Here’s a checklist I used to edit my writing, after getting the basic story down. I revisited the finished skeleton of the novel and layered it with the flesh of each item on the checklist, until it was a living, breathing entity – that hopefully doesn’t look anything like Frankenstein…

• Show not Tell, Action not Explanation
• Use the five senses
• Use Props
• One viewpoint per scene
• Suspense at end of scene/chapter
• Leak information gradually
• Create living people in real world through senses
• Tension/Conflict between characters, within a character
• Create atmosphere, emotions
• Develop believable, consistent characters
• Musical flow
• Write a strong lead
• Use short, dense, familiar words
• Use active and strong verbs
• Use specific nouns
• Use figures of speech (simile, metaphor, hyperbole, understatement, personification)
• Avoid narrative summary where nothing happening in real time