Story Lab: Week 14 Writers Write
Top Ten Writing Tips by Janet Fitch
Here were some of the most useful tips I found, and ones I plan to implement into my own writing.
1. Write the sentence, not the story.
This one is really useful because as writers we already have the big picture of where our story is going in our minds, but we forget that it takes small steps to get there. We need to focus on each sentence and make them all valuable and unique.
3. Kill the cliche
As someone in the college of journalism, I am very familiar with this rule. That being said, it is very difficult to avoid cliches in writing because it's so easy for your brain to go there. Stories are better when we invent our own phrases and sentences, and don't rely on past writers for creativity.
7. Smarten up your protagonist.
I understand this because there is nothing I hate more when reading and I know something obvious the protagonist doesn't. It makes more sense to have them observing, thinking, and wondering about things constantly in the story than have them do nothing useful besides action.
10. Torture your protagonist
This is a weird one, because I am a fan of happy endings and not suffering. But it makes sense to put them through hell in order to create a good story. We can use their vulnerability and fear against them to really make a story worth telling.
Here were some of the most useful tips I found, and ones I plan to implement into my own writing.
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| Vintage man writing, Source |
1. Write the sentence, not the story.
This one is really useful because as writers we already have the big picture of where our story is going in our minds, but we forget that it takes small steps to get there. We need to focus on each sentence and make them all valuable and unique.
3. Kill the cliche
As someone in the college of journalism, I am very familiar with this rule. That being said, it is very difficult to avoid cliches in writing because it's so easy for your brain to go there. Stories are better when we invent our own phrases and sentences, and don't rely on past writers for creativity.
7. Smarten up your protagonist.
I understand this because there is nothing I hate more when reading and I know something obvious the protagonist doesn't. It makes more sense to have them observing, thinking, and wondering about things constantly in the story than have them do nothing useful besides action.
10. Torture your protagonist
This is a weird one, because I am a fan of happy endings and not suffering. But it makes sense to put them through hell in order to create a good story. We can use their vulnerability and fear against them to really make a story worth telling.
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