Sage Advice for Fiction Writing

The list, below, is a collection of easy but wise advice I have gleaned from a variety of sources since I started writing. I hope you find it helpful.

Of course, all rules are meant to be broken in at least some circumstances.

Please leave comments with your thoughts. 

• A problem that a character can walk away from is a book a reader can walk away from.
• Write to your audience.
• Write dialogue that’s worth eavesdropping on.
• Don’t be afraid to “kill your darlings” if it furthers the plot (whether “darlings” refers to characters, favorite plot devices, subplots, or even entire chapters).
• Don’t be in love with your words. Cut mercilessly as needed.
• Add action tags to prevent “talking heads.”
• Make your main characters memorable. Otherwise they’re lost in the crowd.
• Every character should have a unique viewpoint, “voice,” and motivation or they become clones.
• Just when your main characters seem to get a grip on the situation, torment them, then have them claw their way out.
• Your main characters need to be active and turn things around in the plot, not just followers; no one roots for a puppet.
• Emotions make characters interesting. Make them express themselves, unless they’re Mr. Spock.
• Make every word do work for the story.
• Avoid info dumps. Dole out the details and backstory or the reader gets buried.
• Sensory details bring a scene to life. Have a mental meter for the five senses.
• Writing groups, reviewers, and editors take your work to the next level. Be open-minded to critique.
• A main character’s world and her role in it should be larger and more complex than what is represented in the book. Then hint at that larger role to show that your character isn’t just a cardboard cutout.
• Know your characters better than the reader will. If a character isn’t alive to you, he never will be to the reader.
• The story is only as long as it needs to be. Stretching the story by adding superfluous side plots and details, or cutting it by removing necessary material, to meet an artificial word length might help get it published, but readers can often tell.
• The first few chapters of the book, or paragraphs of a short story, set expectations that form a “contract with the reader” about genre, characterization, and the basic plot. Plot twists are good, but stray too far, and you break the contract and alienate your reader. Be true to the story.
• Outlines can be helpful, but don’t be too rigid. Stories and characters can take on a life of their own and lead you down delightful and unexpected paths.
• Show, don't tell (unless, perhaps, it's introspection)
• Write a story worth re-reading.

Cheers and happy reading!