This is a selection of writing myths that can be safely discarded:

Fragments “Never write in fragments.” Way off.  Sentence fragments can be used to create a mood and tone for the reader, but they can also work against you. So, use them for effect, but make certain you don’t confuse the reader.

Repetition “Don’t repeat words, especially at the beginnings of sentences.” Never repeat a word or a phrase in the same paragraph. A sound rule of writing is to avoid needless repetition. No good comes from boring our readers. On occasion, however, repetition of a key word or phrase in a paragraph can be an effective strategy for focusing the reader's attention on a main idea.

Coherent writing flows smoothly from one sentence to the next, and repeating a key word or phrase can sometimes help us to achieve coherence.

Contractions “Don’t use contractions.” Again, writing without contractions is suitable to very formal documents. If you want a more conversational style, it’s perfectly all right to use contractions—like “it’s”, “you’re”, “isn’t”, etc. It Is Inappropriate to Use “I” in Writing There is no reason not to use the word “I” when talking about personal experiences or when writing from your own point of view.

"I" “Never begin a sentence with ‘I.’” Begin a sentence with “I” as much as you like, but don’t be repetitious.  You don’t want every sentence to begin the same way, or your reader might become bored. There is no reason not to use the word “I” when talking about personal experiences or when writing from your own point of view. In an essay based on personal experience, for example, the I point of view is not only natural but practically unavoidable.

Hopefully “Never begin a sentence with Hopefully.” There is no sane reason to avoid using the word hopefully at the beginning of a sentence. It simply means, “I hope,” or “I am hopeful.”

Prepositions “Never end a sentence with a preposition.” There is nothing wrong with ending a sentence with a preposition. Just make certain that your meaning is clear.

“Never use slang.” Baloney! Slang, especially when creating dialogue, may add to the realism and could connect you to a reader, but it can also lose a reader as well. So, know your audience.

Passive Voice “Never use the passive voice.” The passive voice can be a means of varying sentence patterns, and at times it makes the best sense. While you wouldn’t want to write an entire story in passive voice, there are times when passive voice is appropriate.

This is an example of active voice, where the subject (person doing the action) does something to someone or something else “The sun scorched the sand.”

This is an example of passive voice, where the subject is acted upon by the verb. “The sand was scorched by the sun.”

Sometimes passive voice is the best way to say something, but sometimes it is inappropriate. Active voice usually works better in fiction, but not always.

How Long “The only good sentence is a short sentence.” It's really best to vary the length of both sentences and paragraphs.

Writers are special people. There is no evidence that writers are any more intelligent, sensitive, talented, dedicated, disciplined, or persevering than people who do not write. Writers are ordinary people from every walk of life. There is only one difference between writers and other people—writers write. 

Beginning and Ending Before you begin writing, you should know how your piece will end. Many writers lay out their entire story before they begin writing and they know exactly what will happen and how it will end, but others just let the story flow and have no idea where it will end. Whether or not you know how your story will end when you start writing it really depends on what type of writer you are and what you are writing.

Errors Errors indicate absence of knowledge. Sometimes this is true, but in writing, error often indicates that the writer is applying rules, testing his/her understanding of the rules, refining knowledge of the rules, and working towards gaining new knowledge.

Must do's Forget what “must” be done, as in: “You must write an outline,” “You must write with a market in mind,” “You must write everyday,” “You must write a certain number of words each day.”

Making Money Getting paid for writing is easy once you know how. Not true. There is no way around it: you must pay your dues through submissions and rejections—accumulating experience as you go.

Good writers work alone. Most writers today are people who work in busy offices or classrooms, or housewives with children, who write with frequent input from their coworkers, peers, and family. Seriously though, how many of you could stand to write with no one else around, and no noise. We each must decide what works best for us. Personally, when I write poetry, I like silence, and I often sit out on my deck and just watch the sky and the ravine behind our house for inspiration. However, for most writing, I can write anywhere – the foodcourt at the mall, the doctor’s office, a coffee shop, etc. Having a separate room for writing where you can be completely free from all distractions and interruptions can be helpful for some writers. However, there are also people who can’t write a word without a great deal of noise in the background. Personally, I like having people around and lots of noise around me. Too much quiet is distracting to me.

