11 Writing Tips Stolen from Chris Crutcher at NDCTE 2018.

1. Get rid of adverbs. An adverb is a modifier. Instead of modifying a word that isn’t quite right, pick the right one.
2. Write it and let it sit. Leave it long enough so you can read it like a writer, and the junk will stand out.
3. Listen. If someone says it out loud, it can be yours. Free speech, baby.
4. Pick character names that stand out. Readers need to remember the character without having to go backwards to figure out who is who.
5. Play with dialect and speech patterns, but edit so it isn’t annoying.
6. Avoid slang. Current slang will be old by the time your book is published. Don’t date yourself by being trendy.
7. Realist fiction isn’t real. You can make your characters smarter and more articulate than a real person would be.”You don’t tell a life; you tell an imitation of a life.” Writing an authentic life is mostly boring. Remember your creative freedom.
8. Always move toward the ending. If it doesn’t advance your character or get you closer to the ending, dump it. The reader must feel like they are moving toward the end of the book to keep reading it. Study Vonnegut.
9. “Most of writing is craft.” Learn the craft. Learn the intricacies.
10. Voice matters. Editors read two pages of the book and make a snap decision. The first pages aren’t going to have your plot or a lot of characterization. It comes down to voice. Is it believable? Does it get an emotional response from the reader? This gets an editor to read on. But don’t worry - you don’t need to know voice right away. Keep writing. The characters will flesh out, become 3D, and transform into real. Be so familiar with a character that the character surprises you, that it feels like the character is creating the story but you’ve really just tapped into your subconscious. Know your character so well that in the end you think you are a genius!
11. “Don’t buy into the hype that is it hard to get published.” It isn’t any harder than anything else that you want to do. It isn’t impossible. You just have to do the work. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it because you will already be too hard on yourself. Do it anyway. Try it even if it disappoints you. Let the disappointment fuel you so the next try works better.