Two steps forward, one step back
Writing means rewriting but there’s something
dangerously addictive about revision. If you
constantly polish your first three chapters,
you may never get round to writing the rest.
Read
Read your own writing out aloud
Not only will you become aware of clumsy
passages,
you can also hear missing commas.
Banish clichés
George Orwell defined a cliché as any phrase
you’re
used to seeing in print. It's a
tough standard
but no one ever said it was
going to be easy.
Attend a class. Join a group
No one makes disparaging comments about a
musician
who decides to take keyboard lessons
or expresses
surprise when an artist enrols in
Art School...
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Practice
Only got five minutes? Pin down the phrase that captures the texture of the carpet beneath your feet or the sound of the learner driver changing gear in the next street.
Print
You can’t edit on screen. The paperless office is a myth.
Do not be formal
When writing dialogue remember that no one – with the possible exception of Stephen Fry - talks in the way they would write.
Read some more
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