Maybe there's much more to learning to write than ten hints, but I think that if you did the following you could be sure that you were producing the best work you were capable of.

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1. Begin in the middle of things and catch us up as you go.
2. Don't write the boring or mundane details of life unless you have a dramatic reason to do so.
3. Make the reader feel what the character feels.
4. Don't dwell on the scenery or setting, except as it dramatically motivates or illuminates the characters.
5. "Pass the Potatoes" (from my friend Elinor Lipman) -- make sure that when you write dialogue you don't forget the other actions and reactions taking place while people are talking.
6. Actions have consequences, or ought to. Every action in your story should lead on to a later action.
7. Foreshadowing can prepare a reader for even the most incredible events (from Chekhov--if the audience sees a gun on the wall in the first act someone will be firing it in the last act.)
8. Give characters a strong drive to accomplish something or to avoid something. Robert Olen Butler uses the word yearning; what does your character yearn for?
9. Write regularly, and give your writing time priority.
10. Don't be afraid to edit even your prettiest and most compelling writing if it doesn't fit the story.

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