25 Fiction Writing Guidelines

1. Show don’t tell.
2. Avoid adverbs.
3. Avoid clichés like the plague.
4. Ain’t ain’t a word (unless it’s in dialogue).
5. Conflict on every page.
6. Character trumps plot.
7. Avoid “ing” endings. Instead of starting to do things, just do them.
8. Avoid archaic words in contemporary writing: upon, alas, insomuch...
9. Avoid “filler” words and phrases in commercial writing: “furthermore”, in conclusion, moreover, in addition.
10. Avoid excessive punctuation.
11. Don’t open with description.
12. Try not to write in second person.
13. And try not to start sentences with “and” or “but”. But you will.
14. Characters must change during a story.
15. Dialogue should do more than one thing, and should be realistic; so use contractions.
16. Develop a full biography for each character.
17. Create fully realized characters and be consistent with their characterization and voice.
18. Never repeat salient words close to each other.
19. Use “active” rather than “passive” sentence structure.
20. Less is more.
21. Write the way we speak.
22. In most cases use start/started/starting instead of begin/began/beginning.
23. Avoid authorial intrusions and injecting opinion (Direct address from author to reader.)
24. Try to avoid exposition and info dumping.
25. If you have a Prologue you must have an Epilogue. Consider carefully if they are really necessary.