Classic Advice For Every Writer At Any Stage

The other day I came across one of my binders from high school—well, more like my mom brought it to my house. She's the one that found my creative writing folder, and thought I'd get a kick out of it since I've begun this 'let's see if I can get published' game.

Check out my super cool Trapper Keeper!

The rainbow was soon covered with this awesome shot of Duran Duran. Yes, it was the 80's.

Besides having way nicer penmanship back then, I also discovered a few gems written in the margins. And I couldn't help but appreciate how timely it was to have this particular piece of advice on self editing while I'm knee deep in NaNoWriMo.

Thanks to my English teacher from Chester Municipal High School, Mr. Doug Ross. *waves*

Here are my favorite bits of "writerly" advice from high school...

#1. Let your characters experience the story rather than tell it.

#2. A good narrative voice should use honest, understandable language, relay information, and express a clear point of view. 

#3. Who is your target audience? Imagine you're reading your story to them, what would you emphasize?

#4. Take out the word 'very'.

#5. Write ten titles. Write ten lead sentences. Write ten concluding sentences. Now take a concluding sentence and try it as a lead sentence.

What's your best advice for writers?