These are the mistakes that cause a lot of problems in a novel.
Info dumping: too much info or backstory
It is better to spread the info out throughout the book via character interaction or action.
Describing everything
Books are not a play-by-play of real life. Describing every little event in the character's life is boring and slows down the plot.
Not enough conflict
The story should be driven by repeated conflict-resolution. Conflict is a continuing racketing of tension as the story continues.
Nothing bad happens to the main character or main character is perfect and has no flaws
This will put an artificial limit on how much conflict and/or bad events drive the story forward. It's not relatable. It's just plain boring.
Too many points of view
Stories don't NEED extra POV. It drains the tension. Keep it simple!
It is also very difficult to execute well. (If you can do it well, great! I love reading books with multiple POVs. But if you can't, and you know it, just don't. Please. I'm begging you. For the sake of all your readers' sanity.)
White room syndrome: a variant on "show not tell" (when characters are in a scene but no description or detail has been provided)
The book ends up feeling generic.
Really messy dialogue tags
Every dialogue should have a "he said" or "[name] said."
Keep in mind that it is not detracting from your story to just use "said." Use any additional description very sparingly and only when absolutely needed.
YOU ARE READING
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...
