DO's and DON'Ts

Whether you're "serious" about writing, or not, like in real life, there are some rules. Of course, nothing bad will happen if you disobey them (but you're going to jail, seriously), they're more like guidelines for good writing. If you discard all the DON'Ts, and manage to write a good story, you're on the right track! Note that this is just my opinion and you shouldn't take them for granted.

DO's:

- find a writing routine which suits you best

- read a lot, preferably books in genre you're writing

- have a lot of fun while writing

- write what you like (even if other people think it's a stupid idea)

- take your time,  no one became successful author over night

- if you're beginner I'll recommend you to read some book about writing (I read several, and everything I read, I already knew. If you're many years in writing I suggest you to skip this step, you probably know everything what you need to know.)

- self realization (as an author) is great! The more you accept concept of you being a writer, the easier will it be (I'll write about that particular "problem" later)

- plug your imagination, and let it take you away, to undiscovered worlds

- research, especially if it's Sci-Fi, or similar genre (depends if you want your story to be credible), and don't make some crucial mistakes like putting  dinosaurs and people in the same period (unless it's some paralel universe), or Moscow capital of England (Google maps can take you anywhere, so you don't have to "imagine" streets or cities).

- write, write, write until you're good. Then write some more.

- enjoy your writing, write because you love it, you need it, and you think world deserves to know that story

DON'Ts:

- think you suck as a writer just because your first draft (or the whole story) isn't satysfing; you'll get the chance to make it better

- think you're a loser just because you got rejection letter from your agent/publisher

- think writing is a waste of time (but if you think like that often, maybe writing isn't for you, and that's just fine)

- delete/edit or re-write your story just because somebody told you it's not good. Think about what you can change to make your story better, only if you think it needs to be changed (that's often double-edged sword; sometimes writers are "blind" to criticism, but with time they'll know what needs to be edited, even without advice of others). But then again, spelling and good grammar is always obligated.

- quit too soon – if you lack of inspiration, let it rest for some time, until your inspiration "recharges", and you can always work on other stories

- let anyone tells you writing isn't a serious work (it takes a lot of time, research, nerves, practice, and years to become a good writer. Writing is not just some scribbling, invent this, put a little fiction, work on that for few hours, and that's it.)

- if you can, don't let your mood dictates when you'll write (I almost never write when I'm not in a mood; depressed, sleepy, angry...)

- write genre you don't like just because it's popular right now (you could if you're writing only for the money, otherwise, it's not worth it), trends change, and you'll always have that taste of bitterness

- copy other writers – you're not them and you'll never be. Find your unique style, and be proud of it.

- read the DO's and DON'T's list

I'm sure that over time almost every writer has their list of DO's and DON'Ts, but you need to experience some to know you'll never do that thing again.

Here are some writing advices (the rest you can find on the link) from published authors, which I found on Writing forums (you should join in, it's a great community of writers):

Margaret Atwood

1 Take a pencil to write with on aeroplanes. Pens leak. But if the pencil breaks, you can't sharpen it on the plane, because you can't take knives with you. Therefore: take two pencils.

2 If both pencils break, you can do a rough sharpening job with a nail file of the metal or glass type.

3 Take something to write on. Paper is good. In a pinch, pieces of wood or your arm will do.

4 If you're using a computer, always safeguard new text with a ­memory stick.

5 Do back exercises. Pain is distracting.

6 Hold the reader's attention. (This is likely to work better if you can hold your own.) But you don't know who the reader is, so it's like shooting fish with a slingshot in the dark. What ­fascinates A will bore the pants off B.

Anne Enright

1 The first 12 years are the worst.

2 The way to write a book is to actually write a book. A pen is useful, typing is also good. Keep putting words on the page.

3 Only bad writers think that their work is really good.

Esther Freud

7 Never forget, even your own rules are there to be broken.

Neil Gaiman

4 Put it aside. Read it pretending you've never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.

5 Remember: when people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.

6 Fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.

7 Laugh at your own jokes.

8 The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you're allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it's definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it ­honestly, and tell it as best you can. I'm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

And for the end, one picture I found on 9GAG, that pretty much sums up all this DO's and DON'Ts