7 Writing Mistakes That Hurt Your Story (and How to Avoid “Literary Leftovers”)

From Edie: Struggling with weak writing? Discover 7 common fiction writing mistakes—like head-hopping, clichés, and weak verbs—and learn how to avoid “literary leftovers” that hurt your story.

7 Writing Mistakes That Hurt Your Story (and How to Avoid “Literary Leftovers”)

by Ane Mulligan @AneMulligan

When I first started writing, it was so far removed from my school days, I didn't remember the "rules" of good writing. Today, we call those guidelines—back then, in the stone age, they were hard and fast rules. 

I joined an online critique group and quickly learned heard I was head-hopping and needed to choose a POV. I hadn't ever heard the term POV. I was told that in those dark ages, writers wrote omniscient. Omniscient is something God is. What did that have to do with fiction?

So, what does that have to do with leftovers? You want to offer readers your best—not leftovers.

What are literary leftovers?

1. Not removing superfluous adverbs in contrast to spending an extra twenty minutes looking for just the right verb. It's like the difference between the flour you use to bake bread. The bread will rise with both flours, but bread flour gives it better structure. Your book will have better structure with strong verbs instead of a bunch of adverbs.

2. Not knowing your characters well enough to communicate their hurts and motivation. Date nut bread contains dates and nuts among other things. Without those, it's just a sweet bread. The dates and nuts give it its classic characteristics. In a fictional character, you need to know them so well, you know how they react to any given situation. 

Can you start writing and learn them as you go along? Like when you forget to buy an important ingredient, you'll have to return to the store. In your writing, you will have to return to earlier chapter and change a lot. 

3. Not investing the time required to get the character's motivation shown-not-told on the page. Have you ever pulled a soufflé from the oven too soon? Yeah. It falls flat. Just like a story will if we don't put enough time into showing our characters' motivation. Yes, you could "tell" it, but the experience of "seeing" that soufflé collapse is more meaningful—and funnier.

4. Using clichés or over-used metaphors. There are times a well-known cliché works best. But the reaction to reading an innovative twist on one is fun. In one book, I twisted "Cheshire cat grin" into "Garfield eyeing a pan of lasagna." Think hard when incorporating a metaphor or simile. Go back to #3.

5. Recycling a great metaphor or simile without changing it. I used the Garfield metaphor in one book and won't use it again (except for an example in a blog post). Your second or third draft should be used for writing the perfect metaphor or simile. Use all your creativity to make comparisons. It takes time, but … go back to #3. Writing good fiction takes time—just like a great recipe does. 

6. Using the same old conflict over and over. In romance, if miscommunication is the onlyconflict, that’s week-old-moldy-green leftovers. Granted miscommunication happens but find more conflict than just that. His goal could be her worst nightmare or vice versa. Her past may keep her from trusting him. Brainstorm with yourself. Use sticky notes on a wall and write anything that comes to mind. Then, like using the correct spices, keep the ones that enhance your story. 

7. Not always striving to grow as a writer. This is the epitome of leftovers. Growth is the ultimate flavoring we can add. I want to have every book I write be better than my last one. New tools can be as small as using pronouns instead of the word "the." It can be as large as showing emotion by body language instead of saying, "She was sad." There are so many good blogs on writing, if you can always pick up even the tiniest tool to enhance your story, you're ahead of the rest. 

I have sixteen published books and have contributed to several anthologies, and I'm still gleaning new techniques for my writers toolbox. And when I pen my final book, I hope to still add something new to my writing.

Nobody ever said writing a good novel is easy. Except for Red Smith. He said when asked if writing was hard, "Why no. You simply sit down at the typewriter, open your veins, and bleed."

Do you have any other literary leftovers you can add to this list? 

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7 Writing Mistakes That Hurt Your Story (and How to Avoid “Literary Leftovers”) from @AneMulligan on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Ane Mulligan lives life from a director’s chair, both in theatre and at her desk creating novels. Entranced with story by age three, at five she saw PETER PAN onstage and was struck with a fever from which she never recovered—stage fever. One day, her passions collided, and an award-winning, bestselling novelist emerged. She believes chocolate and coffee are two of the four major food groups and lives in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband, a rescued German shepherd, and a rascally Rottweiler. Find Ane on her website, Amazon Author page, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, The Write Conversation, and Blue Ridge Conference Blog.