Writing mistakes that editors will call you out for!
Disclaimer: this is a harsh and mean informative post on mistakes that make your writing amateurish or fanfiction-like. In the professional world, editors will call you out on them in a much harsher way that here.. but hey, they’re easy to fix! Of course, the quality of writing is often a matter of individual taste and experience, though there is a theory to it and ways to make your work clear and interesting to your readers.
And yes, as cruel as it sounds to admit—most fanfiction writers are amateurs who will not help you improve your own writing. You might have to close your Good Omens AO3 fanfic for a few hours to read the actual work by Neil Gaiman. That said, fanfiction is an amazing gateway to becoming a pro author because it gives you insight on what the audience likes, and the practice you need to improve! There are many fanfiction writers who’ve taken the time to learn from professionals about their craft, and are in a place where they could become successful published authors themselves.
That aside, here are 7 writing mistakes that hinder your writing!
This is BY FAR the most common mistake that amateur writers do, and particularly prelevant in fanfiction. Alternative dialogue tags (whisper, shout, murmured) should be used VERY sparingly. “said”, “replied”, and “asked” should build up the majority of the tags you use.
Oftentimes, the reader will understand the tone based on what the character says or by their actions.
Pick a tense and stick to it. Many times, amateurs waver between past and present which leads to awkward reading. Choose which tense you prefer and stick to it. An extra caution should be taken when using past tense, however, to correctly use past preterite (I ate) vs past perfect (I had eaten). While both can be used, they are different so make sure you understand when to use which.
It’s time to cut the small talk. While chitchat and banter may be fun to read, particularly in fanfiction, editors will ask that you remove it if it doesn’t advance the plot. What you want to do is cut down on the filler in your story, and if that means your characters NOT having an argument about macaroni cheese, then so be it. Save dialogue for important and meaningful conversation only—your readers will prefer it, I promise.
4 – Pointless description
Hand in hand with the previous point, description should be kept consise and relevant. We don’t need to know what your character is wearing or the details of their “black, leather, zebra-print sofa under the wide windowsill in the master bedroom”. Keep the descriptions short, fed into the plot little-by-little and relevant to what is happening. Your readers are smart—they can imagine the rest for themselves! That’s what makes reading fun!
5 – Use the character’s name
The blue-eyed boy has a name for the great purpose of you using it! Literal writing, nine times out of ten, is better! Green orbs are distracting, but green eyes are to the point and clear. It’s the same with names! The name, title, role (butler, governess etc), or pronouns should always be the default. Any other term should be used sparingly when there is no other alternative.
6 – Abandon the pet names
Yes, pet names are cute and fun, but not when they’re in every sentence of conversation. Things like “babe”, “baby”, “sugarpuff sunshine fairy” should be used SPARINGLY. I can assure you, the love interests saying it once or twice in the novel will have a far greater impact on the reader than if they say it every time they call their partner. An overuse of pet names becomes distracting and make the character seem both immature and a caricature. It also has a similar effet to repeating the other person’s name during a conversation—it leads to unnatural dialogue as we only really say the other person’s name to them in order to get their attention.
This is a biiiiig one in fanfiction. You may see characters who are adults in their mid to late twenties but who still behave like teenagers. Granted, if you are a teenage writer, this can’t always be corrected, though it does become apparent to any reader over the age of eighteen.
Truth be told, adults mature and don’t react as overtly as many poorly-written characters do. A twenty-eight year old is very unlikely to tell two teenagers who are making out at the kitchen table to “get a room”, nor are they likely to be victim of some horrible miscommunication that leads to a lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers situation. Of course, it is still possible, though it does read as unrealistic and makes it apparent that the author has not yet reached the age of the character they are writing about. Take reference from real people around the age of your characters and if all else fails, you could always look for the possibility to age them down.
The point of correcting these mistakes is to create a novel that is easy to understand without the reader feeling as though they're swimming through mud. Publishers look for clear, consise books that tell one story from start to finish!
