Tip #81: That niggling feeling...

Writing a letter to yourself is especially helpful if you're beginning to have anxieties about the story... If you can actually write down what bothers you about your heroine, or your plot, or whatever, the answer to the problem often suggests itself.

http://www.darkwaves.com/sfch/writing/ckilian/

Tip #80: Description in horror

what we’re trying to do in modern horror, is not describe the creatures or the events, but the emotional events that follow those, whether it’s their immediate insanity or fleeing in terror.  The best writers, I think, are the ones who can best match the reactions of their characters to the reactions of their readers.

http://storytellingdream-thief.blogspot.com/2010/09/worldcon-2010-unthinkable-indescribable.html

Tip #79: Driven protagonists

Readers... want a clear understanding of what makes your protagonist tick. What drives her? What motivates her? If her motivations change, there needs to be a clear reason why.

http://jscottsavage.blogspot.com/2011/01/your-protagonist-compass.html

Tip #78: List & Twist

All you do is list up all the things you normally associate with {your starting ideas/genre, etc}... and then you start saying "Well, how could I twist it?... What could be different? What could be something that's not there?... Something that's {the} opposite or just doesn't fit.

http://johndbrown.com/2011/02/how-to-get-and-develop-killer-story-ideas-recording/

Tip #77: Tension

Tension comes from uncertainty.

http://samsykes.com/2010/10/how-to-be-a-boring-wizard/

Tip #76: Extraordinary characters

If you want to write extraordinary women or men, don’t think about them, go out and talk to them.

http://www.blakecharlton.com/2011/02/character/
(You can meet a couple of them in his post)

Tip #75: Thinking

Don’t think and then write it down. Think on paper.

Harry Kemelman
http://writerunboxed.com/2011/02/18/favorite-advice/ (Comment by Therese Walsh)

Tip #74: On the dangers of worldbuilding

Once upon a time, I was really diligent about my worldbuilding. I painstakingly wrote everything out. I catalogued every character’s height, weight, age, looks, religion, interest, blah, blah, blah. I had whole file folders full of crap. But all that happened was that instead of writing, I’d spend years creating character cards and fake botany notebooks. I suppose that was great for Tolkien, but I’ve always wanted to write more than a couple books, and create more than one world.

http://www.rantingdragon.com/interview-with-gods-war-author-kameron-hurley/

She goes on to say that she now writes a setting-light first draft and layers the worldbuilding in during revision.

Tip #73: Even with the best advice in the world...

It’s all about finding your own thing and what works for you.

http://samsykes.com/2010/12/building-societies-taking-names/

Tip #72: Characters memorable through setting

the more depth you give your world, the more unique the character becomes to that world... That’s something I think is key to building memorable characters.

http://www.rantingdragon.com/interview-with-gods-war-author-kameron-hurley/

Tip #71: Write what you know +

Mark Twain said, “Write what you know.”... You can also write about what you want to know.

http://www.genreality.net/the-one-sentence-idea

Tip #70: Character wants

At it’s core, {The Princess Bride is} about nothing more than a man and a woman who fall in love and want to be together.

http://magicalwords.net/edmund-r.-schubert/the-importance-of-wanting-in-fiction/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+MagicalWords+Magical+Words

What do your characters want?

Tip #69: Men actually like romance...

Men actually like romance...To be specific, men like the dynamic.  Men like seeing how it matures and how it evolves and how they eventually get together...  It’s a story, same as seeing how the hero overcomes the forces of evil.

http://samsykes.com/2011/01/sam-sykes-touches-men-and-women/
{Paraphrased:} and a story where one or both of the characters are passive isn't terribly interesting.

Tip #68: Filling the middle

1.       Who is trying to hinder/stop your protagonist(s)?  Do any of them team up/hire help? 
2.       Who is trying to help your protagonist(s)?  How?  Why?  How can it backfire?
3.       Are there any items/skills/strengths (emotional or physical) that they need to gain (or things they need to do/see/learn/events to set in motion) in order to complete their quest?
4.       Any “natural” obstacles? (setting-related problems, although these can be aggravated by things/people related to the plot)
5.       Any “higher powers” testing them? (Gods, politicians, bankers, mad magicians?)

H. R. Filmore's Reminders to Self, June 2009.

Tip #67: Fear

I’m convinced fear is at the root of most bad writing.

