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106 lines of advice for writers.
Carefully selected from common knowledge, well-known authors ( @paulocoelho, @chuckpalahniuk, @neilhimself ...) and Twitter favourites like @julian, @david_perell, @jmikolay, @jspector, @BenjaminPutano, @prabsimratG and @jamierusso.
Carefully selected from common knowledge, well-known authors ( @paulocoelho, @chuckpalahniuk, @neilhimself ...) and Twitter favourites like @julian, @david_perell, @jmikolay, @jspector, @BenjaminPutano, @prabsimratG and @jamierusso.
No need to bookmark, compile or unroll and whatnot.
You can read them all on my website with links to some of the sources: https://kjellv.com/lines-of-writing-advice/
You can read them all on my website with links to some of the sources: https://kjellv.com/lines-of-writing-advice/
1. Write like you talk.
2. If it sounds like writing, rewrite it. — Elmore Leonard
3. Write like you’re talking to a friend in a bar.
2. If it sounds like writing, rewrite it. — Elmore Leonard
3. Write like you’re talking to a friend in a bar.
4. Don’t write words you don’t speak.
5. Write what you like to read.
6. "If you are writing without zest, without gusto, without love, without fun, you are only half a writer. — Ray Bradbury
5. Write what you like to read.
6. "If you are writing without zest, without gusto, without love, without fun, you are only half a writer. — Ray Bradbury
7. Read all your copy out loud.
8. Anything that can be said, can be said clearly. — Ludwig Wittgenstein
9. Use the words your audience uses.
8. Anything that can be said, can be said clearly. — Ludwig Wittgenstein
9. Use the words your audience uses.
10. Use short paragraphs.
11. Write shorter sentences.
12. Replace half your commas with periods. — @david_perell
11. Write shorter sentences.
12. Replace half your commas with periods. — @david_perell
13. The secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. — William Zissner
14. Vary sentence length.
15. Increase whitespace.
14. Vary sentence length.
15. Increase whitespace.
16. Never use a long word where a short one will do. — George Orwell
17. Do not use similes, metaphors or other figures of speech that you often read online.
18. Do not use foreign phrases, scientific words or jargon if there is an everyday equivalent. — George Orwell
17. Do not use similes, metaphors or other figures of speech that you often read online.
18. Do not use foreign phrases, scientific words or jargon if there is an everyday equivalent. — George Orwell
19. Go easy on the thesaurus.
20. To impress people with your writing, stop trying to impress people with your writing. @jspector
21. Write to one person.
20. To impress people with your writing, stop trying to impress people with your writing. @jspector
21. Write to one person.
22. Address the reader.
23. Write actively.
24. Write for skimmers.
23. Write actively.
24. Write for skimmers.
25. Write with passion.
26. Write from a place of abundance.
27. Use affirmative language.
26. Write from a place of abundance.
27. Use affirmative language.
28. Keep it short.
29. A good argument in five sentences will sway more people than a brilliant argument in a hundred sentences. — @scottadamssays
30. Keep it simple.
29. A good argument in five sentences will sway more people than a brilliant argument in a hundred sentences. — @scottadamssays
30. Keep it simple.
31. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication — Leonardo Da Vinci
