Top Ten Tips by Allison Symes

Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

I sometimes feel like I’ve been a writer since the last Thesaurus Rex (the wordy one) left the planet. I remember punch cards, folks. Younger readers, check out the Science Museum. 

On the positive side is I have picked up many brilliant writing tips. Here I share the ten I’ve found the most useful.

1.  Get your story or article down first. You can’t edit a blank page. First drafts are just that - first and draft. 

2.  Allow enough time for editing. Competition judges and editors (I’m both) can spot when someone hasn’t done this. It’s nearly always because someone has rushed a story in before the deadline. Assume you need more time than you think. This has paid off for me. Don’t be a member of the lastminute.com community when working on or submitting your stories.

3.  Set yourself a specific editing session for removing those pesky typos you somehow overlooked before. They happen! If it’s any comfort, this is true for us all.

4.  If entering a competition, follow the rules to the letter. The organisers will have good reasons for these, such as their formatting requirements.

 

5.  Write regularly. Establish a routine which works for you. Writing regularly, even if it is for, say, 15 minutes at a time will mean you build up your written work. I’ve found the discipline of writing regularly puts me into “writing mode” when I get to my desk.

6.  Be part of the writing community. As well as enjoying the support it gives you, support others. 

7.  Don’t be afraid to ask awkward questions - there are scammers in every industry. Sadly ours isn’t exempt. Look up professional bodies such as The Society of Authors, Alliance of Independent Authors etc. See joining these as investments in your writing. There are often associate memberships if you are not published yet. Also their social media pages are well worth following. 

8.  Do join in with the writing conversations on the ACW Facebook page. It is a good way to get to know others online.

9.  If you edit on screen, change your font size and text colour, so your document looks different. There is something about writing on screen which can fool you into thinking you’ve written something and later you find you haven’t. Your brain fills in the words you know you meant to write but are somehow missing. Changing how the document looks helps combat that. You are tricking your brain into seeing this as a new story or article so errors stand out more.

10.  When you find a story you like, read it again and see if you can work out how the author did it. It’s a great way to learn. Look at how they’ve laid their story out, how they handle dialogue and so on. All writers are inspired by stories we love. We can learn from them too as we all build on what has gone before.

Happy writing!