writing mistakes

10 Common Writing Mistakes

You’ve just completed the report for your boss or written a business letter, or finished off your paper for your college professor. You run it through spelling and grammar checks, and there are no squiggly lines to show any possible errors. You’re convinced your work is perfect, but unless you take the time to proofread, it may not be nearly as perfect as you assume. If you get lazy, there’s a good chance you’ll make one of the following common writing errors:

Incomplete Sentences

These are also known as fragment sentences. A full sentence will usually have an actor and an action, or to put it formally, a subject and a verb. Think of a sentence as a “thought.” The whole thought has to be expressed within the sentence.

“My cat is cross. Because she is feisty.”

The first sentence is fine, the second one is a fragment. You can either turn this thought into one sentence or change the second sentence to make it complete: “Because she is feisty, that often happens,” or simply, “She is feisty.”

Run-On Sentences

A lot of people think a “run-on” means the sentence is too long, but that’s not technically correct, although it’s often the case. If you use more than one subject and verb combination without using the correct punctuation, you have written a run-on sentence.

“I’m not sure if he’ll settle down in China it’s often difficult for Westerners to adapt.”

There are a lot of possible ways to fix this:

Write two sentences: “I’m not sure if he’ll settle down in China. It’s often difficult for Westerners to adapt.”
Use a semi-colon: “I’m not sure if he’ll settle down in China; it’s often difficult for Westerners to adapt.” Read the article on semi-colon use to see why this easy fix works.
Use a conjunction: “I’m not sure if he’ll settle down in China because it’s often difficult for Westerners to adapt.”

Another common run-on is called “comma splicing.” It means that you are joining two thoughts that could have been separate sentences with a comma. Use a semi-colon, add a conjunction, or split them into two sentences.

Similar Word Mistakes

This is awfully common. People write “your” when they mean “you’re,” they write “affect” when they mean “effect,” and they often mix up “it’s” and “its.” Unfortunately, these words aren’t interchangeable and have very different meanings.

Incorrect Tenses

Whatever you do, be careful how you switch tenses. Although there are times when you can do so, you need to follow the right formula. “I was putting on my makeup when the perfume bottle falls over,” is an example of incorrectly mixed tenses.

Comma Usage

It would be easy to write an entire blog post on when commas should and shouldn’t be used. It’s not really difficult to get your comma usage right, but you may have to study the subject carefully to gain an understanding of the rules. Since most people are muddled about where commas should go, you’ll be ahead of the pack if you can master the art.

Incoherent Flow

To keep your work crisp, clear, and concise, it’s important to organize your thoughts before you begin to write. If you don’t, you could end up with a hodge-podge of ideas that don’t make sense to your reader. What is the thought you’re trying to get across? Introduce it. What points will you discuss in order to reinforce your central idea? Organize them into paragraphs. What do you think this proves? Bring it all together to a conclusion.

Singular Noun with Plural Pronoun (or the other way around)

This can be trickier than it sounds. For example: “When the student council got together, they decided to approach the dean with their problem.” It sounds fine, doesn’t it? What a pity it’s wrong. The student council is a single body or entity, therefore, it cannot be a “they”. It may consist of people, but it’s not a person. Substitute “it” and “its” for “they” and “them” and all’s well.

Too Complicated

Sometimes bosses like this sort of thing. They’re impressed when you write “With regard to” instead of “Regarding” or “About.” They like “We are of the opinion” rather than “We think” and so on. Admittedly, none of these examples is actually wrong and does help you increase your word count, but using language like this can sound pompous and makes the message less clear. I have been at loggerheads with many employers about clumsy, formal phrases. Business communication should be clear.

The other danger that lurks in wait for those hoping to sound impressive is long-winded sentences are much easier to get wrong. Writing simply and clearly makes your work easier for you to check, and reduces your opportunities for error.

Here’s a lovely example of “correct” but long-winded writing:

A dual-member team proceeded toward the apex of a natural geological protuberance, the purpose of their expedition being the procurement of a sample of fluid hydride of oxygen in a large vessel, the exact size of which was unspecified. One member of the team precipitately descended, sustaining severe fractional damage to the upper cranial portion of the anatomical structure. Subsequently, the second member of the team performed a self-rotation translation oriented in the direction taken by the first team member.

What does this mean? Here’s the answer:

“Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.”

Grocer’s Apostrophes

You’ve seen the signs outside stores: “Apple’s, banana’s and carrot’s special!” Restaurants are also often guilty: “The best pizza’s in town!” Those apples may be on special, and maybe the pizzas are pretty good, but the apostrophe use isn’t. Apostrophes signify a missing letter in an abbreviated word like “don’t,” and they can indicate “belonging to” with the exception of “its.” The apostrophized version, in this case, is an abbreviation for “it is”.

Trusting Spell Check

I love this topic, so I could go on and on about it. Let’s look at some typos that spell check will never notice:

“Oink dresses” (Pink dresses)
“Weeding dress” (wedding dress)
“Sinning with the choir” (singing with the choir)
“Beast psychologists” (best psychologists)
“Inhuman resources” (in human resources)

And my favorite is a mistake I sometimes see when someone is signing off a letter and write “Kind retards.” To avoid these errors, read through your work carefully, preferably aloud. Spell check is helpful, but only up to a point (or pint).

