Thanks to my membership at Webcomics.com, I found a link to a bunch of writing tips from very famous authors. Among the usual pretentious comments and obvious pet-peeves were a few great insights. The best was this:
Sound like yourself.
Seems pretty obvious. But as an aspiring writer, and an avid reader, I know that many writers do not do this. Many new writers try to sound like someone famous, their favorite writer (or a successful writer) and fail miserably. I myself have stumbled countless times while trying to punch up my prose, worrying if it is “intelligent” enough or “interesting” enough. It never occurred to me that I should just write in my own voice.
That tip is worth all the books on writing you can find! It has certainly sent my current revising endeavor into a new direction.
To check out the full list of tips go here.