10 Bad Writing Habits you Should Avoid
Writing is an art, and like any other art one must be properly trained to do so. I started writing sometime back and was really happy about my work until all the readers laughed at my work and made fun on each and every thing I did. My writing wasn’t well presented and didn’t have headings, I made long “very informative” paragraphs but nobody cared to read them. This made me research all about good writing practices, tools and resources.
There are ample of writers (including me) who do numerous mistakes while writing and don’t even know where they are falling short. Here, I have tried to investigate all the common faults done by writers and now putting them here. Go through them and do tell me if I have missed out any fault. Bad writing may be negated at initial stages but only by practice and conscious effort can the faults be removed.
You may be interested in the following related articles as well.
Feel free to join us and you are always welcome to share your thoughts that our readers may find helpful.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS-feed and follow us on Twitter — for recent updates.
Bad Writing Habits you Should Avoid
Don’t write in Old Time
You don’t have to mimic 400 year old style; if you want to appeal to today’s audience you must go through today’s authors and check out their writing style and dramatic style, see JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series is not just a children book, it’s hell more than that.
Do not write Long Paragraphs
Writing long paragraph and putting stories in full blocks actually kills the reader’s interest. People who read on internet are looking for more of fun reading and little shots of information along the way is well accepted. Make small paragraphs, looks well presented and easy to read.
Don’t make up Tough Scenarios
You need not beat around the bush for any reason at all, many times this is seen and it’s a total blunder as nobody likes to get caught in a puzzle. Making such scenarios as to get the reader more absorbed, actually takes the reader away from you.
Don’t stick to Stereotype Style, be Innovative
You need not stick to one format and style; stereotypes have overcome our world today. Same design, same format, same cloth and same sense make life boring. Innovation needs no boundaries and no rules as well.
Hear yourself and Write the way You Want
Listen to the “inner voice”, write what you think and how you think, many times the employer puts constraints which makes the writer feel lost in his own land. Writer should know how to deliver while hanging on to his ways.
Try to Stick to some Old Practice, Don’t just go on Hearsay
Here I am contradicting my statement, but not without a reason. Safe play may let you go a long way, so you may sometimes stick to those practices which are proven and undoubtedly beneficial.
Keep your Titles Short, and use Easy Language
Keeping long titles and complex language may look good but makes an idiot of you as very few read it and even fewer would undnd ierstat.
Don’t ignore your Readers, Peers, Social Media
Often writers ignore their readers and peers; they write complete text and publish it giving less notice to what their peers have to say about it, Social media comments need to be taken seriously enough to alter it totally or be proud of it. Listen to the readers review, ignoring that may get you out of business.
Leave your Ego Aside
Some people high on ego reflect their ego in their writings, know your client wants your writing and not your ego. Some might argue that such a thing as ego as helped them rise but if it’s not kept down I am pretty sure it will get them down even faster.
Grammatical Mistakes
Putting down the most common (at least for me) grammatical mistakes done while writing. Go through these well as nobody could be perfect with each of these (unless with a degree in English).
Your vs. You’re
Your means “The forms of the possessive case of the personal pronoun you”.
Usage > your book
You’re, is a contraction for “you are”.
Usage > you’re not doing this right.
It’s vs. Its
Its, means “Possessive form of the pronoun it”.
Usage > this page has lost its attraction.
It’s, is the Contraction for “it is” or “it has”.
Usage > It’s very important to use correct English.
There vs. Their
There as noun means “a location other than here” also an adverb.
Usage > there are many people in this field.
Their means “The possessive case of the personal pronoun they”.
Usage > their opinion is also important.
Affect vs. Effect
Affect as verb means “act physically on”.
Usage > Communication skill immensely affects the income.
Effect as noun means “the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work”.
Usage > the effect of communication skill is immense on income.
Loose vs. Lose
Loose as verb means “become loose or looser or less tight”.
Usage > See that your pants aren’t too loose.
Lose as verb means “allow to go out of sight”.
Usage > don’t lose your wallet.
Who’s vs. whose
Whose means “The possessive case of who or which”.
Usage > whose game is over?
