The Most Common Mistakes That New Writers Make

I’ve worked with many first-time authors over the years, and there are a few mistakes in particular that almost all of them make. Like everything else in life, becoming a great writer takes time and practice — but it also requires study and learning. Sure, there are some lucky ducks with incredible natural talent, but in most cases, that innate skill still has to be honed over time.

So let’s take a look at some of the most common mistakes new writers make and how to avoid them.

Starting Without a Plan

I’m normally a go-with-the-flow, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of person, but when it comes to writing, you have to do a little bit of planning. Too often, new writers start writing without any kind of strategy or outline. Not only does this result in an unorganized, incohesive mess, it also becomes frustrating and overwhelming as your writing progresses and leads many writers to eventually give up on their books.

At the very least, you should have a general understanding of what you want to write before you start writing. It can even be just a simple outline of the overall plot and the basic chapter divisions. Think of it as a roadmap that you can refer to during the writing process to keep yourself on track toward your destination.

That being said, don’t be afraid to make changes and go off-script. If you have a new idea or decide to take things in a different direction, go for it! Your outline is there to help you, not to hinder you.

Unnatural Dialogue

We have this weird idea that everything written must be formal and proper with precise spelling and grammar. While that’s pretty mandatory when you’re writing in a business or academic setting, fiction writing is a lot more relaxed — for the most part, you can flex, bend, and break the rules to your heart’s content.

This is especially important to understand when you’re writing dialogue. In real life, people use slang and contractions and speak with different accents and dialects, and that should be incorporated into your writing. Not only does it make it easier for the reader to differentiate between characters, it will also make your dialogue sound more natural.

I always recommend reading your dialogue out loud (preferably at home, alone — otherwise you might get some odd looks and possibly a wellness check). Ask yourself these questions as you read:

Does it sound like a genuine conversation between actual real live humans? (Might not be applicable if you’re writing a sci-fi novel with aliens.)
Is the language appropriate for the time and setting?
Does every character speak the exact same way, or does each one have their own voice?

If you can’t answer yes to all three questions, take another look at your dialogue to figure out where you’re going wrong.

Failure to Understand Your Audience

You can’t write effectively if you don’t know who you’re writing for. Once you define your genre and age range, you need to spend some time researching what they want and don’t want in a book. There’s no need to conduct a peer-reviewed, double-blind study (unless that’s your thing), but you should develop a basic understanding of:

Popular/overused genre themes and tropes — Dystopian heroines and love triangles are out, high fantasy and raw, real-life stories are in.

Audience knowledge and comprehension levels — Make sure your writing is accessible and relatable to the age group you're writing for.

Readers’ expectations — What type of subject matter is your audience into right now? Is your story idea relevant to them?

Overly Complicated Writing

Your middle school teacher might have lied to you — the thesaurus is not your best friend. Nobody wants to read a book full of unnecessarily complex language when familiar words would work just as well. No need to say, “The ectomorphic feline absquatulated when his mistress endeavored to bedizen him with an antediluvian waistcoat,” when, “The scrawny cat made a break for it when his owner tried to dress him up in an old-fashioned vest,” would work just fine (and wouldn’t require a dictionary to read).

This goes for dialogue as well. There is absolutely nothing wrong with simply using “said.” Not everything has to be vocalized or asserted or tittered or pontificated. Save the unique dialogue tags for when they’re really needed to add context to the scene.

Undefined or Undeveloped Characters

Readers fall in love with characters as much as they do stories. So you have to bring your characters to life and make each one unique. That doesn’t mean that every single minor character needs an elaborate backstory, but you do need to fully develop and define your primary and secondary characters.

Give them hopes and dreams, strengths and flaws, talents and shortcomings, motivations and vulnerabilities. Make them real people that your readers can get to know. Even if you don’t include their entire backstory in the book itself, just the act of creating and defining it can help you fully develop a character.

Neglecting to Edit

While things like Grammarly and spell check are absolutely valuable tools, they’re not perfect, and they are actually pretty useless when it comes to all the mistakes listed above. Editing and proofreading are crucial parts of writing and should never be skipped.

But you shouldn’t start editing immediately after you finish writing. Take a break and give your mind some time to rest and reset before you get out that red pen. You’ll be able to look at your writing with fresh eyes and a new perspective, and you’ll be less likely to overlook mistakes or confusing sentences.

Now, that being said, there’s a decent chance there’s a typo somewhere in this post. I know, I know. I’m an editor. I’m supposed to be a paragon of grammar and punctuation, destroyer of comma splices and misspellings.

But the truth is — it’s hard to edit your own work. You know what you meant to write and what you’re trying to say, so your brain just fills in those missing words and skips right over awkward phrasing.

So if you’re having trouble editing your work, or you want a professional to weigh in on your writing, feel free to reach out to me at Nyx Publications. I offer line editing, developmental editing, and proofreading, as well as coaching services and in-depth beta reading. I’d love to be a part of your writing journey and help you reach your goals.