Top Mistakes in Fiction Writing

This baby monkey has nothing to do with today's post. I just love monkeys! I could watch the chimps at the zoo all day long. Sometimes they make more sense than my kids.

No, today we're going to talk about the top mistakes made by beginning writers--in hopes that you can avoid them and leap ahead of the pack. Every writing professional has his/her own list of big No-No's in fiction writing. Most of them show up in newbie writer's manuscripts, and they happen enough to form a pattern. Thus, The List.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and it is not taken from any particular source, but is rather a conglomeration of the collective input from agents, editors, and authors who have seen them all enough to agree on the big ones. Most of the experts have probably made at least one of these blunders themselves, possibly last week, since it is often difficult to judge your own writing objectively and even seasoned professionals trip up from time to time.

1. A weak opening. Too many first-time writers start with description of the scenery, back story, or bland dialogue that fails to engage the reader right from the start. Think about the last book you bought. After lifting a brow at the price tag, you probably read the back cover copy, and then opened to the first page. Something on that page captured your attention, made you want to know more. That's because the author had a strong opening to suck you in. And it worked. You had to know more.

2. Not enough conflict. Conflict, both internal and external, are what drives the plot. Without it, the narrative just lies there on the page. It doesn't go anywhere--except back to the library! Even literary fiction has conflict, usually internal: the hero has some private pain he must overcome or...or what? That's what you want to know. Every book doesn't have to be throat-slashing, monster-jumping, car-chasing thrills. Emotional conflict can be just as powerful, but make sure your reader cares enough about it to keep reading.

3. Too much telling--not enough showing. Remember show-and-tell in grade school? Why didn't the teacher just let us stand up and talk about our object? It's because we are visual creatures and we use all our senses to experience life. If you simply state every emotion your character is going through, the reader is robbed of the opportunity to experience it right along with her.

Instead of naming the emotion, show the physical reaction to that emotion. Instead of: Shari was anxious about her first day. Write instead: Shari rubbed moist palms down her jeans and licked lips that were as dry as desert sand.

4. Overuse of adjectives and adverbs. Those delicious little sentence helpers your English teachers praised you for using need to go. Find words ending in -ly, and evaluate whether you can eliminate them by using stronger verbs or rephrasing the sentence. Adverbs are lazy. They rob the manuscript of tighter emotion by simply telling the reader how something was done.

Ex: He spoke angrily. What does that really tell us? Instead, try something like this: His words were clipped, precise, and he refused to look at her when he spoke.

There are plenty more, but make a checklist and evaluate your own work for all of the above. You're writing will be tighter, flow more smoothly, and be a better read.

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