We are at the letter W in our series on “Authors’ Tips – A to Z of Writing”
If you’ve read the previous posts on the subject, you’ll recall that the eight of us – Devika Fernando, Preethi Venugopala, Paromita Goswami, Adite Banerjie, Ruchi Singh, Sudesna Ghosh, Saiswaroopa Iyer and I – are blogging on a myriad of writing-related topics with the topic corresponding to the Alphabet of the Week.
This week, suspense author Ravi Bedi visits my blog to talk about things that should be included in the list of a writer’s TEN Commandments:
1. Start with a solid plot–something different and original.
2. Get rid of ridiculous twists and turns, or unbelievable coincidences.
3. Keep the economy of words uppermost. Small is always better.
4. Cut, cut, and cut again till you retain the juice of the story. Rest is excess baggage.
5. Show, don’t tell. Use active voice.
6. Avoid stories within the story as far as possible.
7. Use action/expression before speech to reduce dependence on dialogue tags.
8. Avoid repetitions at all costs.
9. Edit several times. There’s nothing like a final draft.
10. Be modest. Don’t behave like you’ve written a masterpiece – even if you have.
What do you think of these commandments? Pretty useful, if you ask me.
Thank you, Ravi, for dropping in and sharing your thoughts with my readers.
Check out Ravi Bedi’s books on Amazon
Read other posts related to Authors’ Tips – A to Z of Writing.
Great tips…precise and to the point!