Writing advice is all over online. It’s running rampant. It’s excess. Overkill. Maybe I should let the writing breathe there. But what does that even mean? Should I just kill my darlings?
Write what I know?
Show, don’t tell?
Make sure every scene advances the plot?
Let’s just start in medias res—word after word written with no real idea of where you’re going or what to do next in order to get better.
Wait. Rewind. That just didn’t quite work for me there. I think you get the point. Writing advice can seem simple.
People utter the same phrases all over the internet, and do little to explain what they mean. But if you’re a new writer—or even a hobbyist who hasn’t tried to improve specifically—you have no idea what these truly mean.
I’ve been in the writing-advice game for a long time. Over a decade, actually. I’m guilty of doing this often. That’s why I’m fixing it with this list of writing advice and truly helpful explanations.
Now, I’ll be honest here. Of the items below, there are more fully comprehensive blog posts that cover each. And if there isn’t now, there will be soon. Because you deserve more than a couple paragraphs for each.
But alas, I am trying to help writers find this website and that means appeasing the Google algorithm Gods. Which means structuring it below.
Have no fear. Click one below, then click the first link in each and it’ll take you to the full blog post if you want to learn more. Easy.
- Show, don’t tell
- Show vs tell balance / meaning
- What does ‘show, don’t tell’ mean
- Write what you know
- Avoid adverbs
- Find your voice
- Kill your darlings
- Don’t over-explain
- Let the writing breathe
- Carry the metaphor
- Every scene must advance the plot
- Start in the middle (in medias res)