(Image courtesy of Chris & Karen Highland)

10 Common Writing Submission Mistakes

Writers are sometimes their own worst enemies. We complain endlessly about being unable to get published or make money, but yet it’s often the case that we’re sabotaging our own success. Sure, sometimes you get rejected because your writing isn’t good enough. But often rejections happen because you made a mistake at the submission level and the gatekeeper turned you down before ever reading your work.

Remember that editors, agents, and hiring managers are swamped. They get tons of submissions every day. To quickly cull the pile, they look for any obvious reason to discount your submission. That may be something as simple as a misplaced comma or a misspelled name. You don’t want to go out this way. You want your recipient to at least read your work and then debate its merit, not dump you on the reject pile before the first sentence is even read. With that in mind, here are some common mistakes that writer’s make when submitting their work.

Grammatical Errors

Whenever you submit something, be it a story, letter, resume, article, or full manuscript, make certain that it is error-free. You’re asking someone to trust that you are a competent writer, yet if the first page has the word “You’re” in a situation where the word “Your” should have been used, you’re not coming across as competent. Always look to improve your writing so that there are no mistakes with it.

Submitting to the Wrong Person or Place

Don’t submit to houses or agents that don’t handle your type of work. Don’t submit to Editor A and Editor B at the same publishing house. Don’t address Mrs. Smith as Mr. Smith. (If you’re unclear on gender, a quick phone call to check is fine.) Don’t submit to the department manager if you’re supposed to go through human resources. Figure out exactly who should receive your work and send it directly to that person or department.

Mass and Blind Submissions

It’s irritating to get an email addressed to fifty agents or hiring managers. Such submissions often read, “Dear Sir or Madam,” and then proceed to describe, in very generic terms, why this person should accept your work. It’s efficient, but the problem is that your recipients don’t want to be part of a herd. They want to know why you chose them. They want to know who referred you, or to which ad you are responding. They want to know how you learned of them and why they are the best fit for your work. They want you to demonstrate that you’ve done some basic research into who they are and what they represent. Mass submissions are impersonal and only demonstrate that you know how to use the multiple recipient functions in your email program.

Failure to Follow Convention

Yes, convention can stifle creativity. However, every field has its norms that must be followed. You have to demonstrate that you understand the rules of the “club” and that you can follow them. If convention dictates that your submission be double spaced, single spacing can get you disqualified. If a certain format is required, you’d better follow it. Breaking convention won’t get you accepted, it will get you rejected.

Sending Dirty Work

No, I don’t mean pornography. I mean work that’s stained, crumpled, or torn. In this day and age of quick printing and copying, there’s no excuse for sending out anything other than pristine pages.

Looking Like a Paranoid Amateur

Many writers submit work with copyright symbols on it, or mentioning in the query letter that the submission should not be shared or forwarded for fear of idea theft. Similarly, don’t be vague about your work because you’re afraid it will be stolen. “I have a great idea, but I can’t share it with you until you commit to publication,” is ridiculous. This isn’t the way copyright works and no legitimate publisher or agent is out to steal your work. You’re only coming across as paranoid and no one wants to work with a nutcase.

Failure to Follow Directions

Send and do only what the recipient asks for. No more, no less. Send only what’s requested in only the format in which is it requested. Do not send snail mail if only email submissions are accepted, or vice versa. Doing exactly what is asked of you demonstrates that you can follow directions. To a gatekeeper, this increases the chances that you are someone they want to work with, not someone who is going to cause problems during every step of the process.

Failure to Include Contact Information

No matter how much someone likes your work, you’re going on the rejection pile if they can’t easily respond to you. They aren’t going to send a sherpa and a yak out to track you down. They don’t have time for that. Be sure to include your name, address, phone number, and email address.

Overpacking

Yes, you want your submission to arrive safely. But you don’t want to use so much tape that someone has to hack into the package to get to your work. Nor do you want to use packing peanuts that will explode all over someone’s office. Having to exert too much effort to get to your work means that the reader is already frustrated with you when they sit down to read your work. (Assuming they even bothered. Make it too difficult to get into a package and it might go in the trash unopened.) Keep the packaging to a minimum.

Failure to Properly Check Email Submissions

Email submissions are convenient, but they pose potential problems. If you’re asked to attach a file, make sure you’re attaching the correct one. No one wants to read your tax return when they thought they were getting your first chapter. If you’re using a submission page on a website, make sure you’re putting the right information into the right boxes. If you’re copying and pasting into an email or submission site, make sure you’re doing so correctly. You don’t want things to end up out of order, or discover that you pasted from the last draft of your novel when you meant to paste from the current version. Don’t use “Reply All” if you only mean to reply to one person and make certain you’ve got the correct recipient(s) in the address section. Double check everything before you hit the Send button.

You want to be judged on your work, but the only way that’s going to happen is if you successfully navigate the submission process. Think of the submission process as the first step to publication, because that’s exactly what it is. It’s time consuming and a chore to make sure everything is perfect, but that’s what the gatekeepers want to see. You won’t get past them with a half-assed effort. You’re being judged from the moment your envelope crosses their desk or the email shows up in their inbox. Be perfect.

(Photo courtesy of Aaron Davis)