Writing 101

I thought I'd take my time here on the DNW blog and post some brief writing tips. Hopefully some of you will find this information useful.

Competition is stiff in the publishing world. (Unless you go with a publisher that isn't too particular about what they publish, or if you go the self-publishing route. But that's a post for another time.) You can follow plot and point-of-view rules, polish and re-polish your manuscript until there are no grammatical errors or typos, yet still get rejection after rejection. What gives? It's the finer points of writing--things like voice and pacing--that may determine if your book will ever be published.

First, you need to snag your reader with the first line. And the first three pages or so are critical in holding the reader's attention. And, after all, editors are readers. So make sure you open with something that will make the reader curious and want to find out more.

Second, make sure you use active voice--meaning action verbs. It's amazing how many times I find myself lapsing into passive voice as I write. Instead of writing "He stared into her eyes" it comes out "He was staring into her eyes." Weak, weak, weak!

Third, you want to add sensory details so the reader feels this world you've created. If your character is poor and a bike is his only mode of transportation, even in the winter time, show your reader how his hands are frozen to the handlebars, or how his warm breath steams in the chilled air.

Fourth, stay away from well-worn cliches. Come up with new, fresh ways of describing things.

If you pay attention to the finer points of writing, you'll give your fiction the creative edge it needs to impress a editor enough to say, "Give me more!"