5 Basic Things Every Writer Needs to Know

You know about plot. You know about character development and conflict. You know about setting and resolution. So what else is there? What are you missing? What else needs your attention?

You.

You are the crux of everything that you write. If you don’t take care of yourself, how are all of those beautiful words (or horrifying, or amusing, whatever your genre) going to get out of your head?

Here are some of the most overlooked but most important ways to make sure that you’re on top of your writing game.

 

Eat Your Heart Out

Your brain can only live off Yoo-hoo and Doritos for so long. It may save you time, but it’s costing you brain power. Not getting the proper nutrition can result in illness, aches and pains, and listlessness.

Listlessness may sound familiar. If you are looking for sugary foods to boost your energy level, here’s what actually happens:

Sugary snacks create a spike in your blood sugar, giving you that oomph of energy. Except your body then looks for more fuel, but since it burned everything on that spike, there’s nothing there. Then comes the crash, and goodbye good writing!

Next time, when you’re looking for a snack, see if you can munch on some veggies or a protein bar to satisfy your hunger. And if you’re not quite ready to give up your Fritos and bean dip, at least bolster it a bit with fruits and veggies. At least it will counter the effect.

Pro Tip:

Before you sit down to write, prepare some good-for-you snacks so when you’re on a roll and get the munchies, you don’t result to picking up something that won’t give you as much brain power. Be prepared.

 

The Hydra Station

I know that writers are supposed to stay up all night, drinking coffee by the gallon, and chain-smoking cigarettes while they crank out the next great American novel.

Studies show that’s probably not the best idea. It turns out that caffeine, in addition to being a stimulant, restricts blood vessels, pulls water from cells, and causes dehydration. So, I hate to be the one to deflate the stereotype, but trade in your coffee for water. Your brain is made of 70% water. Give that thing what it wants! Replenish its fluids and it will reward you by working properly.

Pro Tip:
If it’s not feasible to cut out coffee in lieu of water, try to drink at least one glass of water for every cup off coffee.

 

The Sandman Cometh

With a busy schedule, sleep is usually the first thing that gets cut—and writers get hit more than anyone—especially when there are deadlines. Maybe you get up early to write. Maybe you stay up late to get a little more done. Either of which is fine—but not both. You also need to make up that lost time. If possible, when you stay up late, sleep in. If you get up early, go to bed a little earlier.

Naps can be a two-edged sword. I find that if I sleep in the middle of the day, I wake up two hours later, wondering what year it is. So instead of napping, I try to make sure that I get enough sleep during my normal sleeping hours. I do understand that that’s not feasible for everyone. Enter the power nap. When your brain shuts down and you can’t think of another word, find a quiet spot, and close your eyes for 10-15 minutes. It is usually enough to get you over that bleary-eyed hump.

Pro Tip:
If mental clarity isn’t enough incentive to get adequate sleep, keep this in mind: shorting yourself on sleep can cause symptoms of premature aging such as wrinkles and disease.

 

Get Busy, Child

When you’re writing, it’s super easy to sit at your computer for 15 hours straight, even after inspiration wanes. Moving your body around brings blood back to your cells, including the ones in your brain.

It would be ideal to get half an hour each day to get moving. You could go to the gym (I know) or you could do something as simple as take a 15 minute walk in the morning and a 15 minute walk in the afternoon. Or turn up the music and dance around the living room. Or stretch. Or walk up and down some stairs. Or just step outside. It doesn’t have to be hard. Just get up and move. Any type of activity is better than none.

Pro Tip:
Set an alarm to help you remember to get away from your desk for 2-5 minutes each hour.

 

The Spirit Calls

Studies show that regular practices of the mind result in sharper memory, increased productivity, and increased creativity flow. You don’t have to become a full-on Yogi, but regular relaxation is needed, even if it’s just 5 minutes per day. You can meditate if you want, but gardening, reading, drawing, or even just appreciating nature for a few minutes is enough to do it. It’s very unhealthy to go full-tilt all the time. Even if you are on a roll, take time for yourself and give yourself a mental break.

Pro Tip:
Here’s an exercise that is easy to do with minimal effort. Get away from your desk and to a comfortable place. Get yourself comfortable and let your eyes close for 5-10 minutes. Forget your problems, forget your worries, just be. When the timer goes off, you will feel surprisingly refreshed. At the very least, you gave your brain and eyes some rest and will be ready to get back on that writing wagon.

 

The most important tool that a writer possesses is his mind. A well-rested, well-fed, and peaceful mind is ready to examine, explore, research, and express. Taking care of it will ensure that you are energized, clear, fresh, and inspired.

So, go ahead. Indulge in some self-care. The results may be just what you’re looking for.

 

Do You Make These 8 Common Writing Mistakes?

Like many editors, I often think of the amount of time I get paid to correct writing issues that any good writer (or sometimes third-grader) should know. Many times, it’s comma placement, verb continuity, or why not to repeat a word too many times. I have had the discussion with authors that if everything on the page is bold, emphasis is lost. I am frequently met with the argument, “But I want it to stand out,” or “That’s the way I write.” That is fine, but sometimes less is more. Many authors like to argue comma usage, capitalization, or the ever-dreaded superfluous apostrophe. Most often, the authors are too close to the manuscript to see the problem that’s been written on the page. For our purposes here, I am going to stick to broader problems, not details such as punctuation. This blog could also be titled “8 Problems That Will Get Your Manuscript Dismissed as Amateur,” because editors and agents can spot these mistakes from a mile away.

