Writing Tip Index
So I realize most of my Tumblr followers just follow me on Tumblr, which I’m cool with, but since I’ve been working really hard on updating my website, I still wanted to share it with everyone. If you have visited it recently, you’ve probably noticed quite a few changes. You can check it out here.
One of the new features is that I’ve compiled an almost complete list of my writing tips by topic. I’ll be updating it regularly here.
Below is the list as of my posting this. There are also a couple of articles that aren’t mine (noted) that I refer other writers to.
Beginning
Coming up with a Good First Sentence
Tips on Starting a Story
How to Start Writing When You Have No Idea Where to Start
Brainstorming
The REAL Key to Brainstorming: Restrictions
Flipping Story Stuff
Stacking Your Brainstorming Ideas
Coming up with a Plot (from scratch)
Breaking Writing Rules
Breaking Writing Rules Right: “Show, don’t Tell”
Breaking Writing Rules Right: “Don’t Use ‘Was’”
Breaking Writing Rules Right: “Don’t Use Adverbs, Adjectives”
Breaking Writing Rules Right: “Only Use ‘Said’”
Characters
Complex Characters and the Power of Contradiction
Making Unlikeable People into Likeable Characters
Character Traits that Hike Up Tension
Creating Stunning Side Characters (and Why They Matter)
Relationship as a Character: Crafting Duos, Trios, Groups that Readers can’t Resist
Pairing Behaviors with Odd Demeanors for Originality
“The Emotional Range of a Teaspoon”: Your Characters’ Spectrum of Emotions
Considering the Irrationality of Your Characters
How to Pick the Right Character Names
The “Twins as Clones” Writing Epidemic
What You Need to Know Most About Character Voice
Conflict
Coming up with a Plot (from scratch)
Are Your Conflicts Significant?
Keeping Conflicts Unresolved
The Oft Forgotten Conflict and How to Make it Work: Man Vs. God
Context
Context vs. Subtext (Context Should Not Become Subtext)
Making Strengths into Weaknesses (and Vice Versa) through Context
Description
Picking the RIGHT Details
Three Tweaks that Keep Details Interesting
Breaking Writing Rules Right: “Don’t Use Adverbs, Adjectives”
Dialogue
Writing Realistic and Complex Dialogue
Kicking “Great” Dialogue up to “Killer” Dialogue
Breaking Writing Rules Right: “Only Use ‘Said’”
Generic Dialogue—Staaaahp
(Don’t) Tell Me How You Really Feel
Emotion
Writing Empathetically vs. Sympathetically and Sentimentally
Let Your Reader do the Work
Raw vs. Subdued Emotions: Getting them Right in Your Story
“The Emotional Range of a Teaspoon”: Your Characters’ Spectrum of Emotions
Gaining Incredible Emotional Power by Crossing Opposites
Choosing Relatable Descriptions to Power up Empathy
Selecting the Right Sentence Structure for the Right Emotion
Dealing with Melodrama: What it is, How it Works, and How to Get Rid of it
The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
Feedback
The Real Reason You NEED to Give Positive Feedback!
Feeding us Criticism
Foils
Playing with Foils
Grammar and Punctuation
Dangling Modifiers and How to Correct Them (Purdue OWL)
Punctuation in Dialogue (The Editor’s Blog)
Humor
15+ Tactics for Writing Humor
Guardians of the Galaxy and the Art of Constructing Jokes (Film Cit Hulk Smash)
Micro-Concepts
Writing Micro-concepts
Mystery
The Mechanics of Rendering Mysteries and Undercurrents—How to Withhold Info Right
Keep reading
