What Is Your Favorite Writing Tip?

My mom tells me that I should write things that I would want to read, and that chances are somebody else out there will want to read it, too.

Yup. Good advice, in my book. Maybe not the most critically inspiring, but still. Good advice.

Peace, love, chocolate,
Muffin

Don't stress about it. ^.^

Many people stress and worry over finishing a piece of work, whether they be writing fiction or non-fiction, even getting to stressing about starting the work.

If you clear your mind, write when you feel the urge, and don't pressure yourself you should be able to just go with the flow. I find it also helps with the clarity and the quality of the work ^.^


*Hearts*

The best writing tip I have ever recieved would have to be : 'Base your characters on friends, and even family.' It's so humorous because you get to see the expression on their faces when they find out that that annoying/weird/crazy character was them!

"If you assume that the words that flow from your fingertips were dictated to you by God and are thus sacred and immune from revision, only you and God are ever going to get to read them." -Holly Lisle

It's probably not the *best* advice I've ever heard about writing, but it could be for someone out there.

NaNoWriMo probably gave me my best advice:

Just push it all out, and then edit it later. If you agonize over it as you go, you won't get anywhere.

I never recieved this tip, but it is what I live by and it works wonders.

Just write a whole chapter, no matter how terrible or short it is. Then edit it. (I can only use the highlighting thing in Word for this.) Lengthen it, add detail, and make it understandable. Then read it again. Come back a few days later, and edit it again.

Also, even if you are not 100% satisfied with a chapter, move on to the next one. You can always go back and fix the poor one; it's more important to write than edit (the first time through.)

I have a new favorite writing tip. Unfortunately, this ones only for the girls. Sorry, boys!

Okay, so the tip for girls (with long hair--long enough to put in a ponytail) is this : When out running or exercising (or just any everyday activity), put your hair in a ponytail or bun and stick your pen in it. This way, you can write down any ideas that pop into your head, that could easily be forgotten, on your hand.

My favorite English teacher told me to always show and not tell. I know that is an average run-by-the-mill sort of tip, but I find it works beautifully.

Monki, I know boys with hair long enough to put in a ponytail. (My hair is only a few inches long. Definitely not ponytail material.)

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My favorite was something someone posted on Gaia Online: LIFE. Literature, Imagination, Folklore and Experience - use them when you're looking for ideas to break out of writers' block and for when you're trying to flesh out your ideas.

Meep > True. I sort of forgot all about guys with long hair. (God, I love guys with long hair!) Anyways, you can always just carry the pen in your purse or something with a mini notebook.

I'm not sure that anyone ever actually said this to me, because I live by this rule, but my favorite piece of advice for writing (and life in general) is definitely chill out.

I have two:

1) Don't worry: "The first draft is always s***"
(have read this written by many published authors and boy is it true...)

2) NEVER EVER throw out anything you have written.
I don't care if it is s***, one day you will be glad you have it, even if it is to make yourself laugh on a bad day - looking back and seeing how awful you were way back then..

~GryphonFledgling

The best piece of advice my tutor gave me:

"Upon completing a draft of an article, file it away and don't look at it. After a few days come back to it and continue."

It's true. The creative process is an ongoing one which depends on allowing your mind to savour concepts and ideas. Taking a break allows you to return to a piece of writing with a refreshed mind and hopefully increased enthusiasm.

Conflict is drama. A story cannot exist without a problem, a conflict, a puzzle that must be resolved.

1) It's already been said, but it's always good to set aside your work and come back to it later. Then it will be less familiar to you and you'll better be able to see it the way readers would. No clue who told me that.

2) Stories aren't about conflict--they're about the characters. It's not a story about a knight going to fight a dragon. It's the story about the knight who is going to fight a dragon.

3) Always ask yourself: Is this relevant to the story? <Good advice. It's amazing how much you put in there you don't need.

And I have no clue who told me any of this. I just know it to be true. ^_^