I saw a few of these pointers on various blogs but found this to have many all in one place. This is going to end up being part of my “go to” when writing.
Criminal Mischief: Episode #14: Rules of Writing
LISTEN: https://soundcloud.com/authorsontheair/criminal-mischief-episode-14-rules-of-writing
PAST SHOWS: http://www.dplylemd.com/criminal-mischief.html
SHOW NOTES:
Somerset Maugham
There are three rules for novel writing. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
Terry Brooks Rules
Read, Read, Read
Outline, Outline, Outline
Write, Write, Write
Repeat
Dave Barry:
Don’t Be Boring
Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing
1-Never open a book with weather
2-Avoid prologues
3-Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue
4-Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said”
5-Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose
6-Never use the words “suddenly” or “all hell broke loose
7-Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly
8-Avoid detailed descriptions of characters
9-Don’t go into great detail describing places and things
10-Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip
From BLACK CHERRY BLUES by James Lee Burke
Her…
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