8 MORE Common Mistakes Newbie Writers Make

I'm back with 8 more common mistakes newer writers make! Not just what they are, but why they're holding you back.
The original video: 7 Common Mistakes New Writers Make: • 7 Common Mistakes New ...
The 8 Mistakes:
1) Thesaurus madness
2) Character Soup
3) Scenes that don't move the plot forward
4) Tense shifting
5) POV shifting/head hopping
6) Overly formal language/not using contractions
7) Not sharing your work/having CPs/learning to take constructive criticism
8) Not killing your darlings
Note: in the contractions section, I mention how you can start a sentence with a conjunction--I didn't say it, but that's obviously an aside, rather than my confusing conjunctions with contractions haha.
Related videos that go in depth on some of these topics:
Choosing the Right POV: • Choosing the Right POV...
What Is Info-Dumping and How To Fix It: • What is Info Dumping &...
How to Properly Format Dialog Tags: • How to Properly Format...
Susan Dennard's resources for writers: susandennard.com/for-writers/ (look under revision resources for tips on identifying scene function)
Grammarly guide to verb tenses: www.grammarly.com/blog/verb-t...
Purdue Online Writing Lab on verb tense consistency: owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/re...
Pre-Order BRIGHTLY BURNING: www.amazon.com/Brightly-Burni...
Goodreads:
/ brightly-burning
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Newsletter Sign-Up:
alexadonne.com/newsletter/
Website:
alexadonne.com/
Wattpad:
www.wattpad.com/user/alexadonne

[@amycleffa2904]

"Most of us have more than one or two friends" Oof I am attacked.

[@HyperWolf]

same. :')

[@shadowspector3611]

Lol, agreed

[@MooniGaming]

Lol same

[@interia342]

I feel exposed

[@zackaryjackson4568]

hey! tis gonna be okay.

[@Master_Blackthorne]

Ya know what? I think she wrote "Brightly Burning."

[@animezae]

Wow do you really think so?!

[@mdaniels6311]

@@animezae Good work Columbo.

[@tammywoods5785]

YeP its definitely not noticeable AT ALL lol

[@bellac6311]

Im not sure really....we need to wait for more evidence before making conclusions.

[@lunathedog6489]

Nah I think she’s just a huuuuuge fan 🤠

[@taryngoulard4987]

Alexa: how do you get rid of the extra characters? Me: kill them off! Alexa: combine them Me: oh. 😳

[@crybabyyy9398]

mood

[@vivianeb90]

hahaha I was also like. Aww, I have to delete this character, which feels like killing them.

[@ryancoker1611]

Kill off 3 interesting characters in the 3rd characters one got behead and thrown at the main character

[@uroborosjose6572]

send them to hospitals, sanitariums, asylum, etc

[@vivianeb90]

@@uroborosjose6572 But there is no point to introduce a character that will not matter later.

[@meandmybobbygee1812]

I'll use sentences starting with "And" until I die

[@kb470]

*And I'll use sentences starting with "And" until I die

[@dr.kineilwicks7002]

And what's wrong with starting sentences with "and"? We start sentences in our everyday dialogue with conjunctions every day--"But so-and-so said something about...." "Mistakes" can be made into good writing if you pull it off right--if it makes the story flow, what's wrong with it? Knowing they're there is important though, as Bill Watterson said: "You have to know the rules pretty well to break every single one of them." :)

[@bobsana4590]

And so will I!

[@Skinniest_Kween]

And I agree.

[@slowmoe1686]

Me and my BobbyGee I am dissapointed that you didn't start that sentence with 'and'.

[@NimhShambler]

When I write, I always pause and think: "Do people really ever talk like this?" or "Do people ever really do this?" I suggest doing this to everyone. My biggest advice is to read and re-read. Wait a while and re-read it again. You might catch something you've missed. Edit: I've cut entire plots because they just felt unneeded--even if I actually really liked that side-plot.

[@ambaraputra1603]

I was like that too, until I read a story (fan-fic, tho) which had a talking cat, that ended its dialog with "mya"... I questioned my thinking back then...

[@psfox4190]

I like to read my dialogue out loud to see if it feels right. Chances are, if it feels unnatural when you say it, it's unnatural for your character to say it, too. 🤷‍♀️

[@jyjaeskz]

More important than natural is if it's consistent with the way you write dialogue in the story

[@cameron120587]

"Inconceivable!" "You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means"

[@elise7650]

underrated

[@1arthurburke]

Let's enjoy the irony of telling someone, "Don't use contractions!"

