What better way to improve your writing than learning from successful authors?
Especially when the tips are formatted in bite-sized lessons you can apply to your writing today?
In their 15 Writing Lessons from Successful Authors (and How to Apply Them) infographic, Ivory Research has compiled lessons from successful authors to help you improve your writing.
You’ll find advice from Nobel Prize author Toni Morrison, horror novelist Stephen King, fiction novelist Joyce Carole Oates, and other well-known authors.
I thought the lessons were excellent!
My favorites were 3, 4, 8, and 9.
Which caused me to rewrite the intro to this post three times.
Check out the infographic for useful tips and lessons to improve your writing. (Note: this is a large infographic, under 1MB in file size)
Or, if you prefer, I’ve included the text version of the infographic.
15 Writing Lessons from Successful Authors
1. Toni Morrison
There’s a line between revision and fretting, just working it to death. It is important to know when you are fretting it; when you are fretting it because it is not working, it needs to be scrapped.
Why it works
If you find yourself reworking something over and over, it might be a sign that it’s just not working. There’s more creative freedom in scrapping it and starting afresh.
Pro Tip
Screenwriter Heather Jackson advises asking yourself these three questions to decide whether it’s time to revise or cut something.
- If deleted, will the reader still be able to follow the story?
If yes, cut it.
If no, revise. - What is different by the end of this section?
If nothing, cut it.
If something changes, revise it. - What/Who does this section of the story affect?
If nothing or nobody, cut it.
If something or someone, you can revise it.
2. Stephen King
Timid writers like passive verbs for the same reason that timid lovers like passive partners. The passive voice is safe…
Why it works
The passive voice is meandering and confusing at best and, at worst, makes your writing sound passive itself. If you use an active voice, you will sound direct and clear.
Pro Tip
Advice from University of Wisconsin’s Writing Center says to make sure your subjects are performing an action rather than having an action performed on them.
To convert sentences from the passive voice to the active voice:
- Rewrite the sentence so that the subject buried by the “by” phrase is closer to the beginning of the sentence.
Passive: The man was bitten by the dog.
Active: The dog bit the man. - If the subject of your sentence is anonymous, create a subject with a general term.
Passive: It was demonstrated that heart attacks can be caused by high stress.
Active: Researchers showed that high stress can cause heart attacks.
3. C.S. Lewis
Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.
Why it works
If you use hyperbolic language, it’s a bit like crying wolf. When you save your big words for when they’re actually needed, they’ll have a greater impact.
Pro Tip
- Awesome
- Tremendous
- Historic
- Amazing
- Fantastic
- Epic
- Infinitely
These are significant words and should only be used to describe significant things
4. Joyce Carol Oates
Unless you are writing something very avant-garde – all gnarled, snarled and “obscure” – be alert for possibilities of paragraphing.
Why it works
Readers will often lose track, lose interest, or flat out skip large walls of text. Breaking things up helps readers focus.
Pro Tip
- Am I starting a new idea, description, or point?
- Am I presenting some contrasting idea?
- Am I beginning dialogue?
- Is someone new speaking
- When I read this, do I get bored? Feel lost?
If the answer is yes, it’s time to start a new paragraph and break up your text.
5. George Orwell
By using stale metaphors, similes and idioms, you save much mental effort, at the cost of leaving your meaning vague, not only for your reader but for yourself.
Why it works
When you avoid well-known metaphors, you force yourself to come up with something that specifically conveys the feeling you’re after – rather than settling for something overused and vague.
Pro Tip
Fiction editor Sophie Playle recommends rejecting the first metaphor that pops into your head:
- Think of the specific feeling or image you want to convey.
- Remember a time you have felt or seen that the most acutely.
- Ask yourself: “What words come up when I remember that moment?”
- Use those words.
6. John Grisham
Read each sentence at least three times in search of words to cut.
Why it works
Succinct writing grabs and holds onto your reader’s attention. It’s also more memorable and impactful, especially when it’s used in a high-stakes moment.
Pro Tip
When re-reading each sentence, keep these three things in mind:
- Think about what you’re trying to say.
Does each word contribute to your message? If not, cut those words. - Remove redundant words
For example: “In my opinion, I think…” would simply be, “I think….” - Cut out fluff words.
For example: “completely,” “actually, “totally”
7. Octavia E. Butler
First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not… Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice.
Why it works
If you rely solely on inspiration to write, you won’t get anything done. If you create a habit of writing, though, inspiration will come… eventually.
Pro Tip
Commit to a time and length of time you’ll sit down and write each day. Try writing for 15 minutes…
- in the early morning.
- mid-morning.
- mid-afternoon.
- late afternoon/early evening.
- late at night
Then ask: Which time of day did you feel the most able to write and most creative?
8. Haruki Murakami
You should be very kind when you explain something (to your reader). If you think, “it’s okay; I know that,” it’s a very arrogant thing. So… I explain very carefully and clearly.
