General Rules of Creative Writing

1. Avoid highfalutin’ words.
2. Avoid purple prose.
3. Avoid qualifiers and other wimpy words.
4. Beware of It.
5. Create interest by mixing ideas.
6. Don’t overexplain.
7. Eliminate all unnecessary uses of That.
8. Juxtapose words and ideas to evoke humor and irony.
9. Keep related words together.
10. Learn to use, not abuse, metaphor and simile.
11. Listen to the music of the words.
12. Never let the truth get in the way of your story.
13. Never use two words when one word will do.
14. Replace adjectives and adverbs with vivid nouns and active verbs.
15. Show, don’t tell.
16. There’s an exception to every rule.
17. Use interesting contrasts.
18. Use parallel construction.
19. Use short paragraphs when possible.
20. Use the active voice.
21. Vary your sentence structure.
22. Watch out for word repetition.
23. Write cinematically.
24. Write sentences in the positive form.
25. Write. Rewrite. Rewrite.

Bibliography:

• Nancy Lamb, The Art and Craft of Storytelling.