[@Earzentail]

Nice))

[@chelseadelo3260]

YOU: "Please for the love of God... use contractions!" ME: *stands, applauses, wipes away tear* I absolutely HATE when author's write dialogue or narrative in a way that doesn't sound natural. No one (NO ONE) that I know or have ever met talks or thinks or explains things this way! (However there are exceptions for everything) When I was in elementary school, they DID teach us not to use contractions. I think that's because if you're writing something important(letters, emails, business documents, research papers, etc.), you'll sound more formal. It's not the same when writing fiction. The closer you make your narration to real life, the more believable it becomes. Believability = Relating to the character = caring about the character = investment in the story = good reading experience. One little thing like that can set off a domino effect in a way.

[@nootnewt9323]

I don’t use contractions often because I’m writing a novel set in another time period, where formality is important. But yes I agree. It’s awkward when I see writers refuse contractions in their modern day novels. In our current age, people use contractions. I don’t know why I see people who set their books in 2019 refuse to have people speak naturally.

[@Katherine_The_Okay]

@@nootnewt9323 If I can butt in, I agree that formality between characters merits different speech patterns, but is every character formal to every other character 24/7? I write a lot of things set in the Victorian era, and there are plenty of occasions where the characters wouldn't dream of using contractions. And others where they have no problem using them (when drunk, when alone with lovers or family memebers, etc). Just my $0.02 anyway, but the use of contractions on certain occasions makes their absence in other situations much more notable.

[@nootnewt9323]

@Kat K I understand what you mean. From my research of what I’ve read that distinction is rarely made which (I think) is more so due to the writers not really caring too much about portraying real life down to the letter. I think Victorian era writers understood what they were writing were fiction even if it was realistic and kind of left it at that. I can only speak for myself and my research- which definitely is probably flawed. I also write parodies of the period. If I were trying to be realistic then I would probably take those nuances into consideration.

[@Katherine_The_Okay]

@@nootnewt9323 Well, if you're writing parodies, then my only advice is to remember to frequently have your characters exclaim (or, if we're borrowing our terminology from AC Doyle and Dr Watson, to "ejaculate") "I say!" Preferably, while they're saying this, their monocle should fall off into their tea...

[@nootnewt9323]

@Kat K Ah! Thank you so much for your help! That’s what I was missing. I kept thinking that my work was too tame and not taking it far enough. I was close to using “ejaculate” as exclaim but I think that’s crossing some boundaries lol.

[@sarawawa8984]

I think the no contractions comes from paper and essay writing in school. I remember getting like 10 points off a paper for accidentally using two contractions lol. I think some stuff just really gets jammed into your brain

[@Tecknownoobs]

Agreed. Generally in academia, they don't like you using contractions due to the informal tone they give off.

[@Tecknownoobs]

@@pyerack I assume if you were to take a creative writing course they wouldn't mark you down for using contractions, but unfortunately most high school and university courses are geared towards teaching academic writing. Its the same thing with using passive voice, which is generally preferred in scientific writing, whereas in literature, it's considered a no no (most of the time that is).

[@taryngoulard4987]

Of from wanting to stretch essays to reach the minimum word count sooner lol

[@ComedyLoverGirl]

That's why I find journal keeping to be useful. It's a way to write regularly in a way that flows more naturally.

[@philipwq]

As the "don't begin a sentence with "and" or "or"! I had a rather intelligent teacher, though. She told me that you hade to know the rules in order to be able to/allowed to brake them. A common mistake among children is to "get a story going" by joining phrases using "and" ("We did that, and then we went there and we did that and... and... and..."). But once you've learnt that you should avoid that, your're free to begin a sentence with "and"! :-)

[@sandrabard3677]

CAT, CAT, CAT, CAT in the background.

[@jirahjashmiermacalino7556]

Y e s

[@Kaejennings]

My english teachers in middle and high school made us write the way of the 1st mistake. It's called the word graveyard. Like don't use said, at all, ever.

[@Kaejennings]

To be honest, most likely those who do use the thesaurus to replace words, the word graveyard is why. They are still teaching this crap in school, too. It bugs me. A lot.

[@scallahan5123]

@@Kaejennings I remember in fourth grade, we had a writing camp and we held a funeral for said.

[@Kaejennings]

While I agree that overusing words because you don't know anything else and don't try to learn otherways is just as bad as using words you don't quite understand, there is a happy medium gray area. Making sure the new words fit your sentence, the way your characters speak etc is a good way to use them. I remember the funeral for said...and quite a few others. I think it was my english teachers way of getting us to think outside the box and stop using the same words in every sentence. We were all children of course so I'm sure there was a great deal of said, asked, over description and bad grammar.

