25 Mistakes that Peg You as an Amateur Writer

hey guys it's Ellen Brock novel editor today I'm gonna go over 25 common mistakes that will peg you as an amateur writer now you probably already know some of these mistakes but it can be helpful to just run through some things maybe just as a reminder these are mistakes that don't need an entire video of explanation but they are things that can make a huge difference and help you to come across as professional if you guys liked this kind of video let me know I could probably easily make four or five versions of this video so if you would like to see a follow up video with 25 more reasons over 25 more things that might peg you as an amateur just let me know in the comments number one is spelling changes if you spell any of a certain way make sure it's always spelled that way the same with locations magical abilities magic spells make sure you're consistent with the capitalization and you're consistent with the spelling number two is similar names you should not have multiple characters with very similar names especially not introduced close together or characters that may have similar personality attributes or be on the same side either the good side or the bad side if Alfred Ali Angela and amber all walk into the bar at the same time it's not exactly easy to tell those characters apart number three is mistakes in procedures with different professions especially Social Work the police the court system forensic scientists you need to understand how those professions work don't just guess do the research number four is mistakes in descriptions of medical problems medical care technology weapons do the research make sure you understand what you're describing because it will make you look a lot more professional number five is small talk in dialogue that takes up a bunch of space but doesn't mean anything and doesn't have any relevance hi how are you I'm good how are you the weather is nice today it is nice weather today this is not interesting conversation number six is forgetting to include sensory information sights and sounds and smells those things really help to ground the reader number seven is naming the main character after yourself or a slight variation of your name this will be very apparent when you go to query agents or publishers and it is a big red flag number eight is cliches used too frequently and especially used on the first page you want to show off your own unique writing abilities you do not want to rely on pre-established cliché phrases number nine is using the same sentence construction over and over he walked to the chair he sat down in the chair he crossed his legs he smiled try to bury your sentences because it will look a lot more professional number ten is switching between past and present tense unintentionally make sure you know which one you're writing it and you know how to stick to it number 11 is pausing the story every time a character is introduced to provide a laundry list of physical descriptions one or two descriptions is fine but the big long paragraph of descriptions is not going to read smoothly and it's not going to seem professional number 12 is overuse of alternative dialog tags things like whispered chastised murmured should be used very sparingly said and asked should make up the majority of your dialogue tags number thirteen is using more than one or two adjectives to describe a noun the big thick warm dark green cable-knit sweater is very awkward to read in it's way more description than the reader wants number fourteen is using more words than is necessary he lifted his chin slowly and then dropped it back to his chest instead of he nodded number 15 is thesaurus writing replacing where it's constantly with bigger words or fancier words just as down more impressive or more sophisticated number 16 is constantly repeating the character's name Abby walked over to the counter Abby picked up the phone she called her mom and Abby knew that her mom was going to be mad that she was out late this is really awkward and unnatural number 17 is repeating character's name in dialogue we don't normally call people by their names in dialogue very often so it can seem unnatural especially if you use this a lot how are you today actually I'm doing well today Tiffany number 18 is repeating the same descriptions over and over if you describe the main character's eyes as shining emeralds 2 5 or 20 times in the book it's going to be noticed by the reader and it's going to be awkward number 19 is switching the point of view character at random the point of view character should switch because it advances the story not just arbitrarily number twenty is including mundane details for no reason we don't need to watch your character brush their teeth or get out of the shower or pick their clothes these descriptions are very rarely interesting number 21 is describing every article of clothing every character is wearing at all times it is very rare that readers care at all what the clothes are and when you go on and on describing it you're probably just going to bore the reader number 22 is using an adverb plus a verb instead of just using a stronger verb for example saying he moved quickly instead of he jogged number 23 is overly formal dialogue especially dialog that doesn't use contractions how are you today William I am doing well today how are you I have nothing to complain about it does not come across like natural speech number 24 is introducing too many characters at the same time Marci walked home from school with her friends Jake Tiffany Alison Rebecca number 25 is writing stage direction instead of action we don't need to understand every nuance movement of your character he sat down and crossed his right leg over his left leg his right hand tapped on the back of the chair well his left hand scratched his head nobody needs this much description I really hope you found this video helpful and then it taught you some things that maybe you didn't know or reminded you of something that you were already aware of this was part of my novel boot camp series I will be making new videos three to four days per week throughout August I'll also be hosting workshops on my blog and I'll put a link in the description happy writing guys

Channel: Ellen Brock

Views: 850,113

Rating: 4.9092121 out of 5

Keywords: novel, writing, mistakes, amateur, common, issues, creative writing, writer, write, editing, editor, how to, better, stronger, ellen brock, novel editor, novel boot camp, pro, professional

Id: ZPHjb0MqX9g

Length: 6min 28sec (388 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 17 2017