No writer is perfect. Not even the wonderful Joyce Carol Oates, nor the splendid Dan Brown. There are only efficient writers. Efficient writers are those that avoid typical mistakes.
As a newbie, you are prone to making many mistakes and that’s forgivable because you’re new, but after learning what these mistakes are and how to avoid them, your forgiveness pill will expire.
So, shall we?
Mistake One: Inconsistency.
You hate this, I hate this and your readers hate this as well. Avoid making drastic shifts that are contradictory, or rambling.
Stay consistent with your theme, be consistent with your tenses and be consistent with your voice.
Serve the same dish from the beginning to the end.
Mistake Two: Less logic and bucketfuls of emotions.
As much as you want to create emotions your readers can identify with, be careful of letting them run uncontrolled through your book.
There should be a connection between the emotions and the message being conveyed.
Mistake Three: Unoriginality.
Your writing should be fresh and original going so if your just going to repeat the same story as someone else, just quit. You might say there’s no ‘original’ idea out there but you’re a creative, aren’t you?
Find a new way to tell an old story. Find a new method to pass the same old message.
That’s the creativity, for your uniqueness to show.
Mistake Four: Refusing to consult an expert.
Many mistakes can be avoided by consulting an expert in the field. Not only would they offer fresh perspectives, they would also let you in on their secrets of effective writing and mentor you.
If you have the opportunity to learn from an expert, grab it with both hands. You can also deliberately seek them out. You have a lot to glean from them.
Mistake Five: Using any kind of grammar.
Your ‘creative writer’ title should not make you use any kind of grammar you like.
Be conscious of your grammar. Make sure they are correct, and flow. Proofread your work aggressively.
Don’t lose readers over a little grammar error. It is not worth it.
Mistake Six: Using big, difficult-to-understand words.
Unless you’re Shakespeare, you would want to avoid those big, difficult words.
These days, readers just want to enjoy your writing without poring over the dictionary every two minutes.
Mistake Seven: Copying other writers’ voices.
Don’t try to copy another writer’s voice. When you do that, the credit might go to that writer as the readers might think he/she used a pen name and you could jeopardize your upcoming career as you’ll be identified as a fraud.
Find your own voice, develop and use it.
Mistake Eight: Telling.
The slogan of every writer is ‘show and not tell’. It has become an anthem and rightly so.
Avoid the use of adjectives and adverbs that only end up describing things and persons.
They tell rather than show your readers the actions of your characters. Use strong verbs instead.
For example:
Instead of this, he ate his food quickly, Say, he gulped down his food.
See the difference?