[@scallahan5123]

@@Kaejennings Yeah, I totally agree. I still have a tough time deviating from those teachings but everything gets easier the further away you grow from it. Like you said, there's a happy medium grey area.

[@bellac6311]

My teacher always tells us to use more descriptions, fancy words, no said, adverbs, even if they make you work a challenging read that doesnt flow. The worse thing is, when i use descriptions discretly and make the text a fun read, i get a lower grade. I dont get it.

[@cjpreach]

"All art is experiment, and all failed early drafts are stepping stones to success." Richard Walter. So do not fear The Edit.

[@feliciaa1087]

"most of us have more than one or two friends" you made me think about that I only have one friend and we're not that close so thanks

[@haddalee1622]

I’ll be your friend if you want

[@Katherine_The_Okay]

"Thesaurus disease," also known as Lovecraftitis...

[@spencerbrown3875]

I love Lovecraft, but yeah that’s kind of true. I will say though his stories are meant to be read more like a report than a novel so I think that’s why he uses the language he uses.

[@Katherine_The_Okay]

@@spencerbrown3875 That makes a lot of sense. Most of his stories do read like after-action reports more than anything. And, to be fair, it was a tendency he largely grew out of towards the end of his career. Early days, I think he was just trying way too hard to describe the indescribable while also struggling to find a unique style and that's a combination anyone is going to struggle with. I'm not what you'd call a "Lovecraft fan" but I will say that I enjoy many of his stories and definitely give him credit for originating and/or codifying a LOT of concepts that are still in use today, and that is an accomplishment few of us will ever manage. (Literally just yesterday, a friend was asking for advice on Stephen King short stories and more than once, I told her "you can really see the Lovecraft influence here" so there's no denying that he's left an indelible mark on the modern literary landscape.)

[@velvaetalt]

10:22 alexa: “by the way you can start a sentence with ‘and’ or ‘but’.” everything i’ve ever been taught in school: *shook*

[@coffeestarsbooks]

The example I gave for this the last time I explained it to someone about overusing the thesaurus is Joey in Friends when he writes a letter and uses the thesaurus for every single word, including his name.

[@birdiemcchicken1471]

I love Baby Kangaroo Tribbiani!

[@SylentONE]

I agree but the Thesaurus and Synonyms dot come have helped me discover words for thoughts I couldn't articulate. Context and the nature of the book you're writing. My book is very Urban, so the language, names of characters, direction will reflect that.

[@JulianGreystoke]

I have a file full of cut scenes from my current wip

[@KreativeHogwartsLegacyGUIDES]

I feel like this works for me as well. I usually see things as a movie, so I like the idea. How many scenes do you have? and how far are you with the wip?

[@violetlavi2207]

Yeah, I always keep my cut scenes in case I can repurpose them later (and also for sentimental value)

[@AuthorpreneurPodcast]

I'm guilty of tense shifting. I changed my current work in progress from present to past tense. I'm really loving this series. 😃

[@pinkypinks4336]

I'm so paranoid that I'm tense shifting, that I'm second guessing whether I even know/ what tense is anymore. Pray for my poor betas. _/|\_

[@shadowspector3611]

It isn't a problem if you always write in past tense. How can you make a story sound believable if it's in present tense? "She walks up to the stage. She gets on it and sings." Do stories really sound like that instead of "she walked up to the stage to get on it and sing."

[@AmethystWoman]

I don't worry about tense in the first draft. I'll figure out what works best in edit one. Ok, if I ever finish a draft...and I shift tenses all the time and I have a bad memory as to which one I am using so I try to keep writing instead of looking back. If I look back, I'm cooked as I start editing. Ok, if I ever get beyond act one because of editing! Eek.

[@soniccookie655]

I will often interchange tenses in a way that sounds really dumb for the first bit of writing something, because I’m trying to figure out which one I like best for that story. I still don’t know the answer but I usually settle on past tense (which is the most common, of course).

[@rebbiejoanthony5362]

Idea to make "killing your darlings" a little easier: If you're really proud of a particular line or piece of prose that you worked hard on, but you just find it isn't necessary in the scene, don't delete it and make it cease to exist forever! Cut and paste it into a document that you can reference later, in case you do find a place where it's relevant, or to look at for inspiration when you have writer's block.

