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Old 10-29-2009, 07:21 AM   #7 (permalink)
Michael Chui
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Seattle, Washington, USA
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What hasn't been explicitly mentioned here is self-criticism. Developing a sense of personal cadence, tone, and style are important, but then check to see if your writing actually matches up with that. When I've heard knowledgeable writers praise other writers, they usually point out things like, "You must be very widely read; it shows in your writing."

Emulate writers who you like to read. Borrow the way they phrase something, or take your own rendition of the images they craft. Sure, you're copying, but it'll rub off and mix in with your own experience and your wider reading and then it will be yours.

Of course, learn grammar and all the syntactic rules: when you break a rule, do it because it's better broken than because you didn't realize it was a rule. Strunks' book has been mentioned several times, and it is excellent.

Also, read literary criticism. Reading Howard Bloom rant, for instance, is a lovely way to absorb perspectives of writing as well as get a quick overview of different styles in literature.
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