20 Common Writing Mistakes That Brand You as a Novice
The good news is they’re ALL fixable
Image credit: Raphael Jeanneret on Pixabay
Many readers can recognize good writing from bad, or even great writing from good. I dare say even the average person is able to notice the improvement in J.K. Rowling’s writing quality over the ten-year period from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to the final Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
For agents and publishers who see hundreds upon hundreds of manuscript submissions, it becomes so easy to spot the most common mistakes that unless your book is exceptional, it’s enough to make them stop reading before they’ve really gotten started.
As I put together a list of writing mistakes—habits, quirks, tics, or whatever you want to call them—that I’ve seen while editing, I realized they fall into categories that generally happen pre-writing, during the writing itself, and after the story has been put to paper.
Foundational mistakes
Writing in the current “hot” genre when you don’t like it or read it—readers will always spot those who are out to make a quick buck by writing what’s popular. You don’t have to pin yourself to only one genre, but bandwagon jumpers stick out like a sore thumb.
Not being familiar enough with your chosen genre—granted, there are writers who don’t read in their own genre while they’re in the writing phase so they don’t accidentally steal ideas. But there are those who don't want to taint their mind by reading in that genre at all, and that’s just plain wrong. If you don’t know your tropes, then you don’t know what’s already been overdone, and what you think is original genius stuff can turn out to be exactly what everyone is already sick of reading. You also don’t know what that genre’s readers expect, and you might not deliver. Dropping the F-bomb into a bodice-ripper doesn’t make it a “contemporary” romance by that genre’s definition, for example.
A weak opening chapter—certain first lines are killer, and we’ll never forget them after we see them even once. But even if your first line is good but not incredible, the opening of your book should grab the reader and drag them along for the ride. Many readers won’t keep going on a slow burner unless you’re already an established writer, and they know what to expect from you. And don’t trick your readers by having your character wake up from a dream at the end of chapter one, after they’ve already invested themselves in what they thought was the storyline. Break that trust, and you lose your reader.
Too much backstory—this goes along with a weak opening chapter. Sometimes, the backstory comes in the form of an info dump in a prologue, and that habit has contributed to the current trend of agents and publishers advising against prologues. A good guideline for backstory is to only reveal what’s needed to further the story or explain character development, and never all in one spot.
Predictability/weak plot—there’s a difference between foreshadowing (to sprinkle clues here and there) and being predictable. The former will keep your reader engaged to see if they can figure out the clues and feel smart, and the latter will bore your reader because there are no surprises to be had. Why bother reading more? If you have a weak plot, things only happen because the plot needs them to keep going, not because they make sense for the situation or characters.
Lack of world-building—if you’re creating a world, especially in sci fi or fantasy, the world still needs to make sense. Is there commerce? Physical money? How do people survive? What do they eat? Are there different classes of people groups? DIfferent races? Religion? How do they communicate? What’s the technology?
Lack of research—this is the other end of the scale if you’re not building your own world, but rather setting your story in our own. Think of the uproar from the BDSM community regarding lack of authentic representation when Fifty Shades of Grey was published. Think of action novels and the scathing reviews they get from weapons masters who are quick to point out that a metal throwing star won’t slice off someone’s head, or that a particular gun wasn’t invented until decades after a book’s hero supposedly used it. Do your research.
No real conflict, or unbelievable/unrelatable conflict—if your reader can’t relate in any way to what’s going on in your book, you’ve lost them. If you’ve written no actual conflict, you’ve bored them. If the conflict is unbelievable (the kind where your reader shouts, “WHO EVEN DOES THAT?” at your book), they’ll hate the characters.
Unrealistic characters—the best characters aren’t completely evil or completely good. Just like real people, your characters need to have balance. The villain can’t get away with everything all the time. And they have to show some common sense: have you ever thought that a character is simply too dumb to live? No one is rooting for that one.
Forcing your own agenda under the guise of a particular genre—if you’ve never been tricked in this way, I salute you. Even worse than bad writing is a book that pushes its own politics, religion, or cultural beliefs while promoting itself as something else. Science fiction writers can fall into this habit on occasion, writing about how the original Earth was destroyed by [corporate greed/meat eaters/vegans/one political party/dental hygienists/dog lovers vs. cat people/homeschoolers/coffee drinkers/beekeepers] and how we’ve “evolved” from that horrific time in our history. Nobody likes to be tricked into reading thinly veiled propaganda. You’re welcome to show your worldview in your writing; just don’t deceive people by telling them you’re writing something else.