[@cjpreach]

Screenwriter Richard Walter says we need to get to the place where we say, "Good. I'm glad I can cut these 17 pages. It will make my writing better."

[@JonTanOsb]

I'll bet they're not consecutive. More likely separate cuts that added up to 17 pages. ~ Jon

[@Jaechhetai]

@@JonTanOsb ha😂

[@pick2206]

@@JonTanOsb I'll bet they are. ~ Pick

[@ajburkemuso]

What popped into my head when you mentioned "thesaurus disease" was Joey from Friends when he is writing Monica and Chandler's adoption rec. letter and Ross shows him the thesaurus function on the laptop!

[@jacklawrence2212]

Yeah! 'Baby Kangaroo' Tribbiani.

[@JonTanOsb]

A friend of mine asked me to look at a paragraph she'd been working all morning on, but wasn't happy with. I couldn't see anything wrong with it. Then she showed it to me in context, on the page of her book. "You're good at editing. Can you fix it?" I could. I blocked it. "You're moving it? Where?" I hit delete. I thought she was going to explode. "Before you kill me," I said, "read it over." She did. The new paragraph she'd worked so hard on didn't add anything to the scene. She finally admitted it and thanked me. ~ Jon

[@shadowspector3611]

Why would she explode when there is Control Z?

[@ambaraputra1603]

harsh fix but effective

[@coralia.i9702]

"you're moving it? Where?" I hit delete." AS LKDFSAJLD I BURST INTO LAUGHTER SEND HELP DYING HAAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@armstronghawkins9183]

I'm more wary of writers who deliberately look to a Thesaurus to deliberately replace words simply to be 'fancy' or 'writerly'. But...$10 words on their own, I don't consider a "mistake". It's not the fact of them; it's how successfully they fit the style of the writing. The writing might be full of $10 words but so long as they fit the writing style, I got no no prob. I even think a more-formal/less-vernacular style can help tell certain stories. But I'd caution writers that it can be hard to pull off (rather than label $10 words on their own as 'mistakes'). Kinda like large numbers of characters. There's nothing really wrong with large numbers of characters, per say (Tolkein, GRR Martin, Mario Puzo) but if every character doesn't exist to further the story then, yeah, you got a muddy, flavorless 'character-soup'. Love that term! I mean...some readers are gonna read the word "ostentatious" and think that it is...well..."ostentatious" simply b/c they had to look it up, but there are gonna be writers/readers for whom "ostentatious" is the perfect word for what needs to be said. I think what you said about grammar applies to $10 words. A well-read reader/writer will know how to use language in any style/format so that the writing keeps the reader engaged and doesn't suddenly knock the reader off track with an awkward word or (for grammar) an incorrect verb tense.

[@julianfantasia9033]

You also really need to think about target audience. If you’re writing YA or middle grade, don’t use the word ostentatious even if you know what it means, unless you’re intentionally making a character pretentious and hard to understand. For adults it might be fine though. Also, you misused the word “vernacular”. Vernacular is a noun, not an adjective, and it basically means ‘dialect’, like the specific way people talk within a certain cultural and/or demographic group. Like you could have the vernacular _of_ the eighteenth century French aristocracy, or the vernacular of the twentieth century North-Irish proletariat. The word you’re looking for is _colloquial._ It basically means something ‘of the speech of the common people or the majority’, and it includes things like slang and informal language. It’s the way you talk to your friends, as opposed to the way you write an email to your professor.

[@beebee3526]

what you explained here is EXACTLY what I thought was missing from her video because the words themselves do not lead to them being misunderstood, it is the way that they are used that leads to it the contraction thing is also a similar point. It depends on the context.

[@dinkmartini3236]

If things are going really, really well in the read, I might look up a handful of words. If there is ANYTHING amiss with the read AND I'm expected to run to the dictionary on top of the other short-comings, it's the kiss of death.

[@elrancho8700]

my 1 simple rule: if you can't define a word, don't put it in your book!

