One of your chief jobs as a writer is to come up with story events—stuff that happens in your story. Coming up with these exciting elements is likely why you started writing in the first place. Like C.S. Lewis, you were zapped with the electrifying image of a faun carrying packages and an umbrella through the snow—and […]
September 5, 2016 by 63 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 53: No Contractions in Dialogue
What’s the worst writing mistake an author can make? It’s a broad one: doing something you think makes you look sophisticated and clever, when really… it doesn’t. A common manifestation of this is a conscientious avoidance of contractions in dialogue and narrative. I’ll admit I fell prey to this as a young writer (who not […]
July 4, 2016 by 46 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 52: Stagnant Story Conflict
What’s so hard about story conflict? You throw your protagonist and your antagonist onto the page–insta-conflict! Right? Actually, not so fast. Turns out creating a fascinating story world in which dwells a fascinating hero and an evil villain is not enough, in itself, to create integral and interesting story conflict. I’ve read quite a few unfortunate […]
June 13, 2016 by 52 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 51: One-Dimensional Characters
The most magical moment in writing is when you sit down with a new batch of characters, turn them loose on the page, and… they come to life. They spring up from that flat, white expanse of page, and they’re real. They’re dimensional. They’re organic. They’re compelling and interesting and wonderful. Except, of course, for when […]
April 3, 2016 by 152 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 50: Info Dumps
On its most fundamental level, a novel is nothing more or less than the dissemination of information. As such, the writer who understands exactly how and where to share information is a writer who understands the most fundamental skill of storytelling. That’s why info dumps are such a big, bad deal. They’re peanut butter in […]
March 7, 2016 by 64 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 49: Weak Conjunctions
Consider the conjunction. It’s one of the building blocks of solid prose. It links idea to idea, creates clarity, and offers emphasis in a solid punch at the center of your sentences. If it can do all that when properly handled, then you definitely want to make sure you’re not watering down your writing with unnecessarily weak […]
February 1, 2016 by 69 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 48: No Conflict Between Characters
I slapped the FedEx guy this morning. Okay, not really. My FedEx guy is totally cool. And he brings me cool stuff. I’d never slap him. But that got your attention, didn’t it? Way more so than if I ‘d said, “I thanked the FedEx guy this morning.” The difference between the two accounts, of […]
December 7, 2015 by 53 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 46: Anticlimactic Endings
Here’s how to write books readers will love–and yet still end up hating you for. It’s easy. All you have to do is divebomb out of your brilliance and into anticlimactic endings. On some level, anticlimactic endings are pretty self-explanatory. They’re endings with no bang in the end. They’re endings that evoke a yawn from readers instead […]
November 2, 2015 by 65 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 45: Avoiding “Said”
What’s this, you say? Avoiding “said” is one of the most common writing mistakes? How can that be? Surely writers overuse this ubiquitous little word more often than not, don’t they? As a matter of fact: nope. Indeed, trying to avoid this hard-working little speaker-attribution tag can, in most instances, lead you into some major prose problems. If you […]
September 7, 2015 by 104 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 44: Too Many Participle Phrases
Rushing to her computer, Katie tries not to spill her coffee. She is late to write a very important forty-fourth installment in the “Most Common Writing Mistakes” series. She looks for her coaster, rooting through her desk drawers. Finally, relieved by the protection of the precious particle board of her desktop from permanent circular stains, she plops down in […]