32. Remember that many readers are not native speakers.
33. Every word is a choice and every choice has a consequence. — @jspector
32. Remember that many readers are not native speakers.
33. Every word is a choice and every choice has a consequence. — @jspector
34. Imagine you’re getting paid for every word you cut.
35. Make your point and get out of the way. — @morganhousel
36. Choose words the average writer doesn’t use but understands.
35. Make your point and get out of the way. — @morganhousel
36. Choose words the average writer doesn’t use but understands.
37. Remove “that” from your writing.
38. Avoid adverbs.
39. Ban stopwords.
38. Avoid adverbs.
39. Ban stopwords.
40. Be specific.
41. Use visual language.
42. Don’t tell me the moon is shining, show me the glint of light on the broken glass. — Anton Checkhov
41. Use visual language.
42. Don’t tell me the moon is shining, show me the glint of light on the broken glass. — Anton Checkhov
43. If something bores you, it probably bores your readers too.
44. Be fascinated in order to be fascinating.
45. Don’t fall in love with your own words.
44. Be fascinated in order to be fascinating.
45. Don’t fall in love with your own words.
46. Books are not there to show how intelligent you are. Books are there to show your soul. — @PauIoCoelho
47. Imagine you're writing for a fifth-grader.
48. Summarise the key points.
47. Imagine you're writing for a fifth-grader.
48. Summarise the key points.
51. If you expect to succeed as a writer, rudeness should be the second-to-least of your concerns. — Stephen King
52. Every topic is bigger than it seems at first.
53. Create content that creates conversation.
54. Follow the rule of one.
53. Create content that creates conversation.
54. Follow the rule of one.
55. If you try to make more than one point, you’ll make no points. — @benjaminputano
56. Build your narrative around one key question.
57. Figure out what you want to say by deleting what you don’t. — @jspector
56. Build your narrative around one key question.
57. Figure out what you want to say by deleting what you don’t. — @jspector
58. Scratch your own itch.
59. Write about things people see but don’t notice.
60. When you’re sharing what’s important to you, when you’re sharing the truth that you feel people need to say, you will find that the difficult parts of writing fall away. — @ryanholiday
59. Write about things people see but don’t notice.
60. When you’re sharing what’s important to you, when you’re sharing the truth that you feel people need to say, you will find that the difficult parts of writing fall away. — @ryanholiday
61. Scrutinise every word for bias.
62. Be aware of the curse of knowledge.
63. Assume you’ll be misunderstood.
62. Be aware of the curse of knowledge.
63. Assume you’ll be misunderstood.
64. Readers aren’t as smart as you’d think. — @scottadamssays
65. Make your opening sentence intriguing.
66. Start with a personal story.
65. Make your opening sentence intriguing.
66. Start with a personal story.
67. End with a question or CTA.
68. Hide intent in plain sight.
69. Add value.
68. Hide intent in plain sight.
69. Add value.
70. Write your first draft with gusto, then edit ruthlessly.
71. Your first draft is for generating and connecting ideas. — @Julian
72. When you write the first draft, you write it for yourself. When you rewrite it, you write it for everyone else. — Stephen King
71. Your first draft is for generating and connecting ideas. — @Julian
72. When you write the first draft, you write it for yourself. When you rewrite it, you write it for everyone else. — Stephen King
73. Once you’ve jumped into the writing process, don’t stop to do more research.
74. Don’t judge. Let it flow. Edit later. — @prabhsimratG
75. The best editor for your writing is you in one month. Let enough time pass that you forget what you wrote. — @julian
74. Don’t judge. Let it flow. Edit later. — @prabhsimratG
75. The best editor for your writing is you in one month. Let enough time pass that you forget what you wrote. — @julian
76. The process of writing your second draft is the process of making it look like you knew what you were doing all along. — @neilhimself
77. When you think you’re finished, retype it. — Nicholas Baker
78. Great ideas emerge while writing — not before. — @julian
77. When you think you’re finished, retype it. — Nicholas Baker
78. Great ideas emerge while writing — not before. — @julian
79. People think you need to be inspired to write. No, you write in order to get inspired. — @pjrvs
80. Don’t feel like you need to know exactly what your story is about at the beginning; let the story emerge. — @jamierusso
80. Don’t feel like you need to know exactly what your story is about at the beginning; let the story emerge. — @jamierusso
81. The best way to address writer's block is to start writing.
82. Show up, show up, show up and after a while, the muse shows up too. — Isabel Allende
82. Show up, show up, show up and after a while, the muse shows up too. — Isabel Allende
83. Everything you write can be improved, what’s not written can’t be improved.
84. This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it’s done. It’s that easy, and that hard. — @neilhimself
84. This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it’s done. It’s that easy, and that hard. — @neilhimself
85. Stop when you’ve got something left to say. — Ernest Hemingway
86. Always carry a notebook and a pen.
87. Writers are the best observers.
86. Always carry a notebook and a pen.
87. Writers are the best observers.
88. Don’t be afraid.
89. Learn from others but don’t compare yourself to others.
90. Ignore the haters.
89. Learn from others but don’t compare yourself to others.
90. Ignore the haters.
91. Don’t worry about being original; nothing is original.
92. Amateurs think about entertaining an audience. Professionals think about moving an audience from one point of view to another. — @jmikolay
93. Showing beats telling.
92. Amateurs think about entertaining an audience. Professionals think about moving an audience from one point of view to another. — @jmikolay
93. Showing beats telling.
94. Make your reader feel smart.
95. Address the pains of your reader.
96. Write as if someone has their thumb on the end call button.
95. Address the pains of your reader.
96. Write as if someone has their thumb on the end call button.
97. You should care to share your soul and not to please other writers who will write a review that nobody is going to read. — @paulocoelho
98. You can’t be a good writer without being a devoted reader. — J.K. Rowling
98. You can’t be a good writer without being a devoted reader. — J.K. Rowling
99. If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time — or the tools — to write. Simple as that. — Stephen King
100. Books are a mix of your and your friends’ experiences. — @chuckpalahniuk
101. To write is to think using your mind's full capacity.
100. Books are a mix of your and your friends’ experiences. — @chuckpalahniuk
101. To write is to think using your mind's full capacity.
102. The difference between good writers and bad writers is good writers know when their writing is bad. — Dan Brown
103. Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you’re doomed. — Ray Bradbury
104. Start writing as soon as you wake up. — @benjaminputano
103. Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you’re doomed. — Ray Bradbury
104. Start writing as soon as you wake up. — @benjaminputano
105. Ignore all the proffered rules and create your own, suitable for what you want to say. — Michael Moorcock
106. All those I think who have lived as literary men will agree with me that three hours a day will produce as much as a man ought to write. — Anthony Trollope
106. All those I think who have lived as literary men will agree with me that three hours a day will produce as much as a man ought to write. — Anthony Trollope