[@shamrockgirl804]

Because of the COVID-19 quarantines, I’ve decided to revisit a story that I wrote ten years ago in 2010 and haven’t edited since 2015. When I first wrote the story, I caught myself doing #3 where I wrote my character’s thought process as he tried to resolve a time sensitive conflict. I wrote a bunch of information during a therapy session chapter. I felt great when I wrote it but it didn’t advance the plot. I wrote about things that I should have wrote about or set up at the beginning of the story (the beginning of the story needs to be re-written because the story is about him, not another character). So years ago, I took those scenes out of the story and analyzed it, asking the 5 W’s and how the facts should happen. And now, I’m making sure that those plot points and set ups are at the beginning of the story so when he comes to the conflicting point of the story, the problems add up (and are not coming out of nowhere) and the seriousness of his situation hits harder. I still consider myself a new writer but I love editing this book with more experienced eyes and perspectives! 📖🧐

[@Jakeaddicts]

I have some really good feedback for people who say they are afraid they feel like their story might get stolen from beta readers. While Alexa is correct; there is a VERY low chance of this happening, you still have a backup to put your mind at ease. Anyone can make "poor man's copywrite" by printing up your book on several sheets of paper, and sending it to yourself via the postal service. This way if you find your book has been stolen, that package will have dates and an original copy to protect you.

[@alycreeper]

Limit using the thesaurus Limit your characters Make sure dialogue and scenes move the plot forward Use scene cards for every scene to identify where the characters start and where they end Avoid tense shifting Avoid head-hopping It's okay to use contractions lol Don't be afraid to share your work with others Cut away all the fat

[@KreativeHogwartsLegacyGUIDES]

THANK YOU! Yeah our parents are literally wrong about everything to do with writing. Including uses of the word literally.

[@Joulay647]

I'm surprised to have heard that were taught in school to avoid contractions as well. Thought I was the only one.

[@author_page]

Thank you for reminding me about moving your characters and keeping track of where they end up in a scene. My writing took a serious hit during Hurricane Irma. For an entire month during the 2017 hurricane season my roommates and I were busy hoarding bottled water and boarding up our windows. It was my first hurricane ever, and I was too terrified to even think straight, let alone write. It took me completely out of my groove and I forgot all about choreographing the action in my scenes. It was one of the most useful tools I had, and I only just remembered it watching this video.

[@kurapikakurta1997]

I feel that “basic language bad” was drilled into my mind a lot in school. My teachers always had a thing for “said” and “nice” being bad, and that if I wanted to be a good writer I had to be a more fancy-describy thing.

[@madison5315]

I've edited/beta'd for fanfiction writers in the past, so I've seen most of this stuff in copious amounts. One mistake I've seen quite often is the overuse of brackets. Sometimes it's almost as if they're written a whole 'nother story in brackets alone. When this happens, I have a system. First, I go through the story skipping over the text in brackets, and if the story makes sense, I'll skim over what they have in each bracket individually and see how much I can minimize. Most of the time it's just their way of processing the information. I'll advise them to save a copy of the work with the brackets for themselves, in case they need to go back, but otherwise, they need to make some cuts. If the story doesn't make sense when I skip over the brackets, however, I go through the whole story again, this time reading each and every word. Sometimes I feel like I'm mutilating their hard work, but I know that it needs to be done. Brackets like this are fine when it's the first or second draft, but it's not a good idea to leave them in the final project. Most of the time, it's just not crucial information.

[@shadowspector3611]

What happens when you create a fanfiction but craft it to look like professional modern writing? Can editors still give you realistic criticism if they're not in the fandom?

[@bethanylaurell8081]

Great video. I'd actually been worried that I don't have *enough* characters in my novel in progress (I currently have five that are reasonably important to the plot), but hearing that "character soup" is a common problem makes me feel better about just focusing on a handful.

[@1krani]

The character limit should be the number of characters you can make engaging, not some arbitrary number. Look at Dragon Ball Z. How many characters does THAT series have at any one time? The key is to know who to focus on in a given scene.

[@fourcatsandagarden]

I literally write emails for a living right now and because of that I tend to accidentally write like I have to write emails (no contractions, utmost formality). It's a real muse killer sometimes because I find myself grading my writing as though I'm expecting my boss to gut my bonus because I'm being unprofessional.

[@JayceMaxwell]

#9 - Allow yourself to make all of the mistakes in your first draft. The more you self edit while you're trying to get the idea onto the page, the easier it is to get mired in the middle and give up. Every mistake can be fixed in the edit. Also, the more mistakes you allow into your first draft, the easier it is to not get attached to your "darlings".

[@neamt9200]

I absolutely use the thesaurus a ton, but it’s honestly just for normal words like “stung” and “pack” because my brain just dies sometimes.

