What writing advice have you received here that you think is worth sharing?

[EmilyMiller]

@StillStunned suggested that I give the big moments more room to breathe. Another sentence, another paragraph, diving deeper into feelings. Keeping the reader in that heightened state just a little longer.

It really stuck with me and I’ve tried to apply it ever since.

How about you?

 

[ronde]

From a great writer and great person, years ago:

1. Write what you know
2. When you get to the end, stop writing.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Write for yourself and ignore the trolls.

 

[SimonDoom]

KeithD introduced me to the Chicago Manual of Style, which I purchased and have found extremely helpful as a comprehensive guide to American style. I've used it to answer thorny grammar questions many times.

Lovecraft wrote a very helpful guide to writing incest stories called Write Incest Like A Motherfucker. It's a nice and useful overview of the key elements for an incest story. I read it before I wrote my first incest story back in the day, and I found it helpful.

I've received some comments from time to time that I should proofread better, and that's certainly true.

I've received some comments from time to time criticizing errors of continuity, or plausibility, so I try to be more attentive to those issues when I write.

 

[Wonderer67]

A friend of mine, who’s no longer on light gave me some good advice: don’t tell me what the character is thinking, describe it.

It was solid advice. Even though I’ve only written a couple of stories here, I have published and written and sent many others.

 

[HordHolm]

Some of the best advice that I've found repeated in many places, and that I try to pass on, is to take your time. Don't be afraid to put it down and come back to it, either in drafting or editing. If it's really good, the comfort break won't diminish what you have, whilst the chance to come back fresh should help you to sort the wheat from the chaff.

 

[AG31]

@StillStunned suggested that I give the big moments more room to breathe. Another sentence, another paragraph, diving deeper into feelings. Keeping the reader in that heightened state just a little longer.

It really stuck with me and I’ve tried to apply it ever since.

How about you?

I've received a host of small, specific bits of advice about how to improve the language. Often I've asked for it. But I can't think of any broad bits of advice that would be worth passing on. Usually broad advice boils down to, "Please change your goal in this story. Write a different one."

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I can remember two things I picked up here, although I've no idea who was the one who pointed it out.
The first was about overusing adjectives, and I soon realized I was one of those authors. When I went through some of my earlier stories, I saw the validity of that advice, and I tried to adjust my style.
The second was a discussion about POVs long ago, and when some authors started describing the types, I realized I sometimes slipped from close third person into omniscient in the same story. It happened rarely, and it wasn't that noticeable, but it was worth correcting nevertheless.

 

[stickygirl]

@ElectricBlue kindly sent me a crib sheet for sorting out speech tags; dialogue from actions etc. I still have it, but looking at the second page just now, the advice goes from grammar into a scene where there is a blouse being unbuttoned.
Other EB advice was shorter paragraphs.
I'm much more analytical about the style of other authors now and how their page is constructed. Joanna Harris has gifted me a million ways to deal with dialogue, while Jeanette Winterson and Amy Liptrott have show me rules are there to be broken.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

By the way, nice choice of topic.
It would probably be worth it to collect and sort all of the advice that people share here, in the form of short snippets of writing wisdom.
We could name it AH's Manual of Style. I mean, what the fuck does Chicago have that we don't?!

 

[Duke981]

The best advice I received was from my father, who told me believe half of what you see, and none of what you hear!

 

[EmilyMiller]

By the way, nice choice of topic.

Thanks

 

[dirk2024]

It was recommended to me that I pay more attention to creating the scene, offering more details about what I am seeing in my head and transfer that to my story.

 

[_Lynn_]

Along with the Chicago Manual of Style, I learned a ton from the tips KeithD/pilot posted over the years. I also had three authors who shared their knowledge with me. Slyc taught me how to write dialogue. Another spent time teaching me about varying sentence length, keeping the activities in order, etc. Because of them, I learned how to create a story. Without them, I wouldn't have continued writing.

 

[Statius]

Nothing. In 2 1/2 years only 1 writer has taken the time to read 1 story of mine. She gave me a few vague pointers about commas and Grammer and Info dumping and getting into graphic details.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Nothing. In 2 1/2 years only 1 writer has taken the time to read 1 story of mine. She gave me a few vague pointers about commas and Grammer and Info dumping and getting into graphic details.

Have you tried reaching out to anyone?

 

[Statius]

Have you tried reaching out to anyone?

Several. Thanks. Doesn't matter anyway. 1 more story to publish to finish a series then I'm out. Just don't know when.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Nothing. In 2 1/2 years only 1 writer has taken the time to read 1 story of mine. She gave me a few vague pointers about commas and Grammer and Info dumping and getting into graphic details.

You should know that yours isn't a special case. The advice we mentioned in our posts we received here, in AH discussions, not in the form of direct feedback through comments or email. Stick around and engage in discussions, and I am sure you will learn a thing or two from other authors.

 

[AG31]

Nothing. In 2 1/2 years only 1 writer has taken the time to read 1 story of mine. She gave me a few vague pointers about commas and Grammer and Info dumping and getting into graphic details.

Do you mean "taken the time to comment" rather than "read?"

 

[Ian_Snow]

I'm paraphrasing, but the length is whatever the length needs to be. I used to think novels and short story collections had to be 90k+ but I was stretching things a bit far for some stories and a beta reader, also a smut writer, told me I should concentrate more on the stories that fit rather than the length. It was good advice.

 

[TheRedLantern]

Best advice I got from a Lit poster was "Don't post to LW"

 

[Mastered_again]

If you have to explain dialogue, it's not good dialog

 

[RagnarHairyBreeches]

A friend of mine, who’s no longer on light gave me some good advice: don’t tell me what the character is thinking, describe it.

I was listening to the radio. A couple of women's experience travelling in South America. What you said here reminded me of the radio interview. Briefly...

Following an exhausting hike the two women eventually made it back to their hotel. One of them remained outside. The other went up to her room and flopped in her bed to rest. It's this one's experience that was being described. She was asleep, but woke to something strange. She couldn't understand why the bedside table was moving across the room. Moving my itself. Still dreaming? The bed was vibrating. The lamp fell off the table. That's weird. It shouldn't be happening. Just then her friend burst into the room. "Get up. Quickly. There's an earth quake. We have to get out."

 

[Wonderer67]

I was listening to the radio. A couple of women's experience travelling in South America. What you said here reminded me of the radio interview. Briefly...

Following an exhausting hike the two women eventually made it back to their hotel. One of them remained outside. The other went up to her room and flopped in her bed to rest. It's this one's experience that was being described. She was asleep, but woke to something strange. She couldn't understand why the bedside table was moving across the room. Moving my itself. Still dreaming? The bed was vibrating. The lamp fell off the table. That's weird. It shouldn't be happening. Just then her friend burst into the room. "Get up. Quickly. There's an earth quake. We have to get out."

That’s a great description of an earthquake.

 

[RagnarHairyBreeches]

...and as the reader, you get to experience it as the woman did.