What you can control
Diction~ ‘the credible author knows the difference between “unaffected" and "uneffected," between “illusion” and “allusion,” and doesn’t substitute one for the other.’* Which boils down to knowing what word(s) to use and what they mean. Also avoid filling your story with clichés. Use them sparingly.
Economy~ Use only as many words as necessary.
‘That doesn’t mean, of course, that it can’t be Repetitions. Repetition can be used to great effect ~ if it’s deliberately used to create a mood an atmosphere, or state of mind.’*
‘If your story can be told in half as many words, why should the reader have to read twice as many? If an editor suspects that you, the writer, don’t know how to write economically, you lose credibility. To avoid that, scrutinize your opening with a ruthless eye. Take out all repetitions that don’t serve a definite purpose.’*
Sentence Construction~ Whether you write long-winded sentences or short choppy sentence both are acceptable. Avoid awkward sentences. These make it difficult to read. ‘Awkward sentences will undermine your credibility, especially in your opening.’*
Sentence Variety~ If the sentences are the same length they sound singsong, so vary the length. Control the effect you want to create. Have a short sentence follow a couple of long ones and it will have a dramatic effect. After a few short sentences use a long one. It will demand elevated attention from the reader.
Parts of Speech~ Do not over use adjectives and adverbs. ‘Excess modifiers are the mark of the amateur, and most stories improve when adjectives and adverbs are held to minimum and strong verbs and nouns used instead.’*
Tone~ ‘The focus should be on the story, not on the writer'*
*Beginnings, Middles & Ends by Nancy Kress
Little tidbits that I use in my writing. Along with quotes and useful advice from Nancy Kress
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It's great that you have offered this help, and it's all very good advise. I would have liked to have seen you use examples sentences, this would re-enforce your points and assist the younger and new writers to understand some of the subtlety's of the column. Well worth reading, thank you.
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Thank you for this. This was very helpful and I will definitly be able to use these tips in my own writing.
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Very well done and imformative
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Thanks
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Very well written! Very helpeful!
Thanks for this Brooke
I noticed that I do alot of those things you write about Alot of the 'bad' things, that is 
But I do some of the good things also, and I'll be more focused on that from now on (If I can )
Thanks
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So now you can fix them
I'm glad this will help you. I have like eight writting books and I am always reading through them.
~*Brooke*~
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Interesting and helpful topic...
one thing I'm not entirely agreeing with you on is the "Also avoid clichés."
In speech many people use cliche sentences everyday. If you want your characters being more realistic, sometimes (I agree not always) cliche is necessary.
Otherwise great helpful column
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You've got a point there. We do use them in everyday. But what I was trying to get across was that a story shouldn't be filled with cliches. I will have to go back and make that more clear. Thank you for bringing up.
Thanks for reading.
~*Brooke*~
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I.. shall bookmark this
Thank you so much for the helpful tips!!!!! 
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I just hope this does help. And again thanks for reading my stuff. Such a faithful reader
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