[@midnightblack07]

Thank you for sharing this! As a new writer (currently working on my first novel), I found both this video and Part I incredibly helpful :) I'm guilty of tense shifting, and thought I'm mindful of it, I still struggle quite a bit. Hopefully it's something that will improve with time and effort *crosses fingers*

[@nekosubliminals3212]

Chaacter soup. Ha! Tell that to warrior cats

[@lauradow9067]

For me, I like to use headhopping when I’m trying to set the reader on edge and make them feel uncomfortable, but I really don’t know how well that works. Honestly, I was just writing a tense scene that I wanted to come from the view points of several of my characters and I wanted it to make my reader feel uneasy, so my POV jumped around.

[@sosoh.6213]

Thank you for pointing out character soup. I've finally decided to actually finish a book this month or the next, depending on how long it takes me to get to the end in a way that makes sense, and when I looked back at one of my older projects, I realized that I tried to build a backstory more elaborate than that of Westeros (even though my character/world backstory sucked), and I think I've finally figured out how to stop doing that. I really needed to hear that second point. Also, one of your videos about harsh advice/facts for new writers was something I really needed to hear. Thank you. Seriously. Thank you.

[@archdornan5311]

I love this channel so much, I couldn't find anyone as helpful as you, really. You somehow convey credibility and I'm very grateful for all these videos

[@kylben]

I do resort to the thesaurus on occasion, but as a strict rule, I only use synonyms I am very familiar with, meaning and connotations.

[@user-lc5pr3yb8b]

I love this because what she said about contractions is so absolutely relevant I was thinking I don't even read when people don't use contractions I read the contraction I just stuff it together in my brain.

[@SomaKitsune]

Lol I'm actually really grateful to you for liberating me from feeling ashamed for starting sentences with "yes" and "but".

[@keouine]

In my school experience, the rules against contractions and beginning with a coordinating conjunction was intended for research, reports, serious no-nonsense writing. Very very very important for English language learners and socio-economic sgroups or those with regionalism

[@meandmybobbygee1812]

"Kill things precious to you" please don't take me back to Origin, I'm not ready to go back there

[@dorothyinman4632]

Thank you so much for these videos. I am definitely guilty of using the thesaurus and I'm sure I have used words the wrong way. I also am very attached to my scenes and characters but you gave me some great food for thought. I've had several preview groups for my novel, but have never used/pursued beta readers. That is going to be next on my to do list. Thanks again.

[@LS-kp2nm]

Yaaaas to the POV and the tense mistakes- I am watching your other videos STAT! Thanks for providing those links too.

[@beths_studio]

I love writing first person but one time, unconsciously swapped to third person half way through my story and didn't even notice until I started to switch back and reread it. Went back through, and had to edit a LOT of work. Had no idea I'd done it. First and last time I've done that 😂.

[@shanshan8687]

Little Beth I did that once too but kept going with the 3rd person, that’s where I shine

[@gabegimmick6609]

I really love these videos. It's a realization of how screwed I am in my writing habits.

[@quinnhatfield4753]

my absolute fav person on KZbin!!! your videos have helped me so so so much!!

[@thecosbyshow7464]

I believe we already had to kill our darlings in the last video. Does it mean we have to kill them twice?

[@SylentONE]

Cosby Show 👌👌

[@jacklawrence2212]

This is great advice and very well presented, Alexa. And you're right about the 'kill your darlings' thing. Not to sound brutal, you have to learn to be ruthless.

[@Createdbysophistic8ed]

One of my problems in writing is not being able to kill my darlings. Working on it but it's so hard.

[@EvoluteCreator]

That last one is so important. I learned a lot from my father, so it was fortunately easier for me to do. He spent five years writing a 250-page book and ended up cutting out literally > 1,000,000 words.

[@abandonedaccount747]

I barely passed english back in my high school days. I just had no interest in literature. I am really appreciating all this info now that I am hella into writing

[@efoxkitsune9493]

Aaah dammit character soup! That's exactly what I do...! 😭

[@eddampier]

Writers that would fail these criteria: 1) Nabokov / Leigh Fermor 2) Pynchon / Powell / Proust 3) Foster Wallace / Joyce 4) Burroughs 5) B.S. Johnson / Faulkner 6) James 7/8) Gogol haha

[@DarkPrinceOfClowns]

Amazing video! ^^ There was ACTUALLY things I didn't already know here, and a lot of really good advice. (And I've read ALOT of books on authoring/watched videos or courses on Udemy and so on writing, so I've hears a lot of advices on writing.)

[@Miznew]

Just started writing and came across your channel. Great content and massively helpful tips 😀👍🏾

[@emmetcameron1026]

I'm allergic to outlining too, but I do keep notes on what happens in each scene either as I go or between drafts. I still write those scenes that go nowhere, but it helps me identify which ones to flesh out or chuck out when I head into the next draft.

