Writing can be a very tedious process. From the moment of researching to gathering suitable materials to sitting down for long hours with your writing pad to bleed alphabets, it saps a whole lot of energy from you. However, as painstaking as the process may be, how will you feel when all your efforts and sacrifices end up in the dustbin? Well, this is the reality of some writers. After piecing together beautiful ideas, some oversight can become a drawback to the success of your writing. This article will address some of those issues that impede the envisaged result of your writing projects. Some of those red flags are:
1. Use of too many adverbs and adjectives: another spoiler of your writing can be your unnecessary usage of adjectives and adverbs. Overusing these two parts of speech can tamper with your work’s grammaticality and make it difficult to comprehend. Words like suddenly, unknowingly, sadly, etc., should not be overused in your writing.
2. Subject-verb agreement flaws: to have a good writing, the subject and the verb in your sentences must agree with one another in number. If the subject of a sentence is plural, the verb must also be plural. If the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular. For example:
Incorrect: An important part of my academic success have been the teachers who taught me.
Correct: An important part of my academic success has been the teachers who taught me.
3. Omission of comma after an introductory element: infuse a comma after an introductory word, clause or phrase. This gives your reader a slight break, thereby injecting air into your writing to avoid confusion. For example:
Incorrect: In case you don’t know I am the founder of the company.
Correct: In case you don’t know, I am the founder of the company.
4. Lack of character motivation: this can pose a serious problem to many writers when considering the characters to use in your story. Define the role your characters are playing properly. Identify their aim, how they intend to achieve it, and the obstacles they will encounter. However, to make your writing more compelling, you may have to go deeper by providing a background or rationale behind his motive. For example, if you are writing a story about a studious student in a class, you can depict an instance of a student being embarrassed by his siblings for poor performance in an examination or a promise of a vacation abroad as the rationale behind his knack for reading.
5. Absence of a comma in a compound sentence: a comma is used to distinguish two or more independent clauses in a compound sentence separated by a conjunction. The comma usually comes after the first clause before the coordinating conjunction divides the clauses. For example:
Incorrect: Godsent jumped into a red truck and he drove away before being noticed.
Correct: Godsent jumped into a red truck, and he drove away before being noticed.
6. Putting more attention on word count: a lot of writers are guilty of this. Even though it is important you hit the expected word count of a project, it is wrong to water down the quality of your work with noise in a bid to meet your word count. Noise is anything that obstructs the flow of communication, and that includes filler words. It is better to convey the right message in lesser words than to confuse your reader with more words. Always choose quality over quantity when writing.
7. Inconsistent writing: the best way to master a skill is by doing it consistently, and writing is not an exception. You cannot write once in a blue moon and expect to be a master of the craft. Writing regularly also creates a bond between you and your reader. It makes you relatively part of their life. Furthermore, writing consistently can boost your competence and credibility as a writer.
8. Not having a niche: Avoid being like the proverbial Jack of all trades but master of none. As a writer, you are responsible for defining your speciality or beat and building on it. Do not jump on every genre of writing because it will make you play on the periphery of most but the main league of none. Know the broad category of issues that interest you and anchor your writing on a genre. Another plus to this is that you will gradually establish yourself as an authority in the space, thereby becoming one of the most sought-after writers in the space.
9. Absence of a compelling headline or title: your title is the signpost that leads your reader to the content of your work. Once you have a writing task, consider a suitable title or caption that will attract your reader to your work at a glance. To gain more insight on how to write a compelling headline or title, you can visit (visit where?). Consider your project as a meal you are preparing. Before one gets to taste your food, the aroma and the sight of the meal on the plate should whet the person’s appetite.
While some people find writing as an escape from their daily struggles, some have resorted to it as their source of livelihood. But whatever side of the divide you belong to, it is pertinent you pay attention to these minor details in your writing because, as minute as they may seem, they can erode your competence as a writer over time.
If you are interested in more ways to improve your writing skills, read here