Why it works
Explaining yourself clearly will help your reader feel like they are on your same page – not missing any information.
This will help them trust you.
Pro Tip
To make sure you’re explaining things clearly and kindly to your reader:
- Only use words you fully understand (without looking them up).
- Don’t use jargon or technical terms.
- If you find yourself trying to impress your reader with a word – reconsider it.
- Replace phrases with one word when possible.
- Replace phrases with one word when possible. E.g., “I gave an assessment of…” becomes “I assessed.”
9. Jonathan Franzen
Never use the word “then” as a conjunction – we have “and” for this purpose. Substituting “then” is the lazy or tone-deaf writer’s non-solution to the problem of too many “ands” on the page.
Why it works
Cutting some of these conjunctions and breaking up sentences makes your writing more powerful and to the point.
Pro Tip
American Journal Experts recommends two steps to eliminating conjunctions and breaking up sentences:
- Step 1: Re-read what you’ve just written and look out for the word “then. “Can you replace it with “and”?
- Step 2: Re-read it again. Can you eliminate some of your “ands” and break the sentence up into two sentences?
10. Elmore Leonard
Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said”… He admonished gravely.
Why it works
Rather than use an adverb to tell the reader how someone is speaking, use descriptive language to show them. This will paint a much more vivid picture.
Pro Tip
- Write better dialogue – Show us how a character feels in the words they use.
- Use sensory details – Show us how they feel in the way their voice sounds,
their posture, their expression. - Use stronger verbs – E.g., instead of: “said irritably” write “she snapped.”
11. Janet Fitch
Most people use twenty verbs to describe everything from a run in their stocking to the explosion of an atomic bomb… Pick a better verb. Challenge all those verbs to really lift some weight for you.
Why it works
Picking one strong verb is an immediate way to convey a clear image to your reader, where passive verbs make your sentence sound weak and unsure of itself.
Pro Tip
Replace “state of being” verbs with stronger verbs.
- Instead of: “The man was walking on the platform. Say: The man strode along the platform.
- Instead of: They were talking loudly over the crowd. Say: They shouted over the crowd.
- Instead of: Lisa felt she should have been there. Say: Lisa regretted not showing up.
- Instead of: I was doing my best to finish the project before morning. Say: I worked on the project all night.
12. Jack Hart
Any word that doesn’t advance a story slows it down. Which is reason enough to avoid expletives. Contrary to popular misconception, the term “expletive” refers to a whole class of empty words, not just gratuitous profanities.
Why it works
When you cut words that don’t advance the plot, you are left with a clear and easy-to-follow story. This is especially important these days when people are inundated with content.
Pro Tip
According to Redwood Ink, you can cut to the chase by following these simple steps:
- Minimise the use of “the” and “that.”
- Cut needless transitions like: “Indeed”… or “In fact…”
- Limit conjunctions such as: “but,” “however,” “and,” “then…”
13. Wislawa Szymborska
You’ve managed to squeeze more lofty words into three short poems than most poets manage in a lifetime: “Fatherland,” “Truth,” “Freedom,” “Justice”: such words don’t come cheap. Real blood flows in them, which can’t be counterfeited with ink.
Why it works
If you’re describing something abstract, using concrete words will help your reader visualize and truly feel what you’re conveying, rather than get lost in abstraction.
Pro Tip
When describing something abstract, the ISU Writing Center advises:
- Write down the concept.
- Beneath it, write down concrete words associated with the concept.
- Use these more tangible words to describe the abstract idea.
Use this guide to remind you:
Abstract words: Describe ideas, qualities, and concepts; things we can understand but not necessarily see. Examples Love, honest, truth, fear, grief.
Concrete words: Describe tangible qualities; things we can experience with our senses. Examples Sweet, warm, solid, heart racing, hollow.
14. John McPhee
[Thesauruses] are also dangerous. They can lead you to choose a polysyllabic and fuzzy word when a simple and clear one is better.
Why it works
When you prioritize simpler words, the reader will be able to relax into your story or messages rather than stumble over complicated and distracting words.
Pro Tip
Replace long, multisyllabic words with their shorter synonyms.
Instead of: “We investigated whether utilizing the drug would facilitate improvements in health.”
Try: “We studied whether using the drug would help improve health.”
15. Martin Amis
Watch out for words that repeat too often. Don’t start a paragraph with the same word as the previous one. That goes doubly for sentences.
Why it works
Keeping your language varied will keep your reader engaged.
Pro Tip
To avoid repetition in your writing, the Toronto editing company Re:Word says you can..
- Read your writing out loud to spot repetition.
- Reword the sentence and use a thesaurus to come up with new words in place of the repeated one.
- Break up longer, run-on sentences into shorter sentences.
- Eliminate weak and commonly repeated words like “then, the, that, and, but…”
No matter what you’re writing or where you are in the process, letting these 15 authors guide you with their years of wisdom – and
trial and error – will certainly help you along the way.
