My very short list of do's and don'ts

DO's

1. Limit the words that end in ly

2. Check word frequency, to many shrugs, and rolled eyes can be annoying.

3. Make every scene take the story forward if it doesn't scrap it, only things that move can stay, otherwise it's fluff, and unnecessary.

4. Make your character's relatable, no one is infallible

5. Cussing, limit if you must, but if it is a character trait, it obviously can't be avoided.

6. Use said whenever possible, it's clean and to the point.

7. Show don't tell, this is a little harder to explain, but instead of saying something like
         "Robert hated fish,"

say instead:
          "The pungent salty smell hit Robert's sense's and he paused. He knew that smell, could see the cold empty dead eyes in his mind."

I'm hoping that was a good example, but because I sometimes have a hard time with it, you might as well. So it's a good tip.

8. Tie up loose ends, make sure any yarn you start gets explained, or at least continued.

9. Throw out your thesaurus, I know that with the Twilight craze people believe using big words in place of small one is a Do, it ISN'T some of the best known authors, like King for instance, suggest that often the best word is the simplest one. If you can use a one syllable word in place of a three syllable do it. Pretty words are just that, pretty, they don't do anything but make a reader stutter, or break out the dictionary.

10. Do read out loud to yourself, you'll find problems with flow that way, and get rid of those silly large syllable words.

DON'T's

1. Over describe, description is necessary but as a reader I can't tell you how many times I've jumped a paragraph because it bored me to tears describing every outfit, or color in a painting. I don't need to know what the character ate for breakfast lunch and dinner, I don't need to know that they brush their teeth twice a day. Only add in meals where something happens, dialogue that drives the story forward, or action.

2. Under-describe. As a writer, we believe the reader has the same knowledge as us, and sometimes forget when they do not. Make sure you explain why someone hates such and such, especially if the hate is a core element to the story, the reader will be turned off.

3. Have too many story threads going at once, not everyone can write like J.K. Rowling, or should try to. If you can't keep your story threads straight, how can the reader, simplify. If it isn't necessary to get from point A to B then just skip to C, B needs to be important to the character development or the story evolving.

4. Use cliches, avoid them whenever possible.





Good luck!!