BACK TO BASICS: Tips for beginners.

My fourteen year old daughter came to me last night with a piece of writing she was very proud of. She has the potential to be a great writer, a natural talent. So, my critical cap went on without my noticing and I gave her notes on it instead of simply praising her for her effort –I did praise as well, I’m not a monster.

But, this got me thinking: what is she not learning in the classroom that I can help her with? A lot, I decided. I see a lot of tips and advice for writers who already have a fair grasp on the craft. Not so much for the young, or those who are new to writing. So I’ve compiled a list of some back-to-basics tips for the beginners out there.

#1 First of all, don’t be afraid of making mistakes. I’m sure all the other seasoned writers will agree with me when I say, we all look back on our earlier work and cringe. Like anything else in life, our mistakes teach us, so learn from them.

#2 Write what you know. This doesn’t mean you can only write about a family that is just like yours, or you should stick to writing about high school kids, because you’re in high school. It simply means that you draw from what you know to create your characters and their relationships. For example, if one of your characters has an abusive father and you have never experienced this first hand, draw from some other experience in your life that has made you feel scared and unsafe.

#3 If you don’t know, ask. Sounds simple enough? Not always. Sometimes you may feel your question is stupid. It’s not, just ask. There are hundreds of writers out there who are willing to answer your questions, so have at it. Failing that, use Google. I still use it when I feel a question I have is far too amateurish for someone who has been writing as long as I have. And no matter how long you have been writing you will still find yourself asking questions, even if it’s simply a matter of checking something you already know because you’re second-guessing yourself. Second-guessing one’s self is how you know you’re a writer, by the way.

#4 Always be open to advice. This may sound like just another way to say number 3, but my point here is a little different. When our kind –the self-critical, and sometimes-narcissistic kind that is– share our work we tend to be a little sensitive to the critique of others, even when that’s exactly what we’re asking for. After all, you pour your heart and soul into your work, not to mention the hours. So when someone pulls it apart we usually do one of two things: get pissed at the person offering advice and call them names, not usually to their face; or decide that we’re just not good enough, our writing stinks and we should just give up. Here’s the good news: there’s a third option. You can take it for exactly what it is –advice.

The thing to remember is, they are not criticizing you. They are offering an opinion. If it’s an opinion on the technical side: structure, punctuation, grammar etc. I suggest you take it. If you are not sure that they are correct –no one is infallible, so you will get the bum-steer often enough– again, Google it. Check that the advice you’re getting is correct. Now, if it’s an opinion about style, take it into account and maybe review your piece. But remember that style is subjective, just look at the difference between the styles of John Connolly and Dean Koontz. They both write thrillers, they are both international bestselling authors, their styles are very different.

So, take the critique of others with an open mind and a subjective eye.

That’s it for the emotional writing tips. I also want to give you some practical advice. This next list is basic advice of a more technical nature.

#1 If you want to write well, you need read, a lot.

#2 When you read and you see a word you don’t know, don’t just skip over it. Look it up. Then use it. Even if you just write a random sentence or paragraph that has nothing to do with anything you are working on. I still do this myself.

#3 Don’t treat your readers as though they are stupid. If you just said that you were sitting on your bed, you don’t need to tell us you got up from your bed. Just tell us you got up.

#4 Nobody likes redundancy. If you like the word superfluous, use it in the most appropriate place then don’t use it again for at least another chapter or two. This is most important for adjectives.

#5 Don’t over-describe. Your readers don’t care that the toast was slightly burnt, or that the toaster was fire-engine red, or that the smell filled your nostrils, unless the toaster is about to burst into flames and burn the entire house down killing everyone inside. If it does not contribute to the plot or the characters, leave it as short as possible. Over-adjectising (Yes, I just made that up. What of it?) used to be called Flowery Prose, it’s more commonly known as Purple Prose these days. So if someone says your writing is a little purple, or a little flowery, this is what they mean.

#6 A lot is two words.

#7 A while is two words, except in the place of for a while. If for a while is grammatically incorrect, then awhile is also grammatically incorrect. For example: You wouldn’t say, “I will be there in awhile,” because you are essentially saying, “I will be there in for a while.” Get it?

#8 Commas are subjective. Just pick up two books by different authors and open each of them to a random page. You will notice that their use of commas will differ. There are some hard-and-fast rules for commas, though, such as using commas when writing names. When writing dialogue for instance, “What are you doing, Ray?” is correct. When mentioning someone mid-sentence you use a comma when describing a person but not when including them in an action: My best friend, Ray, is a real hoot. When Ray slipped over, I laughed my ass off. These are both correct.

There are more rules to learn, so learn them. One tip to deciding how to use subjective commas, however, is to read you material out loud. Wherever there is a natural break, use a comma. Or end the sentence and start a new one. (You see how I could have put a comma in and made that one sentence, but I chose to start a new one. That’s what I mean by subjective.) But remember, you don’t want your readers to have to get to the end of ten lines before they can take a breath. This is why reading it out loud is a good tool to learn where to use commas.

#9 Always check your spelling before you show your work. I won’t even post a comment or status update on Facebook without rereading it, twice.

There are a lot more points I could give you here, but, well… information-overload.

If you have any questions, ask me. 

All the tips here are based on areas I am helping my daughter with, so I invite all the other writers with any tips they should like to add, to go ahead and write a comment for our friends who are starting out.