There's a lot to writing creatively that's taken for granted. For example, the simple fact that perfection usually doesn't come out in only one draft! Whether you're majoring or minoring in Creative Writing (like me!) or you just want to know more about the ultimate don'ts of the writing world so it becomes glaringly obvious the next time you read your favorite (soon to be ruined) novel, keep on reading!
1. Unnatural Dialogue
Free-flowing, natural dialogue between characters is one of the harder parts of writing to master, but it's essential if you want to keep your readers engrossed in the story. Come up with a few drafts for different conversations and ask someone to read them, keeping in mind what seems robotic and forced and which parts feel more relaxed.
2. Lengthy Descriptions
If you have to dedicate a lengthy number of pages to filling out your novel's setting, do it in a better way than shoving it down the reader's throat in one sitting. This includes complex background information; sometimes it works, most times it doesn't. What you need to share with the reader in order to make sense of the plot will be told, I promise! Just, please... have mercy. Time it well with other key moments in your writing that suggest the necessity of background information. This also includes dragging on about the color of the sky or the exact color of that one girl's hair; there's a time and a place for it all.
3. Unnecessary Additions, AKA "Fluff"
The biggest key to successful creative writing is acknowledging this question: does what I'm writing move the plot or develop a character? If it does neither, it can be omitted. I know you really want talk about about your protagonist's super cute outfit, but if it does nothing to advance the plot or characterize that individual, it really doesn't need to be said.
4. Repetition
Stay fresh within your text. Along with keeping out the fluff, don't say that same darn thing over and over again! It probably got old the second time it was mentioned. If it isn't advancing the plot or developing a character, repetition is a big no-no that when utilized incorrectly can be a real annoyance for the reader who can't see its purpose in the story.
5. Using Clichés
This includes favorites such as: "Her blood ran cold," "His heart was as cold as ice," and "He was a jack-of-all-trades." Writer's Digest goes deeper into this topic, but really, using clichés is like stealing something that has been stolen a thousand times before. It's old, it's tired, and it just wants to be laid to rest!
6. Expecting Perfection
We're all human, and no human is going to churn out The Best Novel Ever Written in a week. It takes the right combination of diligence, courage, discipline, practice, and love to edit a single page to where you don't want to delete it into oblivion. Don't get discouraged because you think so-and-so is a "better" writer than you. The most important thing to remember is that you are a writer so long as you keep on writing.
And there you have it, folks! There's more if you dig further into studying the craft, but these are good to keep in mind as a newbie. Take care to avoid these definite no-no's when you get those creative gears turning and you're well on your way to becoming a disciplined, attentive writer. Now, excuse me while I hunch over my keyboard in the silence of the night and edit this memoir to death to the sounds of my own anguished sobs...
