Advice to Beginning Writers

Excerpted from "Let's Get Creative, Writing Fiction that Sells!," by William F. Nolan
 

Axioms to Write By

The principles here are basic to writing success. Consider each of them carefully, for they are culled from hard-won experience and knowledge.

1. Unless written for deliberate effect, do not repeat important words in the same sentence.
  Wrong: He entered the boat and then steered the boat slowly away from shore.
  Right: He entered the boat and then steered the craft slowly away from shore

2. Be specific and decisive in your exposition. Don't equivocate. (Although your characters may be indecisive and equivocal in both their actions and dialogue.)

3. In most stories, limit your use of profanity and four-letter words. Too many and their shock value is lost. They become boring, redundant, and eventually cast doubt on the writer's ability to be original and creative.

4. Don't show off, or try to be cute, or precious.

5. Although your characters may use slang as appropriate, be cautious when you use it in exposition or when writing as yourself. Be aware that most slang becomes passe fairly quickly. Slang in 1930's noir fiction, for example, which was easily understood by all readers of that era, is often confusing or incomprehensible to readers today. If you desire your writing to live beyond your own lifetime, be sparing in your use of slang.

6. Entertain (and subtly instruct) your readers, but never lecture them. Fiction is not the appropriate place for authors to pontificate.

7. Practice writing verse in order to learn compression and economy.

8. Never violate your own moral and ethical code in accepting assignments. I was once asked to write a teleplay called "Death Car on the Freeway" – an easy blueprint for real–life murder, in my opinion. I turned down the offer.

9. If at all possible, write only what excites and intrigues you. If you write against your grain, the result may be professional, but it's very likely to be less then optimally successful.

10. Never discuss an idea or a story with anyone not essential to your project before you've written it. If necessary, you can discuss your ideas and projects-in-progress with collaborators, agents, attorneys, editors, and with as little specific explanation as possible – with those you may need to consult for research purposes. But unless your friends, relatives, romantic interests, work pals, and seat mates on planes or commuter trains fit into one of the above categories, don't say a word about any project you have not yet completed. Talking about a story before it is completed drains off vital creative energy flow, and – as I learned to my detriment – may possibly derail the entire project if you inadvertently talk to someone who is in a position to work against your personal career interests.


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