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

[jdq.livejournal.com]

mine might be more of a precursor to writing. Take a single moment or action and write down every possible thing to describe it. If you look at somebody walking just tear it apart and figure out how she's walking, why she's walking like that, how her arms swing, etc. all that stuff. It's always helped me.

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I really like this. Taking a look at gestures and dialogue and having to justify it not only forces an economy and purpose to your characters' actions but makes for a better-told story. Can't have the actors distracting us with props and all that. And it might be a clue to their character that they can't stand in a room without fidgeting or leaning against something, or it can be a huge tell as to what they're actually thinking as opposed to what they say they are. Many thanks.