Really, I should start with how to start.
But that’s the subtlest and most complicated topic of them all. So for now, I’ll cop out and start with how to finish.
Over many years of editing manuscripts, my own and others’, I’ve found some twenty types of little glitches and errors that show up in just about everyone’s writing. Making these changes is almost a mechanical process, they’re so standard, and yet making them improves the clarity and flow of a manuscript dramatically.
I decided to draw up a list of these twenty glitches. In weeks to come, I’ll expand on each tip, but for now, here they are, stated as succinctly as possible.
The Twenty Tips
- Avoid the passive voice.
- Minimize your use of “was “and “is”.
- Don’t linger long in the “would” mode.
- Pick a tense and stick with it.
- Don’t linger long in the “had” tense.
- Just say “said.”
- Eschew adverbs
- Eschew words like “eschew”.
- Put the impact word/phrase at the end of the sentence.
- Use parallel construction
- Use conjunctions strategically.
- Put modifiers right next to what they modify.
- Make sure pronouns have antecedents.
- Participial phrases are only for simultaneous actions and events.
- The first noun after a participial phrase is its subject.
- Make the core sentence stand out.
- Don’t overload a sentence with ideas
- Vary sentence length and construction.
- Avoid accidental repetition
- Use rhyme and melody to strengthen your sentences.
