This piece is focused on the collection of rules that define my writing process. This all began on a sticky note that I would carry around to whatever tool on which I was writing. At that time, I was a collection of just the top three reminders that my editor harped on every time he read new stuff from me. In the years that have elapsed from then till now, the list has grown from three to ten. There are most likely more that I work from occasionally, but these are the ten that I try to hold myself to one hundred percent of the time.
So without further ado...
1. Don't be overtly cerebral in telling the narrative. Focus first on action, and then on the descriptions that flow out of that.
2. Show don't tell.
3. Illuminate the broken and battered characters nature by giving them conflicts that cut them to the core.
4. Avoid words ending in LY unless absolutely necessary.
5. Don't over adjectify a sentence. Three of them is always too many, cut it the best one of the three and move on.
6. Minimize exclamation points. Limit this to no more than one in a short piece, or no more than one in every 10,000 words of a longer piece.
7. Don't become attached to the characters you create in more than a passing fancy. They must be killed with a frequency that shocks the reader.
8. Bring in realism in all its fury. Focus on the three Gs of realism Grit, Grime, and Gore.
9. Move with a deft hand, but always keep the pace high, and the action driving the narrative. Don't let the reader rest or in any way become comfortable.
10. Focus on varied word choices.
So without further ado...
1. Don't be overtly cerebral in telling the narrative. Focus first on action, and then on the descriptions that flow out of that.
2. Show don't tell.
3. Illuminate the broken and battered characters nature by giving them conflicts that cut them to the core.
4. Avoid words ending in LY unless absolutely necessary.
5. Don't over adjectify a sentence. Three of them is always too many, cut it the best one of the three and move on.
6. Minimize exclamation points. Limit this to no more than one in a short piece, or no more than one in every 10,000 words of a longer piece.
7. Don't become attached to the characters you create in more than a passing fancy. They must be killed with a frequency that shocks the reader.
8. Bring in realism in all its fury. Focus on the three Gs of realism Grit, Grime, and Gore.
9. Move with a deft hand, but always keep the pace high, and the action driving the narrative. Don't let the reader rest or in any way become comfortable.
10. Focus on varied word choices.
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