Here are some more guidelines from the masters<\/p>\n

Keith Waterhouse\u2019s Ground Rules for Writers<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Use specific words (red and blue) not general ones (brightly coloured).<\/li>\n
Use concrete words (rain, fog) rather than abstract ones (bad weather).<\/li>\n
Use plain words (began, said, end) not college-educated ones (commenced, stated, termination).<\/li>\n
Use positive words (he was poor) not negative ones (he was not rich\u2014the reader at once wants to know, how not rich was he?).<\/li>\n
Don\u2019t overstate: fell is starker than plunged.<\/li>\n
Don\u2019t lard the story with emotive or \u201cdramatic\u201d words (astonishing, staggering, sensational, shock).<\/li>\n
Avoid non-working words that cluster together like derelicts (but for the fact that, the question as to whether, there is no doubt that).<\/li>\n
Don\u2019t use words thoughtlessly. (Waiting ambulances don\u2019t rush victims to hospital. Waiting ambulances wait. Meteors fall, so there can be no meteoric rise.)<\/li>\n
Don\u2019t use unknown quantities (very, really, truly, quite. How much is very?).<\/li>\n
Never qualify absolutes. A thing cannot be quite impossible, glaringly obvious or most essential, any more than it can be absolutely absolute.<\/li>\n

Don\u2019t use jargon, clich\u00e9s, puns, elegant or inelegant variations, or inexact synonyms (BRAVE WIFE DIED SAVING HER SON is wrong; wife is not a synonym for mother).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Words are facts. Check them (spelling and meaning) as you would any other.<\/p>\n
$\"WP_Pencil_Journal\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n
Jane Yolen\u2019s 20 Rules of Writing:<\/strong><\/p>\n
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Eschew the exclamation point!<\/strong><\/li>\n
Go easy on the adverbs.<\/strong><\/li>\n
Don\u2019t let characters float on the page.<\/strong> Anchor them with action. No talking endlessly!<\/li>\n
Make this your favorite thing to do!<\/strong> Have fun writing and illustrating!<\/li>\n
BIC = Butt In Chair. <\/strong>HOP = Heart On Page. PNF = Passion Not Fashion.You may never be the best but you can always get better.<\/li>\n
If you\u2019re allergic to writing \u2013 accept it!<\/strong><\/li>\n
No one expects a happy ending unless it\u2019s a fairy tale.<\/strong> We need a meaningful ending. It may not be easy. Hard choices are good.<\/li>\n
Beware of stop sign words.<\/strong> Fall through the words into the story.<\/li>\n
Not everything should be simplified. <\/strong>Complexity adds richness.<\/li>\n
Words are important.<\/strong> Keep writing till you find the right word choice.\u00a0 \u201cThe difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter\u2013it\u2019s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Mark Twain<\/li>\n
It is not the line, but where it leads.<\/strong> It\u2019s the DNA of fiction. Rewrite and find it. You will know it. It will carry the book.<\/li>\n
Exercise the drawing\/writing muscle!<\/strong> Don\u2019t get flabby! One page a day and you have a 365 page book by the end of the year, or that many picture books. Exercise!<\/li>\n
Every artist and writer is nurtured or a nurturer.<\/strong> Very few are both. Do what you have to do, there is no time fairy. Partnerships are a trade off.<\/li>\n
What about Editors?<\/strong> What do you want or need? Truth. Hard questions. Love letters. You want a journey with your editor. They are your voice in the industry and your cheerleader. They are not your best friend. You NEED an editor. Editors will make you good. You need tough love. Never enter into a revision angry. You must love the process. Read the editorial letter, put it down, re-read the next day. Call a friend, share it, take a bath.<\/li>\n
Yags Law \u2013 Money flows toward the author not away!<\/strong> You should not have to pay for publication. Something is wrong if this is happening.<\/li>\n
Too many writers ignore the landscape to their peril.<\/strong> Look! We often miss small things or large immovables. Observe it (your world)! Observe it carefully. Details must be precise as if you have been there. Learn to hear.<\/li>\n
Read what you have written out loud.<\/strong> It will help you to see what you have missed.<\/li>\n
Dealing with the dreaded writers block.<\/strong> It is all in your mind. The solution is to stand up, walk, eat, do other things! Distract yourself. If that doesn\u2019t work, start a new writing project. Don\u2019t go read a book, you will get that authors voice in your head instead of your own.<\/li>\n
Not every project will be completed.<\/strong> Moaning about this is for sissies.<\/li>\n
An Amuse Bouche. <\/strong>A small bite to awaken the palette, awaken your writing palette!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t Tweet<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here are some more guidelines from the masters Keith Waterhouse\u2019s Ground Rules for Writers Use specific words (red and blue) not general ones (brightly coloured). Use concrete words (rain, fog) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,29],"tags":[6,268,266,180,57,5,269,267,270,136],"class_list":["post-597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-onwriting","category-tipsandtricks","tag-creative-writing","tag-guidelines","tag-rules","tag-rules-for-writing","tag-tips-and-tricks","tag-writing","tag-writing-guidelines","tag-writing-rules","tag-writing-techniques","tag-writing-tips","clearfix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeshays.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeshays.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeshays.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeshays.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeshays.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=597"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeshays.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":598,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeshays.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597\/revisions\/598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeshays.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeshays.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeshays.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}