quick poll

[aruan]

Despite reading a lot of good fic in this lovely fandom vast and wide, I blame a combination of journalism and poor nutrition on my inability to feel anything for this story I'm writing and want so desperately to be good.

So, as brief or as detailed as you please, what's the single best writing tip anyone's ever taught you/you've divined/gotten from a fortune cookie? Though maybe not that cookie thing, those aren't usually well-written.

At the moment, I'm going line-by-line and remembering to show, not tell.

Comments

[glendaglamazon.livejournal.com]

I agree with what everyone has said. I'd add to synchronik's comment about deleting adverbs; as you're deleting the adverbs, find a better verb. Instead of "he walked briskly down the hall" write "he strode down the hall." That sort of thing. There are so many wonderful words that get ignored.

Also, eliminate all intensifiers. Very, really, quite, rather, etc.

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

Intensifiers! Yeah, me and superlatives, it's a beautiful thing except they don't much serve the writing in the end. Which they rarely do, because English has so many beautiful words that sit on dusty shelves due to our laziness in finding something that expresses us accurately, instead of just quickly.