How to Avoid Beginner Writing Mistakes

By Valerie Brooks

Rate: (12 Ratings)

Spotting amateur writing is a cinch if you know what to look for. Avoiding the common beginning writer pitfalls will help your words shine so you can produce effective publishable material.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Step1
Avoid clichés at all costs. This is the most common mistake beginner writers make. An example would be, “He was cool as a cucumber.”
Step2
Use specifics instead of generalities. In other words, say “turkey on rye” instead of “lunch.” This will give more life to your writing and make it less bland.
Step3
Avoid empty words, such as “quite,” “very” and “simply.” It sounds better to say “The play was fascinating” than “the play was quite fascinating.”
Step4
Avoid useless phrases that don’t add any substance to your writing. For example, rather than say “As it stands now, people are frustrated with our health care system,” just say “People are frustrated with our health care system.”
Step5
Be concise and keep your writing tight. Your writing will be more powerful if you learn to edit out excess words. For example, “She arrived at the vet’s office and then went inside to pick up her dog,” can become, “She picked up her dog at the vet.”
Step6
To add punch to your writing, use short declarative sentences rather than allow your writing to become long-winded. For example, instead of “The man who had changed my life in an instant disappeared, never to be seen again,” try, “The man who had changed my life in an instant, disappeared.” And in a separate one-sentence paragraph, say, “I never saw him again.”
Step7
Beginning writers must grasp the concept of “show, don’t tell.” This means you must trust your readers to know what you mean without spelling things out for them. So, rather than tell the reader that “Joe was excited,” show them by having Joe do something that would convey his excitement. Reading is about providing images and allowing readers to use their imaginations.
Step8
Use an active voice more often than a passive voice. For example, rather than “He was enchanted by her,” say “She enchanted him.” This gives a more powerful effect.

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eHow Article:  How to Avoid Beginner Writing Mistakes

eHow Member: Valerie Brooks

Valerie Brooks

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Category: Careers & Work

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