Stephen King

Tip #66: Character-driven story

Most of my stories start with an idea, which usually consists of a person in a situation:  a woman who’s the daughter of superheroes, a werewolf who’s a talk radio host.  The process of writing the story is figuring out how that person got into that situation, and what comes out of it.  The situation... defin{es} the character... What had to happen, what did that person have to do and be like to be in that position?  And how does that situation change that character?  Where is she likely to go next, based on the decisions she’s making in response to that situation?  It’s like an oil painting — you keep adding colors and layers until the picture shines through.

http://www.genreality.net/trying-to-explain-characterization

Tip #65: Remember...

creativity needs stamina and energy

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00d5vqc (Interview with Ursula LeGuin)

Tip #64: Pacing

it’s a question of how much do you reveal about each character and the world and in what order?

http://samsykes.com/2011/02/unsounded-characters-pacing-and-building-with-ashley-cope/

Tip #63: Ending the day with a beginning

Before I go to bed at night I try to jot down in my notebook at least one sentence to start the next day. I guess I’m hoping it’ll poke my subconscious into thinking up something good while I sleep.

http://writersofthewest.blogspot.com/2011/01/visit-with-carol-crigger.html

Tip #62: Crucial lines

Often I will reluctantly cut a line I think crucial only to discover on rereading the revised version works better without it.

@KateElliottSFF

Tip# 61: In a world built of words...

Dialogue is the number one thing that marks a character out... Not description or action or physical quirks. Dialogue.

http://screenwritingtips.tumblr.com/ Tip #526

Which is one of the reasons why first person novels so often have such strong protagonists; the author has invested significant time in finding/perfecting the character's voice.

Tip #60: Character flaws

It’s not the flaw itself that makes the hero interesting, it’s how he deals {and has dealt} with the flaw, how he overcomes (or fails to overcome) the flaw that gives him depth and thus makes us appreciate him more.

http://samsykes.com/2010/12/lament-for-a-meathead/

Tip #59: Realism

"Realism" is often not very realistic. The grimmest of realities often kick up moments of acute wonder and beauty. Any one-note depiction is not realistic and it's bad art.

http://thesilverkey.blogspot.com/2011/02/realism-does-not-equal-adult-followup.html
"Annonymous" comment by Jim Cornelius.

Tip #58: Teachers & critiquers

a good teacher... does not say, 'Imitate me' but, 'This is what I think you are trying to say'.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/11/lost-art-editing-books-publishing
(Comment by Blake Morrison quoting Frank O'Connor)

Tip #57: Something to bear in mind...

The Chosen One (in its most common iteration) removes a crucial part of a conflict: the hero.  If he’s been Chosen by Whatever, he can safely assume that he is right and everyone else is wrong, that he does deserve to rule and get the girl and exterminate the orcs and whatever.

http://samsykes.com/2011/01/the-chosen-jerk-jam-session-with-n-k-jemisin/

Sykes adds that something often lost is "the conflict of {the protagonist's} own morality", something which has some interesting possibilities in tense situations.

Tip #56: The Beginning

The hero is going about their business when suddenly, something happens and they have a problem. This is the inciting event that causes the rest of the story to happen.

http://storyflip.blogspot.com/2009/04/plot-thickens.html

In some cases the problem may already be present, but something happens which forces the protagonist to face it and then deal with it (inciting incident).

Tip #55: Knowledge is power

Keep careful track of what your characters know and don’t know. There’s huge dramatic mileage in having your characters obfuscate, tell little lies and keep information from each other.

http://screenwritingtips.tumblr.com/ Tip #520

Tip #54: The magic of revisions

That’s the magic of revisions – every cut is necessary, and every cut hurts, but something new always grows.

http://johndbrown.com/2011/02/interview-with-author-kelly-barnhill/

Tip #53: Lackluster endings

Low points, defeats and the dark point can be used to develop a surprising or twist climax by threatening and taking away (one by one) the things that the protagonist (their mentor/allies, their antagonist, and the reader) think of as "essential" to victory.  Each permanent loss raises the stakes for every scene - not just the final showdown - and makes the climax and result harder to guess.  The Dark Point comes when the protagonist thinks they have lost everything and haven't a chance in hell. Then give them a glimpse of hope; a glimpse of insight into the strengths they have been forced to develop as a consequence of the losses, or have alway had and never taken seriously/thought about; into the antagonist's weakness... and let them off the leash.

H.R.Filmore's Reminders To Self, February 2011

Tip #52: Timelessness

timelessness comes from the themes and characters and experiences more than from references or other small details. Regardless of dated elements, we still read the classics because they’re good stories and great voices…those will always be the key to staying relevant.

http://kidlit.com/2010/11/19/references-and-dating-your-manuscript/