A great find from the Open Culture site:
Seven Tips From F. Scott Fitzgerald on How to Write Fiction
F. Scott Fitzgerald is often portrayed as a natural-born writer. “His talent,” says Ernest Hemingway in A Moveable Feast, “was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly’s wings.” But Fitzgerald saw himself in a different light. “What little I’ve accomplished,” he said, “has been by the most laborious and uphill work.”
1. Start by taking notes.
2. Make a detailed outline of your story.
3. Don’t describe your work-in-progress to anyone.
4. Create people, not types.
5. Use familiar words.
6. Use verbs, not adjectives, to keep your sentences moving.
7. Be ruthless.
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From the author of The Great Gatsby, this is advice that needs to be taken seriously.