I read a blog recently. (I do that, occasionally…)
The author had a "25 things about me" thing going.
I thought that was kinda fun to read, but I won’t step into those boots.
I’m just not that interesting, honest.
Instead, I’m going to try and do a 25 things I learned about writing.
I write paranormal romance, so some of this pertains to romance writing. Most of it is useful for all writing, no matter which genre you aim for.

1. If you want it to sound authentic — do your research.
2. If you make it up as you go along — keep a record of what you make up.
3. Try to establish a sense of time and place in the first paragraph.
4. Don’t describe something just for the sake of description.
5. GMC (Not the car company!) Goal, Motivation, Conflict are what moves the story. It needs each to progress and without GMC you don’t have much of a plot.
6. Suspense. You need it. It doesn’t mean a dramatic event, it just means you need to keep your reader reading. Keep the anticipation alive!
7. A book is (usually) about a person, not an event. Therefore you need to have a strong central character whose story you tell.
8. Avoid passive verbs.  Adam held the rope. vs. The rope was held by Adam.
9. Adjectives are the devil. (Allegedly.) (Don’t ask. I have no idea what I’m talking about! The link is a list of them.)
10. Adverbs are the devil. (That’s the ‘ly words, in case you wonder which I mean.)
11. You’re the reader’s entertainer. Not the lecturer.
12. Try to make dialogue sound natural, but don’t overload it with information.
13. Don’t tell me Eva cried. Show me the tears running down her face. 
14. Know thy Enemy. It’s not enough to know all about your protagonists. You need to know the antagonist very well too. You need to know what makes him / her tick, flaws, strengths and motivation.
15. Make it immediately obvious who the hero and heroine are.
16. You need a black moment where everything is lost. It’s the turning point, the place where the ending starts.
17. Read the genre you intend to write. Just because you think you can write something, you need to know the market you write for, know what’s out there.
18. If you get stuck, put it down, put it away. Let it rest. Don’t look at it, do something else. Come back a week later and look at the story with new eyes.
19. Avoid unnecessary subplots and superflous characters. (GUILTY!) If a character only shows up once in the story — consider killing them. Unless it drives the story forward, and is integral to the plot, cut it out.
20. Don’t stereotype your hero and heroine. Make them stand out. Give them quirks. Know them. 
21. If your characters sigh with relief, gasp in surprise, jump in excitement and burst out laughing a lot.. then you’re guilty of clichés. I know I am. I’m going to get a damn book on the things and try to weed them out.
22. Use clear action words. Adam ran toward the car. Did he? Or did he dash? Jog? Barrel? Race? Flee? It gives an entirely different feel if Adam fled toward the car.
23. Said. Sometimes… people just say things. I try to have action tags, rather than said’s. (That goes for gasped, breathed, choked etc too.) I could do better, but at least I’m aware of it.
24. Edit. You have to. We all sometimes write complete tripe and it needs to be cut or restructured.
25. Never, never throw anything out. If you cut a scene, save it in another file. Just because it doesn’t fit the current story — it might come handy for another one. Did I say never? I mean it.

Well hopefully you’ll find these useful.

Tags: Fiction, Mistakes, Tips