This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
1. Be honest. Stay true to your characters. Let them do what they will on the page, regardless of whether or not you think it’s ‘nice’ or ‘politically correct’ or ‘moral’. Readers will invest themselves in your characters when they are believable. Don’t make them two-dimensional. There’s no such thing as a completely ‘bad’ person or a totally ‘good’ person. There are so many aspects to people. This is what makes us interesting to other people. Show all sides of your characters to your readers and they will follow your characters wherever you take them.
2. Write as if nobody will ever see your work. Don’t think about what your mother might think. Or your husband. Or the parents on the PTA. Write as if you are a hermit in a cave who never meets anyone or goes anywhere. This is fiction; it’s not an autobiography.
3. The blank page is terrifying. So fill it up with words. It doesn’t matter if you think what you’re writing is terrible. That’s what editing is for.
4. Writing is like any other activity; the more you do it, the better you become. You have to practise. Have this as your mantra. It worked for Samuel Beckett: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.”
5. OK, here’s the science bit: Go through whatever you’re working on and delete every single adverb and most of the adjectives. Instead of those pesky things, strengthen your verbs. You’ll be amazed at the clarity it brings to your writing.
Now That I’ve Found You by Ciara Geraghty is out now.