Experts in any field have strategies and tricks that help them do what they do. Writing is no different. I’ve gathered my favourites and listed them below. Remember, what works for someone else may not work for you.

1. Use your own voice. It’s your story so write as closely to the way you speak as is appropriate. You can always edit it later.
2. Think of your title as the first chance you have to attract attention. Never leave a piece untitled, although this does not mean you have to title it before you are finished. You may not have a title until after the eighth revision. Choose an idea, word, phrase, etc from the story that says something about it.
3. Show, don’t tell. I cannot emphasize this enough. Use sensory and concrete detail. Don’t say “The town was dark.” Say “The velvety blackness settled on the town, consuming the light and making it impossible to see.”
4. Be careful of overusing adjectives such as “very” and “little.”  Remember to show instead of tell.
5. Use the active voice (Michael ran over John with his car, instead of John was run over by Michael’s car). It drives the plot forward.  The characters do things instead of having things done to them.
6. Avoid clichés.
7. People get bored without any action.  They also get bored without dialogue.  Try to keep a balance (exception is in the shorter stories).
8. Don’t worry about offending people.  Don’t be unnecessarily crude, but characters do swear, do have prejudices, and do have sex.  Don’t avoid these things if they enhance the plot or are part of your character.
9. Keep a notebook handy at all times.  You never know when an idea, sentence, or character description will hit you.
10. Write something everyday.
11. Begin by rereading what you wrote yesterday.
12. You need feedback. Have others read your work.
13. Remember there is no right way to do it.  Make it your own process, and your own story.