[@zeroisland7]

I love recreating the language to get around that things that either i dont like the current words or dont even know what to call it. So I create a term for it!

[@pixxelwizzard]

I think outlines serve a great purpose and can be invaluable at helping in certain ways. However, I would hate to know how every scene was going to play out when I sat down to write a book. That would take a lot of the fun out of the writing! Getting surprised by your characters is so delightful. But you make an excellent point. Every scene needs to serve a purpose.

[@JanisLithium]

We like the reasons you list, but don´t confuse that with us coming back cause of your energy girl. You are a Goddess

[@rosec-g764]

These are such simple ideas to think about and use to improve my writing. Thank you.

[@mirthfulArtist]

One thing that really bugs me is metaphors where they shouldn't be-- not just in amateur work, but in published books, too. Sometimes a metaphor will just be entirely the wrong tone for what its describing, or worse yet, it'll make no sense. Two that come to mind were from the same book...They were blood dripping as "thick as india ink", which is actually *thinner* than water, and another thing being as "thin as parchment", which is thicker than paper and *not* translucent like the thing they were describing. The author of this YA didn't seem to know either of these, given the context...like she learnt these metaphors from other books rather than actually seeing these objects irl. Or maybe she thought actual parchment and baking paper were the same thing? Idk. It annoyed me. Also first person present tense makes me want to bash my head through the drywall.

[@amberandrews6692]

As a person who has rarely used the word "said," I am kinda pissed at my teachers for teaching me not to use said. I've used words like whispered, asked, questioned, grunted, groaned, and deadpanned. And, I still use those now, but I've just started using "said" more often. It's now "said quietly" and "rushed to say" and "he said." I still use adverbs and synonyms to "said," but it's less common now.

[@emilyonizuka4698]

omg I definitely do the tense switching thing. when I go back to edit I get so frustrated with myself because the tenses are just so all over the place. luckily it is an easy fix but so tedious!

[@caseygibson5422]

I just started the video, but I looked in the description and saw you linked to the Purdue OWL. My English teacher heart went pitter-pat. ❤

[@mephistopheles4910]

4:00 You just gave me the greatest idea for my book! Thank you!

[@dalisandbooks8293]

I love your videos. They’re so helpful and fun to watch

[@Tyme4t2]

As far as thesaurus disease, I agree. If Ann Coulter wrote in laymen words, she would probably have better book sales. I personally do not like having a dictionary to look up words for the book I am reading. I have watched a few of your videos since I came across your channel. Your advice is very helpful to me being I am in the process of writing a non-fiction book. You have opened up doors for me to go ahead and write a novel too. Thanks for that!

[@silenth3673]

I love your advice. a lot is stuff that I knew but it actually helps a lot to hear somebody else say it

[@kassimkhankhan3875]

You advise is astounding impressive. I am loving your blog immensely

[@grogthegoalie6324]

Lol I love watching your videos. Such inspiring craftsmanship and knowledge goes into each one. Wish I could get you to critique my work 🤣 lord knows I could use all the help. Going back and watching these older videos really has helped guide me to complete my first manuscript draft. Sorry for all the recent struggles in life lately but know that we are grateful for your work. 🙏🤘

[@Kat_ko_02]

Hi Miss Donne, I find your videos clear, concise and (of course) incredibly informative. I was wondering what type of POV you prefer to write from/in, and if you use multiple character POV, do you focus more on one character and just offer snippets into other's minds? Or, do you evenly distribute you're POV's amongst the chosen characters?

[@dembonez19]

I know that as a *technical writer*, which isn't the same as a published author, contractions do sometimes run into translation issues. I assume book translations involve a much different process since technical writing works more with automation, but it's something I thought I'd mention. It's from another type of writing where the rules are weird, and when you have a job that involves these different rules, sometimes they're hard to break when you venture into something else. All that to say...we still use contractions even in technical writing, though we have been slapped on the wrist a few times and will probably regret some of it once we localize... We also learned that it's okay to start sentences with contractions. So, I'm all aboard that train with you.

[@kandybelle7333]

Criminally undersubscribed! You make great content ❤️

[@happychaosofthenorth]

I've been told that I love to use italics too much for emphasis and that I need to trust myself more and that the emphasis already comes through in my writing. But I really do love using italics. It's hard for me to refrain from using them sometimes.

