May 18, 2020
What are your top five writing mistakes? Either mistakes you make or mistakes that make you cringe when you see them in print?
Eight books in, and I’ve learned a lot. I’m not perfect by a long shot, but I know what to watch for. That doesn’t mean I don’t slip and have to go back and correct myself, but at least I make the same mistakes less often. Here’s my top five.
- Overusing “was.” The dog was. John was. The reason for my anxiety was. You get the drift. The word is unavoidable, but using it too much isn’t. I’m better, but still have to watch my words. And figure out how to find better words to use when I am editing.
- Same thing with ‘sigh.’ I won’t bore you with examples. I challenged myself to write the current book without a single use of sigh. (The
Samurai’s Inro, coming June 1st.) I need to go back and check, but I think I won the challenge. - Commas. I think the rules about commas were created to make us crazy. Heck, even the on-line grammar checkers can’t agree on commas. And I’m not talking about different grammar checkers giving different results. I’m talking about the same grammar checker giving different results at different times. Before you ask – Oxford commas are a yes in my book.
- I’m a pantser. That means I don’t have everything all plotted out before I write a story. That also means I occasionally lose track of story time. It is Thursday or Friday? I have to go back to a known day and start counting. No one has ever called me out on messing up a day, so I think I get them right in the end.
- This one is not me, but I cringe every time I see it in an on-line forum. In fact, I see it so often I’ve begun to doubt myself. People who are using barley instead of barely. Is autocorrect doing that? Or is it a matter of bad typing and not paying attention? I never noticed it until the last year or two. One is a grain, and the other is an adverb. How do you mix them up?
That’s my five. It won’t surprise me if there’s a lot of overlap with other authors on this loop. You can check it out by following the links below.
Until later, stay safe out there.
May 18, 2020
What are your top five writing mistakes? Either mistakes you make or mistakes that make you cringe when you see them in print?
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Fellow pantser reporting in! I barley (heh) think about this, but I think the biggest writing mistake is not writing. If you’re talking specifically for things in print, it has to be strong dialogue tags.
“Damn it,” she cursed vehemently.
Other than that, I’m pretty chill, I think.
Thanks for sharing yours!
I agree. I’m driven to write. Not writing makes me crazy. And I had to laugh about ““Damn it,” she cursed vehemently.” Damn it is pretty darn mild in my vocabulary of curses!
Another pantser here, and one who also uses Oxford commas. I’m amazed at how many people cannot differentiate between your and you’re.
And don’t forget their, they’re and there!
Oh yes.
Too many adjectives and adverbs. If I read several paragraphs with lines like “the brilliant azure sky reflected the deep still pond, as Joan mourned silently, ” the author has got a page or two left to redeem themselves before I put the book down.
And it depends upon what kind of story it is. If it’s an action/thriller, a line like that just drops the pace.
I’m with you on commas and having nine day weeks. I mostly write first and leave my editor to pick up the pieces.
In my mystery series, I have to be careful about days, because Harmony, my main character, is a routine-oriented person. (But I love throwing her off her ‘normal’ schedule!)
I’ve made my point on commas. I use them for timing because, as you say, the grammar Nazi’s can’t agree nor do their various bibles. (Chicago, AP, Norton, Oxford ad nauseum.)
Autocorrect. What a night mare. Turn it off. If the word is close AC can turn it into anything. Barley! And without the red squiggle you might miss it. That’s why I use Grammarly or Pro Writing Aid to force me into a line item edit. I don;t have to agree with them but they will force me into reading every effing sentence.
I use both Prowritingaid and Grammarly at different stages of editing. They often disagree in the use of commas. You’re right, timing is an art they both can’t capture.
I also have words I mistype every single time, one is from instead of form. I try not to use was and write in the active tense and I have learned not to use very everywhere. There are really just bad habits.
not me, but another writer I beta read for will type ‘clam’ instead of ‘calm’