Five grammar and syntax tips

Hey all! Thought I'd share some writing tips to help make your pieces stronger. These tend to apply more to narratives, but there's some good information in here for other writing too.

Please note that original sources may be impossible to find, so for sourced tips, I reference who I heard it from.

1: Remember TIP TOP when you think you should start a new paragraph- make a new one if you changed
Time
Place
Topic
Person
(Tumblr user sp00kyjames)

2: Don't use epithets unless the audience/character doesn't know the person's name.
(Suggested by Tumblr user martainducreff)

3: It's hard to overuse words like he/she, the, and I. We read them so often they disappear, and don't pull readers out of the story.

4: Unless you are trying to make a point, don't start all your sentences the same way. Don't start all your paragraphs the same way. Don't start all your pieces the same way. It gets boring fast.

5: Double check your use of homophones. Nothing makes a piece seem immature or pulls a reader out of a story quite like mixing up "there" and "their".