[@elizalagonia1049]

My husband helps with tense jumping. I read scenes to him and if I tense jump he tells me right away. It's a bad habit I picked up from fanfic writing. I start to wonder about character soup sometimes, but I don't focus on more that a few characters. I have an "assemble cast" so to speak, like a "Pretty Little Liars" thing, but even with a lot of characters most are minor and are part, but of the story but we don't see things from their point of view. I even named two characters Bob and Bobber just to give them names, they are there but never say anything. I broke the formal writing habit writing screenplays. It was hard because all through high school and college teachers and professors would count off for it, but I got out of the habit.

[@TeaAndCroissants]

Do you mean "ensemble cast"?

[@bluewrenreilly8090]

You are a tonic I cannot keep saying it so from now on just an uptick!

[@blu3b4lls53]

IM THE PERPETRATOR OF USING SYNONYMS

[@emilyboyer9211]

I just finished my scene cards hehe.. now on to my first draft!!

[@hanaiiyo6943]

good luck!!

[@mdaniels6311]

I bought your book. I felt it was a fair trade for all the help you've provided. I did buy it used though as things a little tight at the moment.

[@silenth3673]

I always infodump in my first drafts and I love it. I love to go back later and figure out how to weave it all in instead of having walls of text. writing is rewriting

[@lindaweedmark6025]

Haha, I felt so exposed when you said it could be a sentence! The shame! Lol...The book I'm working on right now, was created just so I could use this one sentence with this one word, but I had to kill the whole scene. It's in the writer equivalent of Tupperware now, in the kitchen of my mind. 😜😅

[@lesternapoleongreen7543]

You're incredibly helpful. Thank you for such good advice.

[@butchbrittany1208]

Your vids are awesome. Thank you.

[@the0siren0of0night]

My biggest problem is tense shifting...I keep on going from past tense to present...Endless editing of it...but reading the original versions can be quite fun...never really had a problem with contractions...one story I wrote in secondary school (high school) had "shouldn't've" i.e: should-not-have...my english teacher was actually glad I did that because it matched the speech pattern of most people, but it also made her see that I had learned something that everyone in my class hadn't...people wrote "should of" instead of "should have" because the "of" had the sound of the "should've" they wanted to write...

[@joylynvandeberg1072]

I love all of your videos and they've really helped me with the writing process of my first novel. One thing I see a lot of people talk about is info-dumping or not describing enough. how do we find the sweet spot in between?

[@samyboynton6129]

I am loving all of your videos! Perfect thing to binge watch on my breaks from writing my NaNoWriMo piece.

[@OmniRizzo]

Thanks for the video. It was a fun and informative watch.

[@KristenElizabeth4]

I read so much fan fiction where I have to look up words in the middle of reading because I literally might read that word once every few years lol

[@JuliaN-ti9zv]

Funny enough, I got an ad for an online writing class by Neil Gaiman before the video started. Ngl that was the most inspirational ad I've ever seen and motivated me a lot to get started haha

[@LindsayPuckett]

I love Susan's revision method! I'm using her version now on my draft 😊

[@FrozenGuineaPig]

This was really helpful and that last one was especially prevalent to me as I'm currently going through revisions with my sister and every time she's like "you should probably cut this" I scream into my computer.

[@dreamwithapen]

I don't care for head-hopping much, but I've recently read a couple of books that I really liked that head-hopped. It just took some getting used to. I decided, Why not try something new and not my preference? So I'm working on one now. I'm afraid I do have too many characters though.

[@Katherine_The_Okay]

Sometimes 3rd person omniscient can look like head-hopping, but they're two very different things. At least, that's what I was taught in Creative Writing. Then again, 20 years after taking the class I'm still not published, so what do I know...

[@bradsmith4875]

Guilty of head hopping, but don't want to stop. I don't do it much, but I use it to move things forward. I'm going to take a look at it and fix it.

[@solstyxe]

the only time I really use a thesaurus is when I can't think of a word on my mind, and I have to look through similar ones to find it

[@robertsheftelman881]

I thought I had issues as a writer, then I saw this. Yup. I don't do most of these things, but it turns out I have a bit of the Thesaurus disease. Whoops. Love the links. Thank you so much. I have copied them to my lessons TO learn file. Dialogue is my weakness, for sure. Not the formatting, but using it effectively.... yea.... might have a whoopsy there too. Bout to watch your video on Dialogue. Takes a strong person to admit their faults. These video are softening my tough skin. LOL.

[@kassimkhankhan3875]

Your incredibly videos are creating great artistic labor for a first time writer