Who’s is contraction for “who is”.
Usage > who’s coming home with me?”)
NOTE: All word meanings are taken from onelook.com
great tips on writing…
Bookmarked. thank you.
great post ….thanks for sharing…
I will try to avoid 10 bad habits
As a starting blog, it’s good to see this bad habits to take care while writing posts.
Thanks for sharing this useful information!
Great post. I get so upset when I see people writing your instead of you’re. English is not my first language and even I know the difference.
Thanks for this tips i will definitely avoid this bad habits.
Thanks very well written :)
Thanks for an awesome site and article! My only legitimate thoughts are:
I really like your coverage of common grammatical errors. Those are mistakes that are easy to make but can be easy to avoid if people learn some simple principles.
Rodney
The ten tips for writing are truly helpful. Another tip would be to write from the heart, without making any alterations till the whole piece is written. Then read what you have written, keeping the grammar, syntax and style in mind. It is in the second or third reading that the work gets polished and gets transformed into a perfect piece of writing.
Awesome tips. Thanks for sharing.
brilliant. i will try this one. Love it. thank you very much for sharing your knowledge
your blog really inspire me… and i m waiting for ur next post ;)
Excellent post and Thank you so much for posting these, they are the greatest collection !
This is great advice for me personally but professionally I’m lucky I have some too do it for me, and my clients!
It is always a good idea to go through you article again before posting it, don’t ever chek while writing
It’s also a good idea to proof read before publishing. It’s not ‘Avoide’ – it’s ‘Avoid’.
See article image for details.
When writing a post talking about grammary mistakes and problems with writing, it is impertive that you check through it multiple times.
If possible get a proofreader to go through the content.
Your articles has quite a few gramatical errors.
And I made loads myself…
thanks for sharing… i will aviod this bad habits..
@Aiva You’re not off to a good start.
The article is very good!
Funny thing is, Paul Boag of Boagworld was saying how his longer titles had more readership. Now, whether that’s because they were more descriptive or informative, or because longer titles are better for SEO, I don’t know. The fact was the data points to longer titles, for whatever reason, being better.
Great Tips … all very apt!!
I apologize, but the irony of this article is so great that I cannot overlook it. Forget grammatical *mistakes.* Try utilizing the language you are writing in properly. One does not “do” mistakes in English- they *make* mistakes. Rather than the world being “overcome” by stereotypes, I think the word you are looking for is ‘overrun.’ Also, in English, articles are obligatory and verbs and nouns must agree. People can only read on THE internet- there is no other- and either ‘A writer should know’ or ‘writers should know’ are the only two proper constructions for that sentence. What is “looking for more of fun reading?” Do you mean ‘looking for reading that is more fun?’ I also don’t not understand the phrase “missed out any fault.”
Now, if English is not your native language, I can completely understand. However, that does not absolve you of both having your work vigorously proofread and refraining from writing articles which you are in no way, shape, or form an expert on- namely, good writing in the English language. Common errors (like their vs they’re and other typos) are one thing, but the irony here is bordering on offensive.
I agree with the comment by “Me”.
There are grammatical errors strewn all over that post.
Let’s begin with the first sentence.
“Writing is an art, and like any other art one must be properly trained to do so.”
Art is not “done”. You should’ve ended that sentence at the word “trained”.
Let’s not go on… it would take all day to pinpoint the error in every sentence.
Me, I agree… it is rather ironic to read an article on how to write, only to find the article littered with syntax, grammar, spelling, and usage errors. I do think that a few of the points were pertinent, but some made no sense, whatsoever. The writer appears to speak a language other than English as a first language, but as you pointed out, that necessitates proofreading by someone who is actually proficient in the language.
Nice tutorials, I’ve already seen some of them but anyway they are still stunning.
I like this write-up and the constructive criticism that accompanied it. As we all know; we learn daily
***Think the Best
I’mreally enjoying the design and layout of your blog.
It’s a vedry easy on the eyes which makes iit much more pleasant for
mme to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme?
Superb work!
“Don’t make Up Tough Scenarios” …seems a bit unclear what you’re driving at.