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| MISTAKES WRITERS MAKE |
 Looking at many professional and amateur writers out there, I see a lot of distracting, recurring elements in story-writing that just make me want to toss the book out of the window. Of course, the practice of reading books itself is a great way to your imaginative skills, but it is also a death trap for clichés and causes common writing mistakes to pile up over and over again. In this article I've listed some writing mistakes you should avoid when creating a story or plotting a character, and some clichés it is advised you avoid, unless the very goal of your book was cliché-ness. Please bear in mind that this is partially subjective and it is completely okay if you want to continue utilizing your own methods, not everything works for everyone. Before I start, a huge thanks to these people who have given me sources and inspiration! You are the gift of Gods: LeeX, Labyrinthine, Troublemaker, INFECTIOUS, Biji, Nug, Closure, Felicity, Motionless , Tofsimeow, Nama,  TROPES V. CLICHÉS To start off, tropes and clichés are not (exactly) the same. Tropes are basically the base for themes and devices, every book has tropes, but they are all adapted to their own context and altered to fit the story. Clichés, on the other hand, are overused plot lines, characterizations and/or writing structures that are so unoriginal and half-assed, nobody will take you seriously. WRITING FOR DUMMIES Most writers start on sites such as Wattpad, AO3, livejournal or on a personal blog. The internet is so full of stories that it is almost impossible to come up with anything remotely creative. However, nothing is impossible. But here are some beginner mistakes you should avoid before you enter the world of writing (fan)fiction. - "Hi my name is Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way and I have long ebony black hair..." ONE Do not, ever, start a book with an introduction like this. Do not even start a book with a self-introduction. People read a book because they want to get to know the main character, by introducing them from the get-go you're spoiling the imagination. Also, do not put too much emphasis on describing the appearance of your character, especially when they have "almond eyes that sparkle in the moonlight". This is one of the biggest death traps beginning writers fall for and it's usually one of the signs of amateur (fan)fiction, which most people usually read for laughs. But how do I make clear how my character looks like? Well, occasional description of apparance is tolerated, without it being annoying. E.g.: " The larger of the two – and he was quite large, well over six feet – was dark-haired, with a square jaw and coarse, pale skin. He might have been handsome had his features been less set, or his eyes, behind the glasses, less expressionless and blank." — The Secret History, Donna Tartt A subtle way of describing someone's features, giving little hints of someone's physique while still leaving ways for the imagination. - "I brushed my hair. Went to bed. Put out the lights. Set my alarm. My brother woke me up at 6:00 A.M. (Goddarn it was early in the morning, WHAT THE FUCK??!!). "You need to wake up Ebony!!!!" My brother screamed. "But I don't want to! Leave me alone!!!' I screamed and I pulled the blankets over my face. He left (Thank God)." or "I like fruit but the bartender told me there were no fruit smoothies left so I was forced to order a Coke, which I don't even like btw, and then I went to my friends, Chanelle and Coco, who were sitting on the other side of the giant patio, which belonged to my father, who was a millionaire, I said hi to them and they waved at me, I felt so happy with my life." TWO Structure? What structure? There are so many things wrong with that piece of text, I am just going to break it down one by one. First off, there is literally no structure in this writing. Where are the paragraphs? When you write dialogue, please keep in mind that every sentence spoken by the other person has to be on a new line. When you're alternating between two people, it is okay to put multiple sentences on the same line, but when the other person is speaking, you will have to switch to a separate line. This is to prevent confusion, and makes reading much easier. Also, avoid the he said she said element, try to use variations such as he exclaimed, he sighed, she muttered under her breath etc. THREE Unnecessary brackets. Unnecessary thoughts. Please do not insert thoughts in dialogue-format by using brackets. It is better to describe the thoughts of a character by means of description rather than just literally noting down what someone is thinking. Also please avoid using more than one exclamation/question mark, my head hurts from writing that piece. FOUR Sentences that just run on and on and on and on forever. Periods are not invented for fun, they're meant to be used. Running