From the excellent book Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer (2006) by Roy Peter Clark:

• Begin sentences with subjects and verbs.
  • Make meaning early, then let weaker elements branch to the right.
• Order words for emphasis.
  • Place strong words at the beginning and at the end.
• Activate your verbs.
  • Strong verbs create action, save words, and reveal the players.
• Be passive-aggressive.
  • Use passive verbs to showcase the "victim" of action.
• Watch those adverbs.
  • Use them to change the meaning of the verb.
• Take it easy on the -ings.
  • Prefer the simple present or past.
• Fear not the long sentence.
  • Take the reader on a journey of language and meaning.
• Establish a pattern, then give it a twist.
  • Build parallel constructions, but cut across the grain.
• Let punctuation control pace and space.
  • Learn the rules, but realize you have more options than you think.
• Cut big, then small.
  • Prune the big limbs, then shake out the dead leaves.
• Prefer the simple over the technical.
  • Use shorter words, sentences and paragraphs at points of complexity.
• Give key words their space.
  • Do not repeat a distinctive word unless you intend a specific effect.
• Play with words, even in serious stories.
  • Choose words the average writer avoids but the average reader understands.
• Get the name of the dog.
  • Dig for the concrete and specific, details that appeal to the senses.
• Pay attention to names.
  • Interesting names attract the writer — and the reader.
• Seek original images.
  • Reject clichés and first-level creativity.
• Riff on the creative language of others.
  • Make word lists, free-associate, be surprised by language.
• Set the pace with sentence length.
  • Vary sentences to influence the reader's speed.
• Vary the lengths of paragraphs.
  • Go short or long —or make a "turn" — to match your intent.
• Choose the number of elements with a purpose in mind.
  • One, two, three, or four: Each sends a secret message to the reader.
• Know when to back off and when to show off.
  • When the topic is most serious, understate; when least serious, exaggerate.
• Climb up and down the ladder of abstraction.
  • Learn when to show, when to tell, and when to do both.
• Tune your voice.
  • Read drafts aloud.
• Work from a plan.
  • Index the big parts of your work.
• Learn the difference between reports and stories.
  • Use one to render information, the other to render experience.
• Use dialogue as a form of action.
  • Dialogue advances narrative; quotes delay it.
• Reveal traits of character.
  • Show characteristics through scenes, details, and dialogue.
• Put odd and interesting things next to each other.
  • Help the reader learn from contrast.
• Foreshadow dramatic events or powerful conclusions.
  • Plant important clues early.
• To generate suspense, use internal cliffhangers.
  • To propel readers, make them wait.
• Build your work around a key question.
  • Good stories need an engine, a question the action answers for the reader.
• Place gold coins along the path.
  • Reward the reader with high points, especially in the middle.
• Repeat, repeat, repeat.
  • Purposeful repetition links the parts.
• Write from different cinematic angles.
  • Turn your notebook into a "camera."
• Report and write for scenes.
  • Then align them in a meaningful sequence.
• Mix narrative modes.
  • Combine story forms using the "broken line."
• In short pieces of writing, don't waste a syllable.
  • Shape shorter works with wit and polish.
• Prefer archetypes to stereotypes.
  • Use subtle symbols, not crashing cymbals.
• Write toward an ending.
  • Help readers close the circle of meaning.
• Draft a mission statement for your work.
  • To sharpen your learning, write about your writing.
• Turn procrastination into rehearsal.
  • Plan and write it first in your head.
• Do your homework well in advance.
  • Prepare for the expected — and unexpected.
• Read for both form and content.
  • Examine the machinery beneath the text.
• Save string.
  • For big projects, save scraps others would toss.
• Break long projects into parts.
  • Then assemble the pieces into something whole.
• Take interest in all crafts that support your work.
  • To do your best, help others do their best.
• Recruit your own support group.
  • Create a corps of helpers for feedback.
• Limit self-criticism in early drafts.
  • Turn it loose during revision.
• Learn from your critics.
  • Tolerate even unreasonable criticism.
• Own the tools of your craft.
  • Build a writing workbench to store your tools.

_{(cf Write Many Read Once (1999-11-25), How to Write (2000-11-28), Writing Rewards (2001-06-09), Smell of Good Prose (2006-07-03), Asimov on Writing (2008-02-02), Pulp Fiction Rules (2008-10-20), Rules for Writing (2010-03-07), Worth Writing Well (2016-08-17), Tips for Aspiring Op-Ed Writers (2017-11-18), Writing vs Good Writing (2018-01-21), ...) - ^z - 2019-12-29}