Writing Tips Part One

Hello fellow writers! We’re in a strange time currently, and with everyone staying home I figured we could all spend more time writing! This is the first installment of a series that will provide a variety of tips for writers. As a writer, it’s always helpful to learn new tips and tricks to improve my skills. Over the past couple months I’ve been compiling a list of what I’ve learned and now I’m here to share it with all of you writers! Give some of these things a try, and maybe you’ll come up with some tips to share of your own!

• Struggling with the passive voice? Try adding “by zombies” at the end of the sentence. If it makes sense, the sentence is in passive voice.
  • Passive: She was killed (by zombies). 
  • Active: Zombies killed her (by zombies). 
• Need to show a variety of emotions? The following are some ways to show different emotions. 
  • Sadness: sharply sucking in breath, hiccups from crying, uncontrollable sobbing, slumped shoulders, head down, sometimes lashing out as a result or shutting everyone out
  • Anger: red face, fists clenched, gritted teeth, sharp comebacks, tense air, ignoring others, inhales, angry tears, acts of violence (slaps, punches, kicks)
  • Shock: wide eyes, confusion, frozen in place, collapsing
  • Happiness: bright eyes, wide smiles, laughter, optimism, playful nature, relaxed sigh
• Unsure when to use commas in relation to speaking? Here we go! When someone speaks and the following is a dialogue tag, an action in-between what they’re saying, or an action is directly related to what is being said, use a comma! Otherwise, a period is the way to go. 
  • “I don’t want to go to the park,” she said.
  • “But,” he paused, “I want to play with the other kids!”
  • “It’s too late though,” she sighed. 
  • “Fine!” He ran to his room and slammed the door.

I hope these tips were helpful! I will be adding two more installments to this series soon so follow my blog or Twitter for updates! If you’re interested in reading some of the short pieces I’ve written, go check out the “My Writing,” page in the menu!