Entries from May 2008 ↓

We talk all of the time about writing well. We talk about how it’s important to master the language, to write with feeling, to be compelling in our prose.  Yet these generalities all too often fail to give us practical ways to achieve those goals. 

What follows is a list of writing tips I’ve compiled, over time, for my own use.  Now, they’re yours as well.  Master all 178 of these tips and you’ll be the best damn writer in your niche:

1. Subscribe to The Writing Journey via RSS or by Email.
2. Take a Comp 101 class at your local community college.
3. Develop your vocabulary by learning 3 new words every day.
4. Buy a huge dictionary, thesaurus and grammar book.
5. Use that dictionary, thesaurus and grammar book every day.
6. Proofread other blogs to practice your editing skills.
7. Swear off using the word “great.”
8. Do the same with “nice.”
9. And “beautiful.”
10. And “wonderful.”
11. And “just.”
12. And “really.”
13. And “quite.”
14. And “that.”
15. Memorize the 8 Internet Writing Mistakes.
16. Avoid them.
17. When your spell-checker finds a misspelled word, write down what it was. Learn to spell that word correctly.
18. Experiment with writing tools like Q10, dictation software or (I know it’s revolutionary) a pencil.
19. Learn to use commas and apostrophes.
20. Stay on topic.
21. Subscribe to and read at least 2 monthly magazines.
22. Read at least one each of fantasy, horror, suspense, crime and romance novels.
23. Read prose frequently.
24. Read your writing out loud after you write it.
25. Turn off spell-check and grammar-check for a week, and check your writing manually.
26. Ask other writers for their advice.
27. Ask other writers for their help.
28. Help other writers, and offer them advice.
29. Practice active voice.
30. clear your writing area of distractions.
31. Write to express, not impress.
32. Connect with other writers. 
33. Outline before you write and revise as you go.
34. Practice different writing voices.
35. Learn capitalization rules.
36. Put punctuation inside quotes.
37. Use simple strong verbs.
38. Let your writing sit 24 hours before publishing whenever possible.
39. Avoid superparagraphs.
40. Write interactive dialogue. 
41. Join a peer writing group.
42. Submit writing to a peer-reviewed journal or website.
43. Read your writing in reverse.
44. Cut or replace words, don’t add.
45. Learn the rules of logic.
46. Use them in your argument.
47. Learn the names of 23 different colors.
48. Aim to write at an 8th-grade reading level.
49. Fail in your writing, but learn from your failure.
50. Avoid redundancy.
51. Don’t write the same thing twice.
52. Learn and defeat the 7 Deadly Fears of Writing.
53. Use transitions.
54. Practice clarity.
55. Brainstorm frequently.
56. Watch spacing.
57. Use strong verbs when appropriate.
58. Use cliffhangers in your prose.
59. Learn comma rules and use them.
60. Write your own life story.
61. Write your own life story from the perspective of your left ear.
62. Take a writing workshop.
63. Get a writing mentor.
64. Brainstorm.
65. Read Hugh MacLeod’s How to be Creative.
66. Hire an editor.
67. Use adverbs sparingly.
68. Practice a conversational tone by writing a conversation about your topic.
69. Don’t write to impress.
70. Eliminate awkward phrases.
71. Write what you know.
72. write what you enjoy.
73. Print out a draft to proofread it.
74. Participate in NaNoWriMo.  
75. Be talented.
76. Write to entertain.
77. Follow the rules as often as possible.
78. Avoid cliches.
79. It it isn’t good, get rid of it.
80. Listen to public speeches.
81. Learn another language.
82. Use images effectively.
83. Freewrite.
84. Write first thing in the morning.
85. Write last thing at night.
86. Write first, edit later.
87. Learn what run-on sentences are and avoid them.
88. Write with authority.
89. Wrestle with your writing.
90. Write truthfully.
91. Write some garbage.
92. Stop worrying what others think.
93. Submit your writing until it is published.
94. Write something backward.
95. Listen to real-world conversations to hear how people truly communicate.
96. Don’t use such colorful language that it detracts from your message.
97. Sometimes, write without a message.
98. Watch out for floating body parts.
99. Be consistent in sequence.
100. Be consistent in tense.
101. Read screenplays.
102. Use pronouns clearly.
103. Make subjects and verbs agree.
104. Modify your word order when necessary.
105. Use but don’t overuse alliteration.
106. Watch for wordiness.
107. Avoid vague pronouns.
108. Write with a goal in mind.
109. Consider your reader’s education and expertise.
110. Use headlines.
111. Define specialized terms.
112. Write with standards. 
113. Summarize your writing in a sentence or a paragraph.
114. Keep it simple.
115. Use short sentences.
116. Use short paragraphs.
117. Write with confidence.
118. Write with authority.
119. Vary sentence structure.
120. Join professional organizations.
121. Improve your Dialogue.
122. Write poetry.
123. Write a sonnet and a Haiku on the same topic.
124. Show, don’t tell.
125. Be hard on yourself.
126. Write with rhythm.
127. Write with necessary caution.
128. Avoid slang.
129. Avoid abbreviations.
130. Avoid symbols.
131. Use ellipses sparingly.
132. Use apostrophes correctly.
133. Smile when you write.
134. Memorize homonyms.
135. Use section headings.
136. Make an idea web.
137. Cite your sources properly.
138. Stay on topic.
139. Write patiently.
140. Don’t plagiarize.
141. Answer the 5 Ws and the H.
142. Be relevant.
143. Be dedicated.
144. Use an introduction, body and conclusion.
145. Avoid sentimentality for sentimentality’s sake.
146. Sweat the small stuff.
147. Find your own voice.
148. Write real content, not link-bait.
149. Use the semicolon rarely and correctly.
150. Use the colon correctly.
151. Learn the difference between a dash and a hyphen.
152. Understand the difference between parentheses, brackets, and braces.
153. Use the slash correctly.
154. Follow style guidelines.
155. Follow publisher guidelines.
156. Avoid excessive question marks and exclamation points.
157. Avoid weird words.
158. Write joyfully.
159. Verify your sources.
160. Use “its” and “it’s” correctly.
161. Write a 15-word sentence.
162. Write a story using only 3-word sentences.
163. Read daily.
164. Use criticism to your advantage.
165. Write as if you have a deadline.
166. Write in a readable font.
167. Adopt good writing habits.
168. Learn to use “Who” and “Whom.”
169. Write with intention.
170. Use writing prompts.
171. Read Shakespeare.
172. Write with confidence.
173. Avoid using technical terms.
174. Be harsh with your editing.
175. Make an argument in your writing.
176. Be open to criticism.
177. Never quit writing.
178. Ever.

