How to write good

[alicambs]

These were originally written by Frank L. Visco and first published in the June 1986 issue of Writers’ Digest. There appear to be a number of similar types of rules about, but I was sent this one by a friend and was amused, particularly by "Who needs rhetorical questions?". :-)

1. Avoid Alliteration. Always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end

Comments

[ariss_tenoh]

I wish modern US writers would heed 14 and 17.

[alicambs]

Re number 17, I think it's the 24 hour media that's half the problem. Your by line, your novel, your soundbite needs to stand out of the crowd, so out goes the truth and along comes exaggeration.

[ariss_tenoh]

True. It's exasperating already when it's prevalent in news headlines and magazine covers but one would think novels wouldn't have this problem. Instead it's a plague of badly used adverbs and adjectives.