Let’s take a look at some of the errors that can dent your credibility as a writer.

1.  Comma splices are present, they cause serious problems in your writing.

A comma splice is using a comma to join two independent clauses when there should be a coordinating conjunction*, two separate sentences, or a semicolon.

Take our comma-spliced sentence above: Comma splices are present, they cause serious problems in your writing.

Corrected with a coordinating conjunction, it could read:

Comma splices are present, and they cause serious problems in your writing.

To correct it by writing two separate sentences, try this:

Comma splices are present. They cause serious problems in your writing.

Using a semicolon, it looks like this:

Comma splices are present; they cause serious problems in your writing.

*Just as a note, to remember your coordinating conjunctions, just think of FANBOYS. Or if you’re not into acronyms, For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.

 

2.  Sentence fragments can too.

A fragment is part of a sentence that is written as if it were complete. It is usually added as an afterthought or as an explanation or addition to the previous sentence. With the correct punctuation or the addition of other words, the fragment can be connected to the previous idea.

“Sentence fragments can too” is a fragment. To de-frag it, tie it in to the previous statement, which was “Comma splices are present, and they cause serious problems in your writing.”

For example:

Comma splices and sentence fragments are present. They cause serious problems in your writing.

or

Comma splices are present. They cause serious problems in your writing. Sentence fragments also cause problems.

3. Correctly place your modifiers, and don’t let them dangle accordingly.

A modifier is a word that describes or qualifies another word. If it’s incorrectly placed in a sentence, it is called a misplaced modifier. These can sometimes be funny.

For example: “Janice found a gold man’s necklace” or “I repaired the torn woman’s shirt.”

Corrected: “Janice found a man’s gold necklace” and “I repaired the woman’s torn shirt.”

If the modifier is modifying a term that is not present in the sentence, it is called a dangling modifier.

For example: Looking toward Main Street, a red car drove recklessly. (Who is looking? Who is observing this car?)

Corrected: Looking toward Main Street, I observed a red car driving recklessly.

4. When in your writing confused phrasing and word choice are weak, the pervasive confusion causes the overall decline of your writing.

What?! What are you trying to say? Get to the point and say exactly what you mean. Read what you have written aloud to yourself. Does it sound right to you? Ask someone else to read it and give you his or her opinion. Make sure your writing is correct and clear. Say what you are trying to say.

Corrected: When you use confused phrasing and your word choice is weak, it causes your writing to be confusing.

5. “Whatever shall we do about this phony dialogue?” Hellen asked.  “Correct it!” Henry replied.

When you use dialogue to advance your plot, know that your readers are smart. They can tell when your characters are talking about things that the characters already know about or if they are having a conversation for the reader’s benefit. Never have your characters ask, “What are we going to do next?”

Also, avoid words that will date your writing.

“Like, I am so embarrassed!” “What’s up with that?” “That is the grooviest!” or “That’s rad, dude!”

Dialogue should be written to offer a window into your character’s life and to add description that is not in the narrative. Dialogue can reveal wit, observations, or charming revelations that are difficult to write otherwise. Dialogue helps the author distinguish each character but can also help reveal a character’s hidden agenda.

Corrected: “Tell me more about phony dialogue, Henry,” she said. “I really want to know.”

“Helen! You know very well that phony dialogue is to be rewritten immediately!” Henry shouted, his face red. “We have been over this a million times!”

6. Lists, series, sequences, groupings, classifications, arrays, etc.

“She was impressed by all of the flowers, jewelry, puppies, love letters, valentines, lingerie, trinkets, teddy bears, and chocolates that he was giving her.” Though she may be impressed, I am skipping to the next paragraph.

If you feel the need to describe a list of items, make sure to add plenty of visuals. Describe the scene as you see it, with the correct amount of emphasis and emotion. A list has neither, and you will lose your reader. It doesn’t matter what you list, the result is the same.

Corrected: She was taken aback by the progression of gifts; flowers, jewelry, and trinkets were showered upon her. No one had ever treated her like this.

7. I am telling, not showing.

If you simply say, “She was beautiful. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and full lips,” you are telling. If you change that to “She tossed her shiny blonde hair over her shoulder and let her azure eyes twinkle at me. A smile played at plump lips that longed to be kissed. At that moment, my heart took flight,” you are now showing her beauty. The moment the reader can visualize your words, you have the best of this one.

8. Repeating a word makes you sound repetitious and your writing full of repetition.

 Almost every writer has crutch words that he or she unconsciously leans on. Crutch words are usually nondescript and can thusly slip under the radar. They are words that are generally not worth repeating, but overuse them, and your reader will become irritated.

Corrected: Omit word repetition.

Style is an art form that is all your own, but do be aware of the differences between lean prose and choppy prose. Learn the former and avoid the latter. Reading choppy prose is like driving on a bumpy road. The reader may be excited by it at first, but it very quickly causes carsickness. Incomplete thoughts and abrupt sentences quickly irritate and exhaust the reader, distracting him and preventing him from getting lost in the story. Write with your personal style and don’t let that get lost, but know the rules so you can follow them or break them accordingly. If you don’t know the rules, your writing will show it.

Even the best writers make mistakes. Once you have identified what the problem is, it is simple enough to fix. Don’t let your manuscript get thrown into the rejection pile on the basis of your mistakes. Your writing is worth more than that. If you can master these nine rules, you will be well on your way to writing good. I mean well.