Sometimes what you leave out is as important as what you include.
From the archives:
One trick to keep writing tight and vivid is to avoid expositional dialogue. Find advice for achieving this in my archives. (I’ve written a lot here.)
Along those lines, here’s a piece I wrote on Subtlety.
And here’s advice about using characters’ eyes and expressions to add meaning and emotion without shouting at your readers. Luckily, it’s relatively easy, especially when you pay attention to expressions while you’re consuming dramas and wandering through your days. When you’re reading good fiction, I hope you’re keeping a notebook nearby to jot down bits you’d like to emulate. I regularly jot down facial expressions, emotional reactions to dialogue and events, gestures, body language, potent language, and figurative language.
Keep writing, keep dreaming, have heart
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