your sentences on forever makes people not want to read your story, believe me. Take a break. FIVE Unnecessary detail. You don't describe every step or breath you take. Neither do you have to describe yourself brushing your hair, washing your face, brushing your teeth... Just say something along the lines of "getting ready for bed" and you just saved yourself five lines of unnecessary description. You're writing an entertaining story, not playing The Sims™. SIX Repetitive, short sentences. More variation in the length of sentences and choice of words is advised. No more I walked, I spoke, I laughed, He sat. Instead, try to elaborate on your character's actions. Instead of I walked, you can use I made my way to... FIVE Correct grammar & spelling is the key to success. Not proficient in English? No worries, lots of native people on the internet are willing to help you out. Or you can just look up some grammar rules. Learn the difference between then and than, effect & affect, your and you're, and try to expand your vocabulary. Soon enough, you'll be able to converse like a real Englishman! And remember, practice makes perfect. - "I woke up in the morning..." No.  CLICHÉS TO AVOID m a r y / g a r y s u e Almost every super-hero book or movie has one, the typical save-all and harm-none hero/heroine. Typically used in fanfiction to create the ultimate protagonist, the one everyone likes and adores, the one who can't make mistakes and ends up dating the hot guy/girl. Not only are these very unrealistic, they are also unoriginal and the product of lazy writing. Scrap them. t h e g o o d g i r l & b a d b o y Please avoid these at all costs because the Wattpad library is already full of these stories. Every twist and every variation has already been written. You can only milk a concept so much before it becomes a joke. t h e p o s t - a p o c a l y p t i c w a s t e l a n d Does your story contain a post-apocalyptic world wherein a teenager is completely on their own, searching for a place to belong, while they subsequently also save the world? Stop. Rewind. Scrap everything. Rethink your life choices and look at the hundreds of other books before you who have come before you, with the exact same idea. Miraculously, these kind of books keep popping out of the nowhere like mushrooms. And how they always manage to end up on the NY best-selling list is beyond me. These books are entertaining at best, but don't contain a grain of originality. CHARACTERS TO AVOID p e r f e c t i o n i s m The rule of thumb is that if everyone seems to love your character, you're doing it wrong. This ties in with the mary/gary sue trope but is mostly focused on characterization. If your character does not have any flaws, it isn't human, unless of course your name is Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way, but you get what I mean. Try to make your character a believable person by giving them things to hate or regret. They might even make a bad decision occasionally, but that's okay because we're all human. w h a t a r e t r a i t s ? ? ? Do not give your character one prevailing trait and use that as the sole base for all their thoughts, intentions and actions. You are not writing a cartoon character. People are intrinsically complicated and multi-dimensional. Give your character good and bad traits which kind of balance each other out. Even villains have to be fleshed out carefully. Annnddd... Hint at why your character has their traits! A person is influenced by their surroundings. Why is someone a villain? Has something happened to them in the past? Are there some personality traits they still have from before they were evil? And if a character has, for example, severe anxiety, we might question ourselves: Why does this particular character have this? Has something happened to them? Why would they be so anxious? o o c ( o u t o f c h a r a c t e r ) This is a problem lots of professional writers and screenplay writers seem to struggle with (side-eyeing practically all drama series writers here). Sometimes, characters perform actions or decisions that are just plain out of character. Usually writers do this to create a desired consequence/effect that will likely pull more viewers, but that is just capitalistic greed. You are writing stories for fun, try to stick to the personality of a character. If you're writing a shy person, they cannot be a leader-figure next chapter. Your character may grow out of its initial personality, but this happens gradually, it may take lots of trial and errors. A bildungsroman focuses especially on character development. t h e c h o s e n o n e yer a wezard hery Only J.K. Rowling can pull this off. t r y s t a n e r h a e g h a r d ö n e r h a s k ø l f Please don't use overly complicated names. They're unnecessary unless either your name is George R. R. Martin and you love to fuck your audience, or your character is the heir to the throne of Genovia. If a character is of a certain ethnicity, give them a fitting surname e.g.: China - Zhang, Russia - Mihaylovna, but don't be too stereotypical either. Don't name all your German characters Wolfgang and Albert, thanks.  