That is the question.

[prillalar]

Writing advice I'm now trying to follow:

Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very;" your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. -- Mark Twain

Writing advice I gleefully ignore:

It's often wise to cut down on verbs of being, replacing them (whenever possible) with action verbs; that'll make your writing punchier.

I loooooooooove the verb "to be". It's my favourite verb. I work those predicate nouns and adjectives as hard as I can. I like the flatness of it, the plainness.

What's your favourite writing advice? Or your favourite advice to ignore?

Comments

[phineasjones.livejournal.com]

have been told: find that sentence or phrase in the work that you love the most, the one that makes you proud, the turn of phrase you have crafted most skillfully... and scrap it.

i think there's something to that.

[jkb.livejournal.com]

That sounds like the "murder your darlings" advice that another commenter cited above. I think it makes sense to carefully scrutizine your darlings to see if they're pulling the story out of shape, weighting it down, calling too much attention to themselves, etc. But following the rule mechanically sounds counterproductive to me. It more or less says "If you think one bit of the story really, truly works -- chop that out. Only keep the parts you're iffy about."