'7 Minutes a Day...' to Writing Success!

Introduction: What is “The Craft of Writing”?

Voice
Step 1. Develop a Sense of Voice
Step 2. Recognize Mood and Tone
Step 3. Strive for Originality

Diction
Step 4. Identify Elements of Good Diction
Step 5. Aim for Best Word Choice
Step 6. Avoid Clever-Author Syndrome
Step 7. Erase Subjective Tension
Step 8. Murder Your Darlings
Step 9. Replace Fuzzy Words
Step 10. Tell Readers What ‘It’ Is
Step 11. Eliminate Ambiguity
Step 12. Ditch the Begin Fallacy
Step 13. Stop Weighing Down Passages with Adverbs
Step 14. Improve Writing’s Texture by Avoiding Repetition
Step 15. Eschew Clichés Like a Toxic Waste Dump
Step 16. Vary Syntax to Give Writing Flavor, Texture
Step 17. Scour Fragments from Your Writing
Step 18. Turn Passive Passages into Active Writing
Step 19. Spunk up Your Writing: Replace Overused Verbs
Step 20. Watch for Verb Tense Shifts

Narrative Drive
Step 21. Give Your Story Oomph! with Narrative Drive
Step 22. Sustain Dramatic Tension through Good Pacing
Step 23. Create an Uncertain Outcome for Your Main Character
Step 24. Generate Tension by Leaving Reader in Doubt
Step 25. Show, Don’t Tell
Step 26. Stand Down on Authorisms
Step 27. Strike out Nulls
Step 28. Cut Card Tricks in the Dark
Step 29. Avoid Handwaving to Cover Story Flaw
Step 30. Use Plain English, Please
Step 31. Pen Engaging Dialogue
Step 32. Prevent Countersinking from Dragging Down Your Story
Step 33. Switch out Bookisms
Step 34. Silence the Laugh Track
Step 35. Crack a Joke – But Only for a Good Reason
Step 36. Maintain the Reader’s Illusion

Color
Step 37. Add Color to Your Manuscript
Step 38. Make Use of Local Dexterity
Step 39. Ensure Descriptive Writing Serves a Purpose
Step 40. Describe what’s in Front of You, Not what’s in the Rear-view Mirror
Step 41. Incorporate Imagery into Your Story
Step 42. Layer Imagery with Symbolic Meaning
Step 43. Hide an Easter Egg
Step 44. Coax Readers to Eat Story’s Veggies by Promising Cookies
Step 45. Include Clever In-Jokes by Tuckerizing
Step 46. Stay Inbounds when Writing Descriptively
Step 47. Work off the Fat from Overwritten Descriptions
Step 48. Shun Beautiful Writing Done for Beauty’s Sake
Step 49. Avoid Using Weak Pushbutton Words
Step 50. Deliver an Eyeball Kick to Readers

Index


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