The last blog outlined nine signs of amateur writing and how to fix them. This blog continues that list with another nine ways new writers show their inexperience.
Here is the second set of nine signs of amateur writers and how to fix them:
1. No Transitions
Just as a great dance happens in the moments between the big moves, writing relies on transitions to smooth and elevate prose. The ease with which a writer handles the transitions between scenes or ideas determines the overall quality of the writing. Without transitions (or good transitions), the writing comes off as clumsy or abrupt. This is because transitions lead the reader from one idea to another or one scene to another so they don’t get lost or confused. There’s nothing worse than reading a good story at a solid clip only to have to stop so you can flip back to figure out how you ended up somewhere else or to figure out how the writer jumped from one idea to another. That type of confusion is a sign of poor writing. Transitions provide a bridge so your reader doesn’t get lost along the way. Transitions do not have to be long to be effective. Sometimes a single line is enough to provide a transition. This level of writing takes attention to detail and an understanding of writing mechanics. This is something newer writers often need to learn.
2. Head-Hopping
This issue is one of my pet peeves. I don’t mind multiple narrators when done well, but it is frustrating to jump from one character’s head to another without warning. If you are writing multiple points of view, use clear breaks to indicate a change. Most writers switch at chapter breaks, but any clear break will do. What will not do is swapping heads in the middle of a paragraph or scene. It is confusing and a clear sign the writer doesn’t know what she is doing.
3. Wrong Tone
Tone can be difficult to master for some. It is tied to knowing your audience and the appropriateness of voice for that audience. You wouldn’t write with the same voice for a children’s book as you would for a technical manual for experts. They require different approaches, language, tone—everything. Your tone needs to match the subject and audience for each project, whether fiction or nonfiction. It’s no different than changing the way you speak to different people in your life. You don’t speak to a friend the same way you would to your attorney. Think about how you talk to your children versus your boss, your partner versus your neighbor. Voice and tone in writing work the same way. They need to match what you are writing. If they don’t, there should be a clear reason why they don’t. Writing in different voices requires experience and practice—something newer writers sometimes lack, but it can be learned through reading, observation, and practice.
4. Repetition
Many newer writers fall back on the same words and phrases throughout their writing. This repetition of words, sentences, scenes, characters, actions, and ideas will tire your reader. Look for duplicate words and change them up. Swap out any form of repetition, whether it is starting your sentences or paragraphs the same way, or using a specific phrase all the time. In longer works, look for repetition of ideas or information. It is easy to repeat yourself if you aren’t watching for it.
5. Too Much or Too Little
Writing to fit is a skill. It could be writing a script to a desired length of time (say 43 minutes for a typical television script) or penning an article to fit four column inches. Writing to fit is harder than it seems. As Blaise Pascal write in his Lettres Provinciales, “I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.” Writing shorter requires skill. It is a discipline many inexperienced writers have not yet mastered. The best way to develop those skills is to practice. Set a word count or time code and write to that limit. What won’t work? Using those old tricks from college when you changed the margin or increased/decreased your font size to fit. When an editor requests a specific word count for an article, you need to hit that specific count. No excuses. No tricks. This takes practice and dedication.
6. Ten-Dollar Words
Inexperienced writers often toss in big words to sound more intelligent. Unfortunately, this habit has the opposite effect. Write simply and clearly. There is no need to get fancy to make your point. Clarity is far more important than trying too hard and confusing people. The same could be said for using jargon or buzz words.
7. No Balance
Writing, especially in novels, involves different types of writing—exposition, dialogue, action. It is a mix of these forms that set the pace of the novel. Too much of one and not enough of another can lead to disastrous results. Unless you are writing a play, you can’t have pages and pages of dialogue with nothing breaking it up. Nor can you have never-ending paragraphs or chapters. It’s all about balancing the form the story takes. This holds true for other forms of writing too. A speech without a break will exhaust the audience and the speaker. You also can’t dump mounds of information without giving your audience time to absorb what has already been said. Balance is knowing how to use the various elements at your disposal to create a finished product that is easy to read or listen to for the audience. It’s knowing how to switch tone, style, form, and elements to lead the reader or listener to the next point without overloading them. It’s adding a moment of levity in the most somber of stories to offer a respite or telling a small joke or anecdote to ease the weight of a difficult subject. No matter the work, writing needs balance to succeed.
8. Exposition Overload
Inexperienced writers often over-explain things to their readers. They don’t trust them to keep up or understand without overt hand-holding. Leaning too heavily into exposition is a rookie mistake. Trust your reader. They can follow you without lengthy explanations or obvious statements. I could explain further, but it isn’t necessary.
9. Over Editing
This is a tough one. We all want our work to be perfect or, at the very least, the best it can be. This means editing. Lots of editing and revision. But there is a point where editing begins to take away instead of add. It is all too easy to edit the life out of your writing and make it sound like it came from a writing program or bot. Yes, you need good grammar. You need proper skills. But you also need some energy and life in your work. You need those quirky little traits that set your writing apart from other writers’ work. Too much editing and you will end up sounding like everyone else. Let your work breathe a bit. Part of being a professional is knowing when to stop.