Technical mistakes
Bad punctuation—comma splices, too many exclamation marks, “scare” quotes, not knowing how to punctuate dialogue . . . all of these show that you’ve not done your homework.
Bad dialogue and tags—dialogue should sound as natural as people normally speak, and if it’s too formal, your reader won’t get the feel of real people talking together. If dialogue is filled with irrelevant small talk, then you’re just wasting words and slowing the pace. Novice writers also have a tendency to use a variety of dialogue tags (how many people truly bellow or howl on a regular basis?) where it’s actually better to use a simple “said” or “asked” . . . or no tag at all.
Weak verbs—yes, your character is walking, but are they really striding? Or strolling? Or meandering? Or something completely different? If you have the opportunity to strengthen your action with a more specific word, do it.
Clichés—use of these phrases (“hit me like a brick”), characters (perky blonde/sexy redhead who’s clumsy but beautiful and somehow unaware of her looks), or the mimicking of whatever worked for Author So-and-So (all romance doesn’t happen on a moonlit night in a clearing). Not only does this brand you as a novice, but it also labels you as a lazy writer who doesn’t try to come up with anything original.
Not writing for today’s audience—there are classics that, if we’re to be honest, don’t hold a lot of interest for readers of today. Styles and trends change, and what people enjoyed 100 years ago may not appeal to a teen or adult in today’s market. Think of how poorly some things age, like sitcoms of thirty years ago that are now cringeworthy upon rewatching, or commercials from the 1950s that were pretty great in their day but are now seen as long, plodding, and uninteresting.
Bad pacing (or lack of it)—it’s dull to read page after page where nothing’s really happening, but that doesn’t mean readers want nonstop action, either. It’s exhausting to keep the energy too high for too long, which can happen when fight scenes just keep going and going, or when every repeated event is described fully (describing every move of every dance competition in a novel about a dancer). Readers need to ramp up, and then they need to rest before the next big action scene or high tension comes up.
After-it’s-finished mistakes
Overly high word count—most fiction follows trends in word count per genre. There are always outliers, but if it’s your first book and you’ve written a contemporary romance that’s 150,000 words, your intended audience may not even give you a second glance. Overwriters abound in the first-timer writing crowd, so here’s your reminder that it’s not a college term paper and you don’t need all the adjectives you can gather. If you can be succinct, do it.
Lack of editing—self-editing in the form of revisions is a must-do for any manuscript. Your first draft is never your finished product, and after you’ve self-edited to the best of your ability, your work needs at least one other pair of eyes on it, even if it’s not a professional editor. Editing will reveal inconsistencies in names & spelling, plot holes, bad grammar, your love of the word “very,” or even the fact that all the names in your book start with “S” and you never noticed it.
Arguing with feedback—if you hire a professional to evaluate your work, to beta your story, or to copyedit your revised manuscript, you have every right to ask questions. If something is confusing, or if you don’t feel their suggested change makes sense to your story in some way, speak up. However, arguing about the feedback you receive is never a good idea. Telling the professional that they “just don’t get” your work, that they don’t know what they’re talking about, that other people have told you everything is just perfect, or whatever your defensive reaction comes up with—trust me, these people have seen a lot. They often confer with other professionals when they’re unsure about something, and when you accuse them of not recognizing your genius, you’re branded as someone who’s hard to work with and not open to growth as a writer. Don’t be a doormat, but don’t be “that” guy, either.
Not following submission guidelines per publisher—each agent or publisher provides specific rules that need to be followed when an author submits a manuscript. Not many people will send their first ten pages in Jokerman font using green ink, but you’d be surprised how often new writers don’t look at the guidelines all that carefully. If Publisher Bob wants twenty pages in Times New Roman 12 point, and Publisher Jen wants only ten pages, then don’t send twenty pages to each of them, figuring more is better, and of course Publisher Jen will want to continue reading once your writing hooks them. Agents and publishers the world over are quick to say they toss—without reading—anything that doesn’t follow their guidelines, because they don’t have time to deal with people who won’t follow simple directions.
If you’ve recognized yourself in any of this list, the good news is that it’s never too late to start fresh. Keep this list handy, or write yourself a sticky note with the top three habits you want to change, and then go for it! You’ll be glad you did.