I don’t know enough big words. Vocabulary is extremely overrated. Forget about the thesaurus. The vocabulary you currently possess will likely be more than enough. Writers shouldn’t always use big words. The vocabulary level you choose should depend on the market you are aiming for and the genre you choose. Try to use the most vivid vocabulary you can You don’t want to write nothing but clichés, and big fancy words will just irritate or confuse many readers.

Illustrations I must find an illustrator for my picture book manuscript. Unless you’re an artist yourself, editors will want to match you with professional illustrators of their own choice. Sending someone else’s pictures with your words can count against you.

If I write well, I am sure to succeed. Good writing must be coupled with aggressive, persistent marketing. Otherwise, you might never find an editor who cares enough about your work to publish it—or an audience that cares enough to read it.

If you can’t spell, you can’t write. Oh, yes you can! Good writers first write all their thoughts and ideas. Then they revise, revise, revise until they’re satisfied they’ve said what they want to say. Then - and only then - is it time to edit for spelling and other rules such as capitalization, punctuation, and word usage.

Mind-altering substances. Unfortunately, some writers use drugs and alcohol, but I doubt that it helps their writing. Most writers pretty much stick with coffee and cigarettes, but many have quit smoking.

Only great writers can be creative. Baloney! Different types of writing have different challenges, but there’s no law that says you have to learn one type first. Just choose the best type of writing for what you want to say.

They like it! Since my kids/neighbors/students like my story, it will make a great book. Your kids/neighbors/students may like it only because it’s yours, or because they enjoy your reading. This does not impress editors.

Talented writers are overflowing with ideas. Baloney! No one has an unending supply of ideas, but the things around us can help. We just need to keep our eyes and minds open to anything that might spur an idea.

First Paragraph The first paragraph should tell the reader what the story is about. Not necessarily. The reader wants to get into the story and become involved with the characters and their situations. They don’t need to know everything about the story until it is finished.

There is a secret formula to writing. All you need are minimal typing skills, a story idea, and a thick skin. Spell-check doesn’t hurt either.

Writing Priority To be a writer, writing must be your number one priority. No way! Writing should add to life, rather than replace it.

Sacrifice To be a writer, you have to give up everything. Says who? Why would you have to give up anything at all just so you can write? Writing is like any other activity you do, except in this case, you love/hate doing it.

Suffering To be a writer, you have to suffer first. Sure. No pain, no gain, right? Wrong! You don’t have to go through some harrowing experience in order for you to write. Many writers base their stories on personal experiences, but suffering is not necessary before you can write or call yourself a writer!

Writers To be classed as a writer, you must be published. Many people think “legitimate” writers are those who are published. This is not true. Being a writer just means writing, whether or not your work ever gets published.

Truly skilled writers rarely revise. Very few writers are talented enough to write something publishable on the first try. Revision is an important part to good writing. It helps us find errors and can also give us the opportunity to expand and develop ideas we may have missed, or taken too lightly.

Write about what you know. With all the information that is available in libraries, bookstores, on the Internet, and numerous other places, you can “learn” anything you want to “know.”

Writer’s block is an occupational hazard. Sometimes writers run out of ideas, and sometimes they have too many.

Writers always enjoy writing NO WAY! Writing is hard. It takes time, and patience to create something other people will enjoy reading. You don’t just sit down and write something, and then send it to a publisher. You write, then read, then rewrite, then read, and so on, until it’s been proofread and corrected to perfection. Then you submit it to a publisher.

Writers are born rather than nurtured. Writing is a skill that you either have or you don’t have. Baloney! Some people are born with the talent and ability to write, but almost anyone can be a writer if they try.

Writers are glamorous and elegant. The official uniform of many writers is a coffee-stained sweat-suit with thick socks. The computer might be located anywhere in the house, usually someplace crowded and inconvenient, like a corner of the diningroom table.

