This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
onathan Tropper is an American writer and a professor of English at Manhattanville College in New York state. Our review of his new book, One Last Thing Before I Go, can be found here.
1. Turn off your wifi.
2. Turn off your phone.
3. When you’re not sure how exactly to write something, write it in the plainest language possible – abbreviate it – overwrite it – do anything to keep moving. Stopping is where you get into trouble. You can always go back later.
4. Read the dialogue in your story out aloud. If it sounds awkward spoken, it’s not going to read well either.
5. Don’t be afraid of revising. The revisions process is where you polish your prose, where you adjust the language and the rhythms. You can’t see it all when you’re in the act of creating. Multiple, in-depth passes are where you excavate the heart of your writing.