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© Copyright 2002, Jim Loy
I may not be the best writer. But I have developed some writing skills, and can perhaps offer some advice. Here goes:
Write: It is too easy to think about writing, and to talk about writing. It is easy to say "I'm writing a novel," and never finish writing a novel. Write. Try. Fail. Work at it. And eventually, succeed. It is the only way. Besides, nobody else will ever write what you know should be written.
Be honest: How is this?: "I was forced to read Moby Dick and I hated it. It was way too long, and I couldn't believe the characters, and the language was too hard for me to understand." That is a good start, but you had better try to say something good about the book, too. Anyway, that was more honest than faking it. Let's continue: "The characters were so stupid to keep following Captain Ahab. After a while, I didn't care if they got killed by the whale or not, because I couldn't relate to people that stupid." Better, but that idea must be explored: "If I were there, on that ship, what could I have done? Could I kill Captain Ahab? Would I? What good would it have done? Was there really no way to prevent the final tragedy?" You see, I have finally got to something positive about the book, Melville has forced me (the reader) to examine my own heart. That's heavy stuff, which demands even more thought, and writing. I probably want to rewrite my report on Moby Dick, from the start.
Your audience: Write for your own entertainment, or for a specific audience. If you are writing for two different audiences, then write for the easy one first, and then add something like this: "For those of you who have some knowledge of chemistry, this may be of interest to you:" So you have written two papers; that's an interesting approach. Make it clear, at the very beginning, that you are doing this.
Rules: There are a lot of rules, about grammar, or about how to write. I am making up rules right here. Well, go ahead and break rules. But have a good reason for breaking them. Don't automatically break rules. Always have a good reason.
Third person: Write most of your fiction in the third person ("He..."). Instead of writing about yourself, write about a character that you can identify with. That is actually easier, and more natural. Write in the first person ("I ...") when you have a good reason to do that; when the narrator is interesting or has an interesting perspective. And certainly, don't accidentally switch between first and third person.
Characters: At first it is easier to have one character, who is just like you. Then you may have several characters just like you. Eventually you (the writer) will learn to put yourself into other (very diverse) people's shoes, and even think their thoughts.
Proof read: Always check your grammar and spelling. Read and reread whatever you write. In the end, it should be clean. It should say what you want to say, how you want it said.
The unbelievable: In fiction, when you have something unbelievable happen (some amazing coincidence perhaps), have one of the characters mention that it is unbelievable (as "You won't believe this, but..."). In that way, you prevent the reader from objecting, "Oh come on, I can't believe that trash."
To go back up to the top of this essay, the most important advice I can give is to write. Do it. Work at it.