Some Tips On Writing From Poul Anderson

If you're looking to improve your writing, Poul Anderson wrote a terrific essay years ago that's still applicable today. On Thud and Blunder is written primarily with fantasy writers in mind, but writers from any genre often unfortunately show the "frequent lack of elementary knowledge or plain common sense" that Anderson deplores in this essay. Check out the very short story of Gnorts the Barbarian and find out from Anderson why the writing needs work. Writers can take heart from learning that they need not be an expert in a field to improve their material--they simply need to do some basic research and to implement some logic. Readers can simply sit back and enjoy.