Writing Tips, Revised.
If you ask most writers what the rules of writing are, they’ll either give you a list of their best tips based on their own formulas for success, or they’ll say something like “THERE ARE NO RULES,” which is super lame and unhelpful. It’s a simple answer that you think sounds smart, but it’s not. You provided zero information.
No two writer’s lists are alike; they typically cover a wide variety of topics and identify lots of potential shortcomings. It can be a reflection of how an author felt about their own work or what they observed in the work of others. I decided to do something similar, so I feel like I’m in a good position to make a solid list. This won’t be based on my formula for success; this’ll moreso be my take on what can move you forward in your own creative process. And seeing as you picked the least lucrative form of human expression possible, you’re gonna want to hear people out when they tell you what they would put on their own list. So here we go:
1. Read/write every day. You’ll notice a lot of people say this, and that’s because it’s 100% true, and not just because you need the practice. You ever binge watch a tv show and your inner voice picks up an accent or manner of speech from a character on that show? That's how easy it is to lose the sense of what your inner voice sounds like, so it's best to sit somewhere quiet once a day to read or write in order to actually hear yourself.
2. Write the way you would speak, unless it's an academic assignment. If you can’t read it smoothly back to yourself, chances are your audience won’t be able to either. Plus it’s just more fun for everyone when a work reads like a natural extension of the author.
3. You do not have to be 100% grammatically proper to be a decent writer. That’s why you pay an editor to look at your work when you're done. So in the meantime, focus on not making the obvious mistakes instead of driving yourself crazy trying to keep track of every bullshit grammar rule in the English language. Cause there's a lot of those.
4. Stop using words you're not comfortable using. Some people seem to learn new words, and they immediately try to cut them into their sentences, and the end result is...it’s just awful. It doesn't add any value you to what you're writing, and you'd be better off with a more organic approach. Expanding your vocabulary will give you a lot more tools to work with, but taking your time to fully understand how these words are used can save you a lot of embarrassment.
5. Avoid repetition. Look out for words you use repeatedly that don't add anything to your sentences(you'll notice I use the word "just" too much, for example), and start becoming aware of them. If you use too many simple or complex sentences in a row, it all starts to bleed together, and it's awkward as hell to read. Once you get in the habit of looking for these things, breaking up sentences and incorporating a natural word variety becomes a lot easier.
6. Don't take yourself too seriously. Work hard, put out pieces you can be proud of, and keep practicing.
Like I said at the beginning, this list is mostly based on things I’ve noticed in my own work. I’d encourage you to come up with a list of your own. But regardless, I hope you got some use out of it.