On Writing Well (1)

…expect 80% of the ideas in an
essay to happen after you start writing it, and 50% of those you start with
to be wrong; be confident enough to cut; have friends you trust read your
stuff and tell you which bits are confusing or drag; don’t (always) make
detailed outlines; mull ideas over for a few days before writing; carry a
small notebook or scrap paper with you; start writing when you think of the
first sentence…

I work in the mornings and
evenings. In the mornings, I am more clear-headed and focused. In the
nights, it is my wild, dark imagination that is working. I also listen to
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and keep nibbling at my kababs. In the morning, I
work on what I have written in the night, revise and revisit my
characters.

In good
writing, he observed, “every sentence shall palpitate and thrill with the
mere fascination of the syllables.” To achieve this effect, one must employ
certain “rules of style.” He warned budding writers, for example, “not [to]
habitually prop your sentences on crutches, such as Italics and exclamation
points, but make them stand without aid; if they cannot emphasize
themselves, these devices are commonly but a confession of
helplessness.”

9. Revise. If you really crank out the text,
and experiment, and just let things flow, you’ll need to go back over it.
Yes, that means you. Many writers hate revising, because it seems like so
much work when they’ve already done the writing. But if you want to be a
good writer, you need to learn to revise. Because revision is where good
writing really is. It separates the mediocre from the great. Go back over
everything, looking not only for grammar and spelling mistakes, but for
unnecessary words and awkward structures and confusing sentences. Aim for
clarity, for strength, for freshness.