This post, by Jack Shepherd, originally appeared on BuzzFeed.
1. Ernest Hemingway:
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
2. Elmore Leonard:
If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.
3. Anton Chekov:
Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.
4. George Orwell:
Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than saying anything outright barbarous.
Read the rest of the post, which includes additional tips from 24 more great authors (and some great photos of the authors, which we can’t share here due to copyright) on BuzzFeed.