9 Mistakes Writers Should Never Commit

Are you looking for some useful writing tips? If yes, then these 17 mistakes writers should never commit will certainly come in handy to you.

Writing an article or content isn’t easy — especially if you want it to be perfect. Most writers would love to create flawless pieces, but the reality is they don’t always succeed. Why? Because they’re prone to commit common mistakes, such as grammar errors, spelling mistakes, bad punctuation, etc.

Here are 9 mistakes writers should avoid. These mistakes include grammatical issues, word choice, sentence structure, and much more. Keep reading to see them all.

1. Write for Readers, not search engines

Readers don’t care if you have 10,000 Facebook fans; they just want to read your words. If you want people to find and share your writing, write for them. You should always keep readers foremost in mind. You should treat your audience members like friends instead of potential customers. You can do this by asking yourself questions about who you are writing for, what their interests might be, how they spend their time, what they look for online, etc. Once you know where you're going and who's going to read your content, you'll be able to create great content that will go viral!

2. Create consistency

If you've ever started a blog, you may know that consistency is key to staying consistent. A lot of bloggers make the mistake of launching their first post and then never posting again. If you plan to stick around long-term, you need to create content consistently. People won't stick around if they don't find quality content to consume every week. If you don't have anything interesting to write, you're not going to last long.

3. Don’t Let Perfectionism Stop You From Writing

You may hear people say they want to write, but never do anything about it. I have been guilty of being that person myself. I always believed my work was good enough, but never got around to making something out of it. Now I am not saying we need to put our work out there and just expect rejection, but once you decide to get started, nothing should hold you back. If you have not written before, start small. Write short stories, poems, and blog posts. Make sure you post them online somewhere. Once you start getting feedback, you get excited and motivated. Then you continue to work on bigger projects. Don’t let the fear of failure stop you from getting started.

Perfectionists are generally self-critical people who find it hard to accept praise from others. But if you want to write well, you need to learn how to take criticism constructively. Criticism helps you to understand just where your weaknesses lie and how you might improve. Most importantly, it lets you know whether a particular piece of work is worth pursuing further, or whether you should shelve it for now.

4. Don’t Neglect Grammar

No matter what type of project you are working on, if you can’t find basic grammar rules, then you are going to struggle. When looking at other people’s work, check the grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. Also, look at the sentence structure. Are there any awkward sentences? Take note of these things because bad grammar and poor formatting will cause readers to lose interest and turn away from your piece. Grammar and spelling errors are serious mistakes that can mar the quality of your work and make readers think badly of your professionalism. So always check your work carefully for accuracy before publication. Make sure you correct any errors you find at least once before submitting your work. If possible, have someone read your text out loud to you so you can catch any obvious mistakes.

5. You should always look up words you don't know.

Don't be afraid to google things you don't know! There are lots of great websites online that will tell you everything you need to know about a particular word or phrase. Also, try using the advanced search feature to narrow down your results. For example, if you want to learn more about the word "bored," type "how to become bored" into Google and see what comes up.

6. Don’t Assume Your Readers Knows What You Mean

This is probably the most common mistake made by beginner writers. While writing, you should always assume your reader does not already know what you mean. Readers might misunderstand what you meant or misinterpret what you wrote completely. In addition, if you are talking about different topics, you should explain what those topics are. For example, if you were talking about two different companies and one uses plastic containers while the other uses glass containers, you could mention that fact. This allows you to simplify the content, reduce clutter, and make it more concise.

People today are very savvy consumers. Consequently, they expect you to tell them exactly what your product does. If you fail to explain what you're offering, they won't buy it. So make sure you clearly state the benefits of your goods and services. In addition, make sure your customers know all the features of each product you offer. If you make a mistake here, you run the risk of confusing potential buyers.

7. Don't Ignore Basic Rules of English

When writing anything longer than a couple of sentences, there's no point in trying to sound clever. Instead, stick to simple language that everyone will understand. Avoid long words and technical jargon; instead, concentrate on making your message clear and concise. And remember, brevity is the soul of wit, so try to cut out unnecessary verbiage wherever you can.

8. Don't Forget to Proofread Your Text

If you've written anything longer than a short story, you should always go back to edit your work thoroughly. There are two ways to do this. First, look for places where you could replace nouns with more precise ones (for example, take 'a' out of 'a fact'). Then check every sentence for errors in grammar and spelling. Finally, reread the whole thing aloud to ensure that it sounds good.

9. You should never put together a sentence that doesn't flow naturally.

There's nothing worse than having a bunch of disconnected sentences running around in your head. To fix this problem, break each idea down into its own paragraph. The paragraphs should flow smoothly into one another so that the ideas are connected and make sense.