Critics Writers are most critical when they are planning and drafting. No way! When experienced writers begin a writing project, they write the first draft, and then rewrite it several times, straightening out any problems they find as they go. Sometimes it takes several rewrites to get everything just right.

Writers are special. In some way, they are better than the garden-variety human. Writers are human beings, they can be good, bad, mean, generous, spiteful or beautiful, just like anyone else. They just don’t dress as well. Or make as much money.

Writers make oodles of money. (Only if they’re good at counterfeiting.) Most writers have a full time job to support themselves and their families. They would starve waiting to earn money from their writing.

Writers work best at their desks. As I said above, decide what’s best for you and don’t let anyone say you’re wrong. You never know where or when an idea might strike. When you get an idea for something you would like to write about, you need to write it down, right then. It doesn’t matter where you are. If you prefer writing at your desk and using your computer, that’s fine, but there’s no reason why you can’t at least start a rough draft in a notebook.

Developing Thoughts. Writing involves transferring thoughts from the mind to paper. Reality: Writing creates thoughts. Writing can create ideas and experiences on paper, which could never exist in the mind (and possibly not in the “real world” either).

Writing is a lonely pursuit best conducted by introverts. We’ve all seen movies where an author has to lock himself away in a secluded place with no telephone, television, radio, or any other contact with the outside world, until he has finished his masterpiece.

Writing is built one sentence at a time. Writing is made up of words and sentences but it’s actually written first as chunks of ideas. Writers don’t need to master the art of writing before they begin to write. They just need to start writing –and leave revising for later.

Writing is for the transmission of information. Writing is much more than that. Writing is for communicating, educating, entertaining, and many other things.

Writing is not a real job. Another misconception. Writing is a job. When you start earning money from your writing on a regular or steady basis, then what you’re doing is a job. The fun part of it is that you’re doing a job that you love and earning money while you do it!

You can spot a good writer at a glance. Good writers don’t all look the same, or work the same. Some jot a lot of notes before starting to write; others jump right in; some outline; some doodle in the margins while they think; some write best to music; some write best sitting under a tree. All writers are individuals and need to discover what works best for them.

Before you start. You have to know what you are going to say before you begin writing. Writing actually helps you think. Many writers don’t discover exactly what they’re trying to say until after they’ve written several pages.

You must not put a comma before ‘and’ - Using a comma before ‘and’ may help the reader see how the sentence is constructed, or put a pause exactly where you want it.

Says who? You must not start a sentence with ‘but’, ‘so’, ‘because’, ‘and’, and ‘however’. “ Wrong again. It’s perfectly acceptable to use these words at the beginning of a sentence. But don’t overdo it. It's true that most often the conjunctions "and" and "but" are used to join words, phrases, and clauses within a sentence. But on occasion these simple transitions can be used effectively to show that a fresh sentence is building on a previous thought ("And") or shifting to a contrary point of view ("But"). There is also no plausible reason not to begin a sentence with the words (“Because” or "So").

You must not write a one-sentence paragraph If you can say what you want to say in a single sentence that lacks a direct connection with any other sentence, just stop there and go on to a new paragraph; there’s no rule against it.

Beginning You should always put the most exciting or important part of the story first to hook readers. You should begin each piece with something shocking or exciting to hook readers. Every story needs a strong beginning to grab the reader’s attention. If your story begins slow and sluggish, your reader may not read any further. If this happens, you may lose this and any future sales to this reader.

Hypothetical People: You should always write ‘he or she’, ‘him or her’, ‘his or hers’ 'they or them' when referring to hypothetical people. I think this depends on each writer's personal choice and what they are writing.

First Drafts You should always write a set number of drafts; first drafts are never good. There may be one writer in a million who can write a first draft that is good enough to be published. Unfortunately, most of us cannot. Becoming a published author doesn’t just involve writing. It also involves, proofreading, editing, and a ton of rewriting.

Outlining You should always write an outline before you begin your first draft. This is strictly personal choice. Some writers say they absolutely cannot write without an outline, while others refuse to even try using an outline. Personally, I do quite well at writing short stories without an outline, but I’m finding that for novels, I really do need an outline to help me organize the story and keep track of details.

