Hammurabi's Code

Hammurabi's code is an ancient Babylonian law code and one of the oldest record of writing of notable length. When I was in primary school, one of our class assignments was to pick on of his laws and act it out in front of the class. The activity has engrained this King's laws in my head until today.

I named this list after him because I aspire for the tips mentioned, compiled from various respected authors and artists, to become second-nature to any writer who wishes for his work to transform from amateur level to masterful in the art of writing.

1. Never open a book with weather.

2. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.

3. Finish what you start!

4. The personages in a tale, both dead and alive, shall exhibit a sufficient excuse for being there.

5. Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue.

6. Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.

7. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

8. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

9. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

10. Never use the passive voice where you can use the active.

11. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

12. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

13. Be positive, not negative [Say what something is rather than what it isn't]

14. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

15. The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.

Sources:
George Orwell  
Elmore Leonard'  
Kurt Vonnegut  
Ernest Hemingway  
Mark Twain