: Ban clichés. Reach for new, invented descriptions that capture a scene’s unique mood, such as the "morning rush feeling" when mail drops through a slot.
: Avoid stating an emotion directly. Instead, let a character's motives and inner thoughts bleed through their actions and physical traits. How Can I
: Deepen characters by giving them conflicting traits, such as one physical and one psychological, to make them more distinct and memorable. Practical Writing Steps : Ban clichés
To write something "deep," you must move beyond obvious truths (like "war is bad") and instead explore complex ideas or personal contradictions that others might disagree with. Deep writing often uses small, specific topics to symbolize larger universal meanings—such as a captain ignoring his crew to represent a leader’s hubris. Core Strategies for Depth Instead, let a character's motives and inner thoughts
How can I write something *deep* without seeming pretentious?
: True depth often comes from being willing to confront "inner demons" or difficult personal experiences rather than following clichés.