You should always write your title first. Again, this is a personal preference. Some writers have a title right from the beginning, and others prefer to wait until the work is finished. I find that having at least a working title helps me somewhat with writing the story. Also, if someone asks what you are working on, it just seems easier if you can tell them the name of the story along with giving them a short description. Titles really aren’t that important though, because most publishers will choose their own title.

Personal info You should bare your soul in your writings or write about personal or intimate details. If you’re writing an autobiography, then of course you need to include personal information. However, for most types of writing, you don’t need to tell your readers anything about yourself. There are times though, when personal experience can be helpful in your writing. For instance: If you are a female writer and you are trying to write a story about a young girl’s first try at walking in high heeled shoes, it would be helpful to think back to your first experience with them – remember how you wobbled across the room, how the pointy toes pinched your toes, how sore the balls of your feet were because you tried to walk with your weight on the front of your feet because you were afraid the heels would snap off.

Crazy Writers You should be unhappy, lonely, cynical, ultra serious, neurotic, a little crazy and/or downright nuts, and you should dress or act in a certain way, or associate with certain people. As I mentioned earlier, a writer is an artist. However, that doesn’t mean we have to act like prima donnas, dress all in black, lock ourselves in a mountain cabin, only leave the house after sundown, or do any other totally off the wall thing to prove we are artists and are serious about our work. On the other hand though, many writers will tell you that to be a successful writer it doesn’t hurt to be a little crazy. It adds a little bit of zing to your writing. Most writers have odd little habits, or quirks when it comes to writing. Some will only write with a particular brand or color of pen, while others won’t even consider writing anything unless they are at their computer.

Time Time Time You should expect to write for a certain number of years, months, weeks or days to prove you have put enough time and suffering into your work. Some writers are lucky enough and skilled enough to have their first work published, while others try over and over for years before they finally get published.

Masters Degree You should have a Master’s Degree in writing. Having a degree in writing is no guarantee you will be published. Many writers with very little education have been published. Getting published depends on what you write and the publisher you send it to.

You should have suffered. All writers suffer to a certain extent. Just writing your story, proofreading, editing, and rewriting it cause a great deal of strain. Neglecting other things so you can work on your writing adds to the suffering, and so does waiting endlessly for a response from an editor.

Oh yeah? You should have written a certain number of novels, stories, poems, words, etc. before you will be considered a successful writer. All it really takes to be a successful writer is one publication. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an article, poem, or book. Published is published.

Prioritize You should make writing your top priority at all times. Writing is important, but so are family and friends. You should write whenever possible, but it shouldn’t be your whole life. What good will it do to become a rich and famous author if you have no one to share the accomplishment with. The life of a writer is hard enough, without pushing away everyone you know and ending up completely alone.

Rewrites You should never rewrite, except to editorial order. An editor will almost certainly suggest some rewrites. However, the more rewrites you do before you submit your manuscript, the less you will have to do later. Make your manuscript as perfect as possible before you submit it.

Photocopies You should never send photocopied ms to an editor. There is nothing wrong with photocopies. Just make sure they are clean, clear, and printed dark enough to read easily.

Starting a sentence. You should never start a sentence with anyway, however, nevertheless, or therefore. This used to be a hard and fast rule, but in recent years, many rules have changed. It is now perfectly acceptable to begin a sentence with any of these words.

Grammar You should never stray from correct grammar and usage. Again, this is true when writing narrative, but not when writing dialogue. We seldom use proper grammar when we speak, so don’t worry about it if you want your dialogue to be realistic.

You should never use exclamation points! There is no reason not to use exclamation points. They can help to indicate the tone of the speaker, or their surprise at something, or the fact that this particular thing deserves attention. However, use only one exclamation point. Using more than one exclamation point or question mark is a sure indicator of an amateur writer.

You should never use foreign words. Readers will not enjoy reading your book if it’s filled with foreign words they don’t understand. However, there are some foreign words that have been used so often they’ve almost become part of the English language. Such as - voila. Everyone knows this is a catch all word which substitutes for other phrases such as: Ta Da, here it is, now you see it, and so on.