photo credit: neurollero

All right, I’ve got so many different things rolling around in my head this morning, and none of them are working themselves into a full post.  Let me offer you, then, a potpourri of the things jumping between my synapses:

Niebu

Being an Internet writer (or any other sort of self-employed web worker) means several things.  It means sometimes working long or odd hours. It means having clients and colleagues that are, mostly, people you’ll never meet in person. Add the two together, and you wind up with “Niebu.”

How exactly does that work?  Simple. You take an Internet Writer like James. James wakes up one morning at 5 AM. He likes to get things done in the morning, before his kids are up. He starts the coffee pot. While he’s waiting for his “jet fuel,” he hops on Twitter to type “Morning” to greet his colleagues and followers.  Only problem is, both hands are shifted one key to the left. He types “Niebu” instead.

Two or three weeks later, Niebu is an Internet phenomenon.  James and his colleagues (and peers, friends and hangers-on) have their own little inside joke.  I think DebNg referred to it as “Men and their made-up words.” We use Niebu to mean “Hello,” “Goodbye,” “Good Luck,” and even refer to Niebu as a sort of tribal Deity, as in “My Twitter is acting up.  Quick, sacrifice a virgin to Niebu.”

In reality, Niebu means Community. Niebu is the grand community of web workers and their friends, followers, and anyone else who wants in; it’s not exclusive. Niebu means, in some ways, I get up at 5 AM to work my a$$ off all day so that I can have the afternoon to watch my kid’s Kindergarten play.  It means The soul-sucking corporate environment is eating away at my soul.  I need a way to escape.

Niebu to you all today, my friends.

For another take on it, check out Dave Navarro’s perspective on What Does Niebu Mean?

Helium Contests

I told you all last time how you can go about earning money on Helium by writing for contests, and I wanted to follow up by pointing you to this week’s writing contest topics.  They are as follows:

• 2008 Elections
• Hawaii
• Terrorism
• Antiques
• Online Business
• Trucks & SUVs
• Arthritis
• PC Support
• Christian Teens
• Role-Playing Games

I won’t be writing in the Role-Playing Games contest this week, as I’m the “sub-channel steward” for RPGs.  “What’s a channel sub-steward?” you ask?  I’ll cover the steward program in more detail at another time, but the basic principle is this:  Helium utilizes a community-based system of quality assurance, in a similar fashion to Wikipedia. For each content area, there are stewards.  There are sub-channel stewards for the very tiny portions of each content area, and I’m it for RPGs and Wargames.  I’ve just really started doing this, though, as my focus up until the last couple of weeks at Helium had been the Reward-athon.

At any rate, good luck to those of you who decide to give the contests a shot.  I’m thinking of writing in “Online Business” and probably “PC Support” this week.

Good luck to everyone who gives it a shot this week!

Twitter

 
If you’ve not jumped onto the Twitter bandwagon yet, you should really consider it. My understanding is that there is some social networking/marketing value in it, but really I think it’s just a nice little way to blow off steam for 3 to 5 minutes at a time, several times a day.  It is, for me, what the water cooler was when I worked in the corporate world.

Follow me on Twitter here.

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Have a great weekend, everyone. If you get a chance to see Iron Man this weekend, you should take it.  Make sure you stay through the credits, though.  I promise a totally geeking-out moment for any comic-book fanboy who does.  It’s great stuff.