50 Tips on How to Write Good

1. A writer must not shift your point of view. 2. Always pick on the correct idiom. 3. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake. 4. Always be sure to finish what 5. Avoid alliteration. Always. 6. Avoid archaeic spellings. 7. Avoid clichs like the plague. (Theyre old hat.) 8. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. 9. Be more or less specific. 10. omparisons are as bad as clichs. 11. ontractions arent necessary. 12. !o not use hyperbole" not one in a million can do it effectively. 13. !ont indulge in ses#uipedalian le$icological constructions. 14. !ont never use no double negatives. 15. !ont overuse e$clamation marks%% 16. !ont repeat yourself& or say again what you have said before. 17. !ont use commas& that& are not& necessary. 18. !ont be redundant" dont use more words than necessary" its highly superfluous. 19. 'liminate #uotations. As (alph )aldo 'merson once said& *+ hate #uotations. Tell me what you know., 20. 'mploy the vernacular. 21. 'schew ampersands - abbreviations& etc. 22. 'schew obfuscation. 23. 'ven if a mi$ed metaphor sings& it should be derailed. 24. 'veryone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing. 25. '$aggeration is a billion times worse than understatement. 26. .oreign words and phrases are not apropos. 27. /o around the barn at high noon to avoid collo#uialisms. 28. 0opefully& you will use words correctly& irregardless of how others use them. 29. +f any word is improper at the end of a sentence& a linking verb is.

30. +f you reread your work& you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. 31. +t behooves you to avoid archaic e$pressions. 32. +t is wrong to ever split an infinitive. 33. 1ever use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice. 34. 1o sentence fragments. 35. 2ne should never generali3e. 36. 2ne4word sentences5 'liminate. 37. 6arenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary. 38. 6arenthetical words however must be enclosed in commas. 39. 6lace pronouns as close as possible& especially in long sentences& as of ten or more words& to their antecedents. 40. 6lacing a comma between sub7ect and predicate& is not correct. 41. 6oofread carefully to see if you any words out. 42. 6repositions are not words to end sentences with. 43. 6rofanity sucks. 44. 8ub7ect and verb always has to agree. 45. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mi$ing metaphors. 46. The adverb always follows the verb. 47. The passive voice is to be avoided. 48. 9nderstatement is always best. 49. 9se the apostrophe in its proper place and omit it when its not needed. 50. 9se youre spell chekker to avoid mispeling and to catch typograhpical errers. 51. )ho needs rhetorical #uestions5 52. )riting carefully& dangling participles must be avoided. 2h& and let me add one tip: +f your article consists of a list and the title refers to the number of items in the list& count the number of items in the list carefully