Be original! If you’re going to rehash an over-used plot vehicle, give it a new twist. If your story is too predictable, you’ll lose readers. If you must use a theme that’s not original, such as zombies, vampires, space battles, or swords and sorcery, make sure your characters are real and interesting enough to carry the story. You see this in romance novels all the time. There’s nothing new about falling in love, but engaging characters who pull you into their emotions make it work.
If you write science fiction, don’t violate the known laws of physics without providing rationale for doing so. Invent new laws if you like, but make them believable. A lot of technical folks are likely to be in your audience and you’ll lose them forever if your science isn’t credible. Noises in the vacuum of space (like the explosions you hear in movies), earth-like gravity on a small asteroid, and unrealistic orbits are some of the things to look out for. If you don’t know something that relates to science, look it up or ask someone who does. Satires (such as “The Worst Man on Mars”) have a bit more latitude.
All fiction needs to be convincing and seem real. Create any possibility you want, just make sure the reader will be convinced. If you’re writing fantasy or science fiction, you need to build a world that your readers will believe is possible. Spend sufficient time creating your story’s environment to a high level of detail and it will pay off later, perhaps in even providing new plot twists.
If something throws you out of a story you’re reading, figure out why. Then make sure you’re not guilty of the same thing. You can learn from all writers, whether more or less skilled than you are. Typos are one thing that really jolt me out, though blatantly inaccurate science is a close second.
Read your work out loud as part of your editing process. If you find yourself saying something different than what’s written, consider rewording it accordingly. If it’s awkward when read aloud, it’s not the most natural wording. Even better, read it aloud into a recorder and then listen, especially if you’re an audio-type. This is very effective for catching redundancies.
Editing is essential, but it’s extremely difficult to edit your own work. Letting your work rest as long as possible before revising and/or editing helps view it more objectively. If you absolutely can’t afford an editor, arrange a beta exchange with another author, preferably one who’s seasoned, not just someone who will praise your work. Make sure both of you are skilled enough to do the job and clarify your expectations.
When you encounter a word you don’t know, look it up! It may be just the one you’ll need later. Words are a writer’s tools. Having a vast vocabulary is key to expressing yourself clearly and easily. Reading the dictionary is often an interesting pastime to a true writer.
Increase your vocabulary on a regular basis. Subscribe to services that provide a word of the day or even read the dictionary. You’d be surprised the cool words you’ll find! This is not to say that you should be using $5 words galore, but stimulating a reader with a new word occasionally, preferably when its meaning can be derived from the context, is part of being a professional author.
Some descriptions need to be repeated as reader reminders, such as what a character looks like, while others don’t. If you do a good job the first time, you can minimize them later, especially for specific people or places. Some genres typically have more detail than others. For example, those heavy on action tend to have a different level of detail than a regency romance. A detective spending the night in a cheap motel doesn’t care what color the sheets are, only if they’re clean, and maybe not even that.
Avoiding Deus ex machina endings should go without saying. If you write sci-fi or fantasy, set up the possibility for a dramatic ending so you don’t spring it on the reader out of the blue. Miracles are fine, as long as you develop the possibility beforehand. If one of your characters is going to die or get killed, be sure the threat of such an outcome is well-defined or at least hinted at.
Marcha's Two-Cents Worth 