Most Common Writing Errors ✔️

Clunky Dialogue + Realism

"I love burgers because they taste great."

Redundancy is the enemy of writers. You don't need to repeat things. For example, I see many people say something like this:

"I got in the car and drove it away."

You don't need the "it." It flows much smoother if you say something like: "I got in the car and drove away." See how much better it sounds? It's less redundant.

There are also filler words you should consider cutting out of your story. The word "that" is a common filler word. Most authors don't realize this, but most of the "that's" they use can be cut from their writing.

For example:

"She grabbed the notebook that was in her locker."

You can rearrange it to say this:

"She grabbed the notebook in her locker."

If you read it out loud, you'll notice the version without "that" flows smoother.

Of course, sometimes "that" is needed, but try reading sentences out loud with and without "that" to see what sounds better.

I cut three uses of "that" out of this chapter alone.

Some more examples of filler words are: just, still, totally

Long story short: try not to repeat yourself.

Listen, I'm an over explainer and this book is proof of that. The realism section of this chapter is proof of that. I understand feeling the need to over explain or include things that may be redundant. I do that in my daily life, but there's a difference between doing it in a writing guide/with friends and doing it in creative writing. I strongly recommend being selective with what sentences and words you use in your stories.

2) Greetings & Goodbyes

If you've watched literally any movie ever, you'll notice that, in most cases, the characters don't waste time saying hi or bye to each other.

Yes, it is realistic for us to say hi and bye to our friends, teachers, co-workers, bosses, etc., but that doesn't mean you have to do it in the realm of fiction.

I'll talk more about realism in the third section.

If you can cut greetings and goodbyes out of your text, you're likely better off. It's not a hard set rule that you should never include hi's or bye's in your writing, but you should avoid them since they can slow the pacing and waste the audience's time.

I know it doesn't sound like a big deal to include an extra word or two, but why include them if they aren't going to add anything to the story? You're not writing a biography, you're writing a fictional narrative.

Again, I know it doesn't sound like an issue, but if it's not doing anything, why include it in the first place? You control every word you put on the page, why waste them if they aren't contributing to the story?

I hope you enjoyed this short section because the next one is long 💀

3) Realism

Okay, I know this might be a "hot take," but it's true.

A story isn't good just because it's realistic. 

So this tip is both for dialogue and worldbuilding. It's a two-in-one, if you will. Let me explain.

Just because a story realistically captures certain aspects of life does not mean it is automatically good. Fiction is fiction for a reason: it's a narrative. I'm not reading a book expecting to see the most accurate description of eating a bagel I've ever read. I don't care. I'm reading a story. If I wanted to see something 100% realistic to real life, I'd watch a documentary or read an autobiography.