I hate unsolicited writing advice, they make writing stale not “correct”.
So, I’m a nobody but I will say it out loud:
Overuse metaphors or don’t use them at all. Describe nothing or every drop in the sea, write long, infinite paragraphs about philosophy or politics or just sarcastic remarks.
Dive deep in emotions or just skim the surface, show, don’t tell or tell too much, even the lies. Put the darkest secret in the brightest space or let it loom around and haunt the narrative.
Tell lies, tell truths, make it personal or distant. Write pages of dialogues or just action after action. Start in media res, from the ending or the beginning of everything, mix past, present and future or go in a straight line.
Use dreams, epiphanies, quotation and scientific papers. Create a world or talk about what already exists, break the rules, follow them or make up others. Use punctuation perfectly or make it a stream of consciousness.
There will always be someone who won’t like it, who will spit on it and others who will take your story as their home. Someone will suffer with your characters, others will sadistically enjoy their emotional journey, some will watch from distance, behind the screen and others will cry and laugh with the protagonists.
Some will build new homes for them to live other lives too.
Everyone who has the courage to write is putting pieces of themself on a silver plate. Let those cannibals feast on your flesh but remember the reason you sacrificed yourself on this altar.
