-Read your story out loud, you can spot errors easier.
-Show, don't tell! He was angry. He slammed his fist on the table. See?
-Short words are stronger than long ones. Especially to show action.
-Make the reader feel something: cry, laugh, happy, appalled, angry...
-Hurt your characters. Nobody will care about them if their life is hunky dory! Make bad things happen to them so they can show the readers how tough they are. It's also entertaining.
-Each character must have a reason for every action. You might NEED your character to go home because the villain is waiting. That's your motive, what's their reason for returning home?
-Villains must also have a motive and past.
-Give your characters habits, goals, dreams, and flaws. Appealing characters can still have faults!
-Make your main character likeable. Your reader won't care what happens to her if she's annoying and deserves it.
-Use similes and metaphors. Just don't overuse em.
-Avoid huge lists. "There were many flowers: daisies, roses, violets, daffadils, tulips, marigolds,..." boring.
-Avoid too many words ending in "ness" or "ly"
-Write often. You'll never improve if you never write.
-Love it.
-Love your story. If you hate it, so will everybody else. You must WANT your story out there. Dont' be ashamed, be proud!
-Avoid using "to be" too much. Be very wary of "was". It can be overused.
-Passive voice is a no no. The boy walked the dog is active voice. "the Dog was walked by the boy" is passive.
-Avoid writing summaries nobody cares about. Like if you tell about your characters day when the real action happens after work. "Jill worked at the diner. She rode the bus. She got home at five."
Just write: "Jill rode the bus home from work"
-Skip flashbacks. Just write exposition or summary. Flashbacks are confusing and annoying.
-Don't open your story with something stupid. Like Sarah is covered in dog poo. Then the author explains why. Forget that. Start with the how. Opening up with something you have to explain is not fun or creative. It's dumb.
-Unnecessary purple prose. Aka, descriptions nobody cares about. Example: The room was brightened by the setting sun shining through the window.It hit the room, making it glow. The room was neat and dark, but the orange light made it look elegant and lit. On the desk, the lamp's beading reflected the light, putting off dancing shapes of light.
Just put: The setting sun made the room, normally quite plain, look strangely bright. Or maybe just: The room was brightened by the setting sun.
The reason you could mention setting suns is to hint about the time. Which brings us to...
-Don't forget to include clues of passing time. Clues like "it was midday" or "she checked her watch, five thirty". Sometimes you can forget this, making the reader confused at what time it is now.
-Over description of characters outfits. This must just be my peeve, but I'll bet it annoys others. I hate it when an author spends half a page describing the designer clothes of the characters every day.
-Make an outline. I once started writing my story and realized I had no idea where I was going, and there was a major plothole blocking me from continuing. So make a rough summary or something before you write.
Here are some simple writing tips to keep in mind when writing a story.
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