Don't use profanity, slang or colloquialisms. It’s hard to avoid these things and still stay true to real life. Most of us use slang and colloquialisms in our everyday speech. You need to make your characters sound as realistic as possible if you want readers to believe they are real. Personally, I try to avoid profanity, because we get enough of that everyday as it is. However, there are times when you may have to use it to keep your story realistic. Just try to use it sparingly and not just for “shock” value.

Don't use sentence fragments. Well, you shouldn’t use sentence fragments in narrative, but there is nothing wrong with using them in dialogue. After all, most of us speak in broken sentences all the time, so using sentence fragments is fine when you’re trying to keep dialogue realistic.

Don't write about yourself. If you’ve had an interesting, or fun filled life and believe that other people would enjoy reading about it, then by all means, write about yourself. You may have done things in your life that will help other people in some way and they will be grateful that you took the time to write about it.

Don't write in dialect! Always use standard English. A bit of dialect here and there is alright, but you don’t want to confuse your reader. Whenever possible, try to use plain English and show that the character speaks with an accent by using particular descriptions, or actions.

Don't write in the first person. There is no reason why you shouldn’t write in first person, if it fits the story and is done properly. Using first person is a good way to draw the reader into the story and make them feel as if they are right alongside your character when everything happens. It makes it seems as though you are speaking directly to them.

Schedules Stick to a strict writing schedule and you should write a set amount of words or pages each day. Having a writing schedule and writing a certain number of words each day would be nice, if you could do it. However, there is always something that will throw you off schedule, and writing the same amount of words everyday is hard to do. You may decide you’re going to write every morning from 8 until noon, but what if you have an unexpected guest stop by, or you need to run to the store for milk for the coffee that keeps you awake so you can write? Also, you may decide you’re going to write 8,000 words everyday, but suppose all the coffee you drank kept you awake most of the night and you’re so tired you can barely see the keyboard, let alone form coherent sentences? Just write whenever you can and as much as you can.

Study Literature You should study the great works of literature. Well, it couldn’t hurt. Especially if you plan to try and write a literary work. You may even find it helpful if you only plan to stick to mainstream writing.

One piece at a time. You should work on only one piece of writing at a time. This is another maybe/maybe not. If you think you can handle working on more than one thing at a time, go for it. Sometimes you stall out when you’re working on a piece, but if you start working on something else, you are staying productive and it just might give you the kickstart you need to finish the original piece. I usually have several things on the go at the same time.

Write in order. You should write the various sections in the sequence they will be read. If you are a totally organized writer who can write an entire novel from beginning to end without backtracking or moving things around, then go for it. However, there is nothing wrong with working on chapters out of sequence, as long as you make sure they are in the proper order and make sense before you submit them for publication.

Ordinary? You’re just an ordinary person, so you have nothing interesting to say. Are you kidding? Just write about your own life. There are always things that happen to people that other people would love to read about.

Cut out all the adjectives. Why on earth would a writer want to avoid using a whole category of words? For non-fiction writing, you should limit the amount of adjectives you use, but there will be times when some adjectives are necessary. In fiction writing, adjectives can add to your descriptions, but again, don’t overdo it.

Avoid using the word “that” (The connecting word “I know that we shouldn’t go” not the demonstrative adjective “Hand me that bowl.”)

Why avoid using any very common word? They’re useful and fairly invisible, like ‘said’. Sometimes you can’t do without ‘that’, but sometimes it does slow down the pace.

For example “She said she would get the hat she wanted.” is much better than “She said that she would get the hat that she wanted.”

Tags Try to use dialogue tags other than “said” or “replied”. New writers often think they need to avoid “said”. One author had half a chapter where the characters bit out words, snarled, hissed, ground out, cautioned, sneered, breathed, snapped, growled, interjected, echoed, sighed, admonished, demanded, supplied, emphasised, stressed, and blurted. Rather than using so many different dialogue tags, the dialogue should have been rewritten to show how the character was speaking.