In a series of letters, Friedrich Nietzsche crafted these 10 commandments of writing:

1.) Of prime necessity is life: a style should live.

Many writers not only never find their style, but never utilize their voice.

Humans are storytellers.

Writing in your own style and voice makes your story more authentic. It will make it more interesting and will draw crowds to you if done well.

2.) Style should be suited to the specific person with whom you wish to communicate.

Don't use a peasant's tongue in the presence of kings.

Writing is about teaching and it is just as important to know your audience as it is to know your material.

3.) First, one must determine precisely “what-and-what do I wish to say and present,” before you may write.

Now that you know your audience and material, you must find out what message you want to convey.

Be intentional in your message and your writing.

4.) Since the writer lacks many of the speaker’s means, he must in general have for his model a very expressive kind of presentation of necessity, the written copy will appear much paler.

Not everyone will be able to present with the same energy as Tony Robbins, but we can all learn to write with that same expressive energy.

If you feel bored writing it, it will be boring to read it.

5.) The richness of life reveals itself through a richness of gestures. One must learn to feel everything — the length and retarding of sentences, interpunctuations, the choice of words, the pausing, the sequence of arguments — like gestures.

Language and writing is an art.

The same way that an artist uses a paintbrush,
A writer uses the pen.

Your job is to express yourself using language.

6.) Be careful with periods! Only those people who also have long duration of breath while speaking are entitled to periods. With most people, the period is a matter of affectation.

In the same way that a composer uses symbols to indicate pitch, when to speed up, or when to slow down,

A writer will use punctuation to the same effect.

Learn to master the tools at your disposal or your work (and message) will suffer.

7.) Style ought to prove that one believes in an idea; not only that one thinks it but also feels it.

If you aren't convinced of your own ideas, you will never convince others.

Find your own beliefs, then express them.

8.) The more abstract a truth which one wishes to teach, the more one must first entice the senses.

The deepest truths are not just known, but felt.

This is the same reason why the religious believe in something they cannot see.

Our deepest beliefs have enticed more than just sight.

9.) Strategy on the part of the good writer of prose consists of choosing his means for stepping close to poetry but never stepping into it.

Seek to convey your message to the widest audience.

You do not want to limit yourself.

Find a way to create art without becoming singular and specialized.

10.) It is not good manners or clever to deprive one’s reader of the most obvious objections. It is very good manners and very clever to leave it to one’s reader alone to pronounce the ultimate quintessence of our wisdom.

Your job as the writer is to teach, not to force a belief down someone's throat.

Present your message, it is up to the reader to accept or reject it.

An argument that requires convincing is either weak or being presented to someone who isn't ready for it.

If your goal is to impact intellectual history, then your skills will need to be sharpened.

The pen is mightier than the sword, but it must be sharpened with the same discipline.