3. You have to get the reader on side. This means no matter how nefarious your lead character, they have to be one shade more likeable than their antagonists.
4. Your first draft probably has too much dialogue — so cut half. A conversation written with quotation marks rarely needs to be longer than a two sentence exchange.
5. This is 2020 — so show us that it's 2020. Give us a realistic world of cellphones, social media, apps, capitalism, big box retailers, expensive petrol, insecure jobs, blended families, wild house prices and road rage.
6. If you're just beginning with fiction writing, go for easy wins so you feel successful. Flash fiction only asks 300 words, and there's a high chance of getting it published somewhere.
7. Give specific detail. Don't go easy on yourself. Telling us that your character went on a business trip to China isn't terribly interesting; telling us your character grabbed a last-minute Malaysian Airways ticket to attend the China Important and Export fair to re-negotiate zinc prices? That sounds authoritative.
8. The best way to work out if you have written a successful story is by describing it to a friend. If you can give a 30 second summary of your story from start to finish, and your friend appears impressed, you have success.
9. Ask for feedback on your drafts from people who are different than you in gender, ethnicity or outlook.
10. Don't ask for feedback on your work from people you don't respect.
Oh, and once you've written a draft you think is great, expect it to require up to 10 drafts to get it perfect. Sorry. Annoying, eh?
