avoid cliches unless you know how to subvert them

that's really the only hard and fast rule, i'd say. meaning all the shit you've heard like "show don't tell" is bull

>how to improve a skill
practice

>>8279949
>meaning all the shit you've heard like "show don't tell" is bull

this especially, the books I've read by people that encourage 'show don't tell' have all been bland, vapid works devoid of all personality

>>8279941
don't worry about it. just get into the habit of writing (shittily) daily and focus on reading. dont throw anything away. in like 10 yrs when you have some artistic sense, critical judgement, and an ear for good prose, go through it all and figure out what you naturally want to say. by this time you'll be able to build on all this raw material, all the juvenile notions, and transfigure them into deeper more meaningful things, into the stuff of literature.

I also wouldnt try to "see the world' as a writer, or think about your writing, get all your sense and life experience in unfiltered. there is a reason there are v few literary prodigies

>>8280065
show don't tell is legitimate advice

but it means nothing until you actually figure it out on your own

the reason it suffocates younger writers is because they take it as some sort of gospel, one they've yet to grasp