WRITINGS TO AVOID t o o m u c h j a r g o n Sometimes you're trying to describe a really difficult term, or you're writing a legal trial or you're just talking about things you don't know shit about. Either way you're trying to incorporate difficult, foreign terms into sentences, in situations where it's just not necessary. E.g.: "Cassie's heart was pounding and she already lost five liters of blood, she had to be rushed to the hospital after which she was injected with phenobarbital." The first mistake with this sentence is the fact that phenobarbital is not even used to treat patients with extreme blood loss. Everything about this sentence is wrong. Please bear in mind that this is a terrible example, but you get what I'm saying. The writer probably did not do any research regarding blood-loss and/or treatment. When you want to include jargon in order to describe a certain situation accurately, please consult a professional. This could be your local general practitioner or a random person at the hospital, someone from your university/college, a teacher at your high school etc. Wrongly used jargon is extremely inconsiderate to people who actually spend time on studying these things. On another note, just also avoid using jargon as often as possible. People who read your books are innocent beans and not all have medical degrees and are able to understand such language, it also distracts since the information is not necessary in any way. It doesn't add anything plot wise. Avoid them. d i f f i c u l t l a n g u a g e It is important to make use of a varied vocabulary, but you can also go too far. Using an abundance of complicated words just too show off will cause people to spend more time on searching for definitions rather than appreciate the writing. Use varied language, don't drain people out mentally. (Unless your name is Oscar Wilde, and you're a pretentious shit) f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e s I especially find it funny when people try to write parts in a foreign language and it is clearly evident that they trusted Google translate to do the job. Bad decision. Please let someone who is at least familiar with the language and its grammar/syntax look over your text before you publish it. It isn't that hard to find someone who can speak a language fluently, don't be afraid to ask your teachers/classmates either. It is more embarrassing to use the wrong words than asking a stranger for help. l o u s y e n d i n g Sometimes, writers just seem to lose motivation at the end of their writing and try to tie every loose end together in one final attempt at creating a satisfying dénouement (resolution). Please bear in mind that not every question in every sentence has to be answered, sometimes it is better to leave people to their imagination. Sometimes, it is better to put more effort in creating a good end, rather than just trying to please your readers. You are not writing for them, you are writing for yourself. However, it is important to look out for plot holes when creating a ending, it is better to wait a while before you write the ending. Creativity takes time to unfold. TIP !!! Béta-reading. Make someone else read your text before publishing. This could be a professional editor, a stranger, your best friend, even your mother. Someone else reading your text for the first time will definitely have different remarks on it than you do — who has been reading it the entire time. Some fresh, well-structured criticism will help you improve your text. Some passages might seem crystal clear to you, but to a stranger who does not know what feeling you are trying to convey, it might seem confusing. For this reason, a second opinion is essential. Patience is key. Sometimes, authors wait entire years before they take a look at their writing again. You might come up with better ideas in the (near) future. What you consider a great piece of fiction today, might be horseshit later. A story is like fine wine, the older, the better. And a wise man once said, “The first draft of anything is shit.” ― Ernest Hemingway TL;DR Sources for more in-depth information on writing tropes, avoiding clichés and useful sites: tvtropes.org - has a database for everyone trope of every book/movie/series in existence. Spit through some must avoids and signature tropes of good books for some inspiration. medical jargon - for all your bloody fiction needs, but more accurate and professional !!!! writing poc - if you want to include a character of an ethnicity that you are not very familiar with, and want to avoid stereotypical traits. character flaws - so they don't become a mary/gary sue. |
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