Some of the biggest and most common mistakes writers make
by Jenna Moreci
1. Telling: Telling is a lot easier to do than showing, but 90% of the time, showing is the superior option.
2. So Fluffy: If a scene doesn't drive the plot forward in any way, delete it.
3. Commas: I get it. Punctuation is hard, but it also literally pieces phrases together, so maybe figure it out.
4. No One Does This Crap: lack of realism — Go through your story and ask yourself, would this character realistically do or say these things in this moment? Would anyone do or say these things in this moment? If the answer is no, fix it!
5. Adverbs: 75% of the time, the adverb isn't necessary and for the other 25%, keep it. Let it do its thing.
6. Filter Words: words that filter the reader's experience through the main character's experience (examples: see, hear, think, realize, feel, etc.) Fortunately, filter words are super easy to eliminate. For example, say you wrote the sentence, "I felt grass crunch beneath my feet." Instead, you can simply write it as, "Grass crunched beneath my feet."
7. Calm Down: the try-hard hook — 9 times out of 10, the cheesiest try-hard hooks will involve some kind of metaphor. Here's a pro tip: if your first sentence begins something like "the [protagonist or setting] was as ___ as a ___," maybe rethink your approach.
8. Boring Beginning: absolutely no hook — You don't need to punch your reader in the face with the first sentence, but at the very least, your first page should be interesting and engaging.
9. Boring Middle: sagging middle syndrome
10. Purple Prose: We all want our prose to be beautiful, but if your reader was here for poetry, they wouldn't have picked up a novel.
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writing 4 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜: WRITING ADVICE TO MAKE YOU A BETTER WRITER
Non-FictionWriting is hard. Being a writer is even harder. But with "Writing 4 Writers," you CAN become a better writer. Every time I sit down to write, I reference this collection of writing advice from a variety of blogs, writers, and YouTubers: Jenna Moreci...
