship it off to a publisher. Got a bunch? Make a collection. You spent the time on it, so kick it out the door to fend for itself.
• Avoid self-inserts. If you write yourself into a story, you’ll try to make life easier for yourself, at least on the page. Then the story serves you, not the other way around.
• Learn to write emotions. That’s what binds a reader to a character. Don’t just state “Bob was sad”, make him earn it and make the reader feel it. Show us the emotional response, not the author-requested emotion they expect the reader to feel at this point. “Bob read the telegram about his pet iguana three times, his face slowly turning a mottled red with tears running down in a torrent. Dead, poor little Iggy! He crumbled the paper in his shaking hands and threw it in the general direction of the fireplace.”
• Write about real people/beings. Every character has faults, problems, tics, and bad habits. That’s what brings a character to life. Unless you’re writing satire or comedy, nobody is perfect. Characters should get rewards for good things (relatively), and they should pay a heavy price for screwing something up. Death of a well-liked side character, anyone?
• Write what is important for the story. Don’t let obligatory details or events happen off-camera. Unimportant details can happen elsewhere.