What writing habits do you struggle with?

[E.A.Cornell]

For me I notice I tend to overuse certain words such as 'look' and 'feel'. I usually have to pick better synonyms. Another thing is that I often write super vague descriptions that I will come back to and say to myself, "What was I even thinking? I don't understand this at all like I thought I did when I wrote it." Oh, and using the same noun in three or more consecutive sentences, is another one. e.g. The cart did this. Then the cart did that. Then the cart did another thing. Then the cart... I think I made my point : )

How bout you?

 

[Lynae Fisher]

Trying to type too fast. And makeign a bazillion mistkae s ! And then having to use the backspace button a ton and still having mistake left over after 5 people have read and proofed my work. (By the way, I cheated and backspaced a few times in that second sentence, lol. Still hardly readable...

So this si wha tit lokes liek if ti don't backspace hen I writeng at hisghe speeds!

 

[E.A.Cornell]

Trying to type too fast. And makeign a bazillion mistkae s ! And then having to use the backspace button a ton and still having mistake left over after 5 people have read and proofed my work. (By the way, I cheated and backspaced a few times in that second sentence, lol. Still hardly readable...

So this si wha tit lokes liek if ti don't backspace hen I writeng at hisghe speeds!

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Haha! I get that with coding sometimes. I will flip the letters in a variable. So instead of writing 'Transform' I will write something like 'Rtasform'. The compiler is very angry with me if I do that.

 

[Lynae Fisher]

Haha! I get that with coding sometimes. I will flip the letters in a variable. So instead of writing 'Transform' I will write something like 'Rtasform'. The compiler is very angry with me if I do that.

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Yeah, I flip letters, add ones that don't even go in the word, etc. Believe it or not, it's even worse if I try to type on a different keyboard that I'm not used to. If I slow down, that helps a lot, but sometimes I'm trying to keep up with the story as it is forming in my head...

Another problem I sometimes run into is writing things too vaguely and too fancy, so they may no sense to anyone else. Sometimes it's because I'm trying to combine two or more scene into one, so if you don't already know the scenes, it just sounds like a jumbled mess. Other times I'm trying to fictionalize and disguise a real story into a safely unrecognizable fiction story.

 

[Westee]

I have several.

I had a short story critiqued the other day, and she pointed out several unnecessary "that"s. The problem is that I use it in my everyday speech, so it's only natural to include it in my writing (see what I did there?). About 95% of them aren't needed, including ^ that one.

Since I read through my stories umpteen times, I do a lot of editing on the fly. Often, while rewriting a sentence, I click to the left of a period and then backspace through the part I want to change. However, when I finish typing the new ending of the sentence, I end it with a period and don't notice that I now have two periods.

I also have a problem with missing quotation marks, either front or back. I can't figure out why I mess that up. It's very annoying.

 

[P.M. Turner]

Uhhh, is the habit of NOT writing considered a bad writing habit?

Okay, okay. I'd say my main problem is in my descriptions, or lack thereof. When describing a new place or setting, I often skip putting in the effort to make it important or convincing, and just go straight to the dialogue, because that's the writing I actually care about. And then I read something else, some piece of writing that does description very well, and I realize, "Oh. That's probably what's missing from my work."

 

[H. E. Willis]

I think one writing-related habit is going to look something up then getting lost in Alice’s rabbit hole. One thing leads to another, then another, then I suddenly find I’ve wasted half an hour. But that’s when I’m editing, because I write longhand.

I don’t know if this is really a bad writing habit or not (frankly I don’t know what it is), but when I’m writing a book, I’ll suddenly feel like every word I use is wrong, and everything is awkward for a chapter or two. It’s like I forget how to write. Does anyone else ever have that problem?

 

[Westee]

Uhhh, is the habit of NOT writing considered a bad writing habit?

Okay, okay. I'd say my main problem is in my descriptions, or lack thereof. When describing a new place or setting, I often skip putting in the effort to make it important or convincing, and just go straight to the dialogue, because that's the writing I actually care about. And then I read something else, some piece of writing that does description very well, and I realize, "Oh. That's probably what's missing from my work."

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I'm finding that not all readers want that level of description, including me. When I encounter descriptive writing, it makes me want to start skimming through. There are exceptions. Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Historical Fiction require a certain level of scenery be included. I prefer getting "straight to the dialogue" for the books I read.

 

[Westee]

I think one writing-related habit is going to look something up then getting lost in Alice’s rabbit hole. One thing leads to another, then another, then I suddenly find I’ve wasted half an hour. But that’s when I’m editing, because I write longhand.

I don’t know if this is really a bad writing habit or not (frankly I don’t know what it is), but when I’m writing a book, I’ll suddenly feel like every word I use is wrong, and everything is awkward for a chapter or two. It’s like I forget how to write. Does anyone else ever have that problem?

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I've had something vaguely similar. As a pantser / discovery writer, I sometimes find transitions difficult. I know where the story is going next, but I can't get there. I might open the story and try to move forward four or five times, but it feels ugly and forced. Eventually, I either find my way forward, or have to revise the section I'm working on.

 

[Lynae Fisher]

I'm finding that not all readers want that level of description, including me. When I encounter descriptive writing, it makes me want to start skimming through. There are exceptions. Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Historical Fiction require a certain level of scenery be included. I prefer getting "straight to the dialogue" for the books I read.

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Too much description is annoying and cumbersome at times, but without enough description I get lost and have no clue what is going on. So I think it needs the right balance. Not too much description, but enough to set the scene.
That's just my preference as a reader.

 

[Kim K]

I have done so many of these things, lol. We have a common bond of silly errors. I especially related to the repeated use of the same word in just a sentence or two.

 

[Kim K]

I've had something vaguely similar. As a pantser / discovery writer, I sometimes find transitions difficult. I know where the story is going next, but I can't get there. I might open the story and try to move forward four or five times, but it feels ugly and forced. Eventually, I either find my way forward, or have to revise the section I'm working on.

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Yes!! When I'm trying to write while I'm overtired I will suddenly decide that it's all rubbish and a big waste of time. That's when I need to hear, "Step away from the computer."