The VERY BASIC 'No-No's' of Writing.

by yours truly.1

And I mean these are BASIC. Eye cringing, nose bleeding basic. But so many writers ignore them.2

1. YOUR, YOU'RE3

You're- the contraction for "you are." As in "You're going to write like an Englishman or you're going to die like a Frenchman."4

Your- showing possession. "Is that your dog, or is that your sister?"5

2. ITS, IT'S6

It's- the contraction for "it is." As in "It's raining outside; it's pouring cats and dogs." NEVER showing possession. 7

Its- showing possession. "The dog winked its eye and wagged its tale. "It's raining outside," said the dog."8

3. THERE, THEY'RE, THEIR9

There- signifying a place or location. "I put my purse there. Where is it? It should be right there."10

They're- contraction for "they are." As in "They're the worst neighbors ever, stealing my purse like that. I swear, it was right there!"11

Their- showing possession. "Their dog must have taken it, they're so lazy to leave that dumb dog out where it could get to my purse way over there by the grill."12

4. HOW TO SPELL BEGINNING13

B-E-G-I-N-N-I-N-G14

I hope that solves everything. Now you try!15

5. DIALOGUE16

Start a new line everytime a new speaker begins to talk.17

If one of your characters speaks unrealistically, your reader will hear it. Read your dialogue outloud. OUTLOUD. If doesn't sound like anything you've ever heard before, it's probably going to come across as cheesy.18

EXAMPLE A19

"John I think you would love me if your heart and my heart loved and we loved together. Will you love me? I will stop doing this thing and you will love me. Will you love me?"20

6. FOREIGN LANGUAGES21

Look it up. Never try to sound out a foreign language or deity or place name. It's very tricky and rarely is spelled how it sounds.22

EXAMPLE B23

"Comment allez vous?" is pronounced "Cohmo tally voo," not "Comment al-ez voos"24

Agamemnon, of Greek myth, is not pronounced "A game in non" but "Ah gah mem non."25

7. DESCRIPTIONS26

PLEASE please PLEASE do not describe your characters in too much detail all at once. A- it leaves nothing to look forward to and B- it's incredibly cheesy, like you stopped telling the reader the story and handed him/her a picture to gawk at. Don't describe her 'orange, spaghetti strap tanktop with a pair of knee-length khaki shorts' because you'll sound like a J.C. Penny's ad. Say "she was dressed for the summer and her top was exceptionally revealing" or something to that effect.27

I don't care what brand of bra she was wearing or if his hair was spiky with a fade on the sides. I really don't.28

8. DON'T RUSH 29

The worst thing you can do, especially in a long story or novella, is to rush to the plot. Think about Harry Potter. In the first one, half the world got bored reading about Harry's life with the Dursleys (although I loved all the imagery). Best selling fiction books ever. It won't kill you to let your characters grow and explore before you thrust them upon dragons and criminals and spring time passions. Let the story flow on its own, you'll do just fine!