Writing advice from my uni teachers:
- If your dialog feels flat, rewrite the scene pretending the characters cannot at any cost say exactly what they mean. No one says “I’m mad” but they can say it in 100 other ways.
- Wrote a chapter but you dislike it? Rewrite it again from memory. That way you’re only remembering the main parts and can fill in extra details. My teacher who was a playwright literally writes every single script twice because of this.
- Don’t overuse metaphors, or they lose their potency. Limit yourself.
- Before you write your novel, write a page of anything from your characters POV so you can get their voice right. Do this for every main character introduced.
