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10 Writing Tips From Great Authors

The document presents writing tips from two renowned authors, Elmore Leonard and Zadie Smith. Leonard emphasizes clarity and simplicity in dialogue and narrative, while Smith advises on the importance of reading, self-reflection, and the writing process. Together, these tips provide valuable insights for aspiring writers to enhance their craft.

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8 views1 page

10 Writing Tips From Great Authors

The document presents writing tips from two renowned authors, Elmore Leonard and Zadie Smith. Leonard emphasizes clarity and simplicity in dialogue and narrative, while Smith advises on the importance of reading, self-reflection, and the writing process. Together, these tips provide valuable insights for aspiring writers to enhance their craft.

Uploaded by

thrune
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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10 writing tips from great authors

Elmore Leonards 10 writing tips

 Never open a book with the weather.


 Avoid prologues.
 Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue.
 Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said.”
 Keep your exclamation points under control!
 Never use the words “suddenly” or “all hell broke loose.”
 Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.
 Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.
 Same for places and things.
 Leave out the parts readers tend to skip.

Zadie Smiths 10 writing tips

1. When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this
than anything else.
2. When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even
better, as an enemy would.
3. Don't romanticise your 'vocation'. You can either write good sentences or you
can't. There is no 'writer's lifestyle'. All that matters is what you leave on the
page.
4. Avoid your weaknesses. But do this without telling yourself that the things you
can't do aren't worth doing. Don't mask self-doubt with contempt.
5. Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it.
6. Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won't make your writing
any better than it is.
7. Work on a computer that is disconnected from the internet.
8. Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it,
even the people who are most important to you.
9. Don't confuse honours with achievement.
10. Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand—but tell it. Resign yourself
to the lifelong sadness that comes from never being satisfied.

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