Fellow writers are friends. They are generous with writing advice and tips for improving our work. See the Southwest Writers blog post by Bentley Clark. Thanks to her for the “10 Rules for Imitating Author Ken Bruen” blog post, derived from her favorite author.
I model my writing from time to time on a passage from another author that I feel expresses what I’m attempting to accomplish in my writing. “Imitating another author” has worked remarkably well for me.
In a novel that I’m writing, I try to “use little to no dialogue attributions.” This makes for cleaner writing and easier reading.
“Keep your descriptions to a minimum” provides a challenge, not a cop-out. It demands that we provide sufficient description to keep the reader interested, which is enough to visualize the setting or action, but without slowing down the reader.
Take a look at http://www.southwestwriters.com/10-rules-for-imitating-author-ken-bruen/ and let me know which of these ten you use in your writing. Why? How does it work for you?