So, I originally had a thread over on ex-Twitter in which I shared some tips as a writer. It, and some off-Twitter chats on the same sort of subject, got some significant appreciation, so I'll be transposing the original tweet thread here!
VIXIE'S WRITING TIPS
This is where I put my thoughts on process, establishing voice, pace, etc. I can't promise anything will be super helpful, but, y'know! This is my Twitter and I'll tweet whatever I want to!
So, as a bit of background, I've been writing since I was 7 and have a deep love of grammar rules and that sort of thing. I do some things in my writing that probably aren't common, just because my brain works in weird ways.
So without further ado
VIXIE'S WRITING TIP #1:
If you're writing about an action as it takes place, avoid words like "causing," "making," etc. For a (bad) example:
"Ellen shoved Strong, causing him to fall over."
Nah.
"Ellen shoved Strong over." That's an improvement!
"Ellen shoved Strong to the ground." Even better!
The reasoning here? Pacing is a good chunk of it. A comma forces the reader to separate actions from their reactions, and immediately following that separation by trying to re-bind them is like breaking an egg and trying to glue it together; it's gonna be clumsy.
VIXIE'S WRITING TIP #2
Another pacing one!
School made us write a lot of five-paragraph essays with a certain amount of sentences per paragraph. That sucked ass and probably made us develop some bad habits when it comes to fiction writing!
Feel free to have paragraphs composed of single sentences. Make a paragraph five sentences long and the one under it just one word. Try not to make any paragraph TOO long, though, because at a certain length, eyes are gonna start sliding over words.
A paragraph break (that is, the space between two paragraphs) is also a reset for the eyes! So don't be afraid to use them liberally, and keep your longer paragraphs for room or important item descriptions—and even those, don't be afraid to break into two if they get lengthy!
VIXIE'S WRITING TIP #3
This one's just something I do, but I FEEL like it helps.
After a sentence? TWO spaces. I'm not sure if it's just my grammar-addled brain, but two spaces after a sentence helps emphasize the space between sentences, especially where it's not clear.
It helps especially if you need to clarify that a bit of dialogue is not part of the same sentence as the action that comes after it.
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING, this is one of those things that grammar nerds have been fighting over since typewriters went out of style, but I like it.
VIXIE'S WRITING TIP #4
Have someone to talk to.
My God, find someone to talk to. Having it all in your head is great, but talking it out with someone will help you develop ideas and characterizations.
I cannot tell you the number of times I have come to a friend with what I thought was a good idea, got halfway through explaining it, froze, and went, "WAIT"
and then came up with an idea that was 300x better.
That's not even getting into all the times THEY have come up with better ideas!
Keeping your writing to yourself to avoid spoiling ANYBODY is all well and good, but man, nothing polishes an idea brighter than talking about it with a friend.
VIXIE'S WRITING TIP #5
This was originally about how it's supposed to be "make due," not "make do," but I'm updating it for Cohost because apparently modern English has given up and decided "make do" is now correct. I'm going to continue to use "make due," because making due means that you're going to do what you have to do despite not necessarily having everything you need to do it easily (like paying rent, if you want to be literal, or meeting the figurative cost of some other thing).
VIXIE'S WRITING TIP #6
People generally have five senses, as a baseline. When you're writing a scene and it feels shallow, consider them: what does this smell like? What does it feel like? Is there a recurring noise?
VIXIE'S WRITING TIP #7
Learn the difference between periods, semicolons, commas, and em dashes. They're different foods for different moods! A lot of it is, admittedly, by feel.
The words on each side of a semicolon should each form a complete sentence on their own; neither of them should be sentence fragments.
Commas are good separators, but their use is shrouded in mystery. Some people overuse them, some people underuse them, most people do both! The best rule of thumb is this: ask yourself, "Is it natural to pause here? If so, does it sound weird if I don't?"
Em dashes, meanwhile, are best for abrupt shifts in thought—tangents, corrections, unexpected events, that sort of thing. Good word processors will automatically sub an em dash in for two --'s (Cohost update: Google Docs is now a good word processor)!
VIXIE'S WRITING TIP #8
This one is on a similar note to #1, but having edited a bunch of stuff now, it's a common one:
Don't say someone "began to" do something unless they're going to be doing it for a while. Think carefully about whether or not your sentence would be stronger if you removed those words.
VIXIE'S WRITING TIP #9:
A lot of us come from RP backgrounds, which is absolutely fine! However, there are some common pitfalls that translate awkwardly when you switch over to writing for all characters in a scene.
While, obviously, this means that multiple characters can act together without having to break character interactions into separate paragraphs, the main one to consider here is dialogue.
Many RPers will have their characters rattle off several things on their minds at once because the nature of the medium is, essentially, the same as sending e-mails or DMs or even snail mail, so a character will express an opinion, ask two questions, and then make an observation.
All of this ends up in one big paragraph, and the character who answers will address those issues line by line—which, again, works great for e-mails, but not so good for conversation.
So, the actual advice: most people pause at the end of a question to allow for an answer. Don't be afraid to have back-and-forths! This will also cut down on the need to phrase the answer in such a way that it's clear which question they're answering, and allow much better flow.
It also means that when a character does ask five questions without pausing to allow for an answer, it's because the questions are rhetorical (and often accusatory!) and will really stand out in your writing because of it, instead of simply being the way all questions are asked and answered in your work.
VIXIE'S WRITING TIP #10
Be careful with meta commentary; guide your viewer toward their own conclusions. Rather than end a conversation with "the two clearly had a thing for each other," make that clear with their words, actions, and emotions. "Show, don't tell."