How to write a book

Five tips for writing good prose – post at Multi-Story

multiWhatever kind of fiction we write, most of us want to give our prose that extra flair and sparkle. How do we learn to do that? How casual can we be while still looking ‘correct’? When is prose powerfully poetic and when is it purple, stodgy and even ridiculous?

Today I’m at Multi-Story.co.uk, exploring what makes an effective prose style – and the knots we can get ourselves into as we try to develop it. Do come over.

 

13 thoughts on “Five tips for writing good prose – post at Multi-Story

  1. Great post, Roz. All your points were things I had to learn the hard way as I transitioned from technical writing to creative writing. Even now, over ten years down the track, I recognize that my first drafts are always going to be a kind of mental shorthand that needs to be decoded before it’s fit for human consumption. Spare, precise writing may get the message across but it will lack any kind of emotional content, and prose is ultimately a vehicle for empathy.

  2. Ah the old purple prose, so seductively it lies on the page, flattering you for your creative genius, telling you that no one else has used the english language as good as this before. “Admire me.” it says, “I put all the other sentences around me to shame.” One of these days I’ll learn to recognise it the first time it bats its curly eyelashes.

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