Everyone else with a literate bent has mentioned it, so here ya go: Learn Writing with Uncle Jim. Jim McDonald is a fantasy writer, and I’ve never read a single one of his books, but that doesn’t mean his advice is poor. He is, after all, published. And, he has over a dozen novels in print, so maybe he knows something. Regardless, I found this post hilarious.
* Spelling counts.
* Agreement of number is important.
* Keep the tense consistent.
* You’re allowed to have more than one sentence per paragraph. In fact, you’re encouraged to do so.
* Dialog is one of your basic tools. Learn how to use quote marks.
* Don’t make your readers guess about the antecedents of your pronouns.
* You’ve heard of Point of View? Pick one. Then use it.
* Not all nouns need adjectives; not all verbs need adverbs.
* Assigning emotions to inanimate objects is called the Pathetic Fallacy. First, because it’s a fallacy. Second, because it’s pathetic.