5 Mistakes I Made In My Writing Career {#3 #4 Still Happen}

Mistake #1: Believing that fancy writing is good writing

I come from a literature background and my first year in the job was in a magazine. The result? My writing was filled with over-the-top words, jargon, long sentences, and everything fancy and literary.

But imagine me, trying to write for a 21st-century reader with the style of a Victorian-era writer. It impacted my writing a lot. But thanks to my second job, I realized where I was wrong.

So your goal, as a writer, is to write simple, not fancy.

Write what your readers can read easily.

Mistake #2: Not focusing on colour writing

This one’s especially for creative writers out there. I had no idea about colour writing until I joined a creative writing course in 2018.

Colour writing is what most people refer to as “Show, Not Tell”

This means, when you are telling a story, focus more on the setting as a visual experience. Don’t say it was a summer day. Show your readers that it was a summer day. Engage their five senses: see, hear, touch, smell, and taste.

In simple words, explain to your readers what’s happening, and let them experience it as if they were actually there.

Mistake #3: Waiting for inspiration

I waited for inspiration or you can say the “right moment” to start the blog. It never came. I waited for inspiration to write a short story. My laptop is filled with at least 10 half-written short stories.

Now, I have realized that I don’t need to be inspired to write. I just need to write. Anything.

So, what I did do? I started journaling.

It’s a simple step but that’s all that matters right now.

Mistake #4: Not reading enough

Yes, I made this huge mistake and I am still not able to rectify it too much.

I was an avid reader in college but when life gave me a job, I stepped back from reading. Though it did come to me every now and then but then it wasn’t enough. It is still not enough.

Now, I take out time — even 5 min — to read something, like anything. It can be a blog post or a page of any novel.

Some days I fail.

But some days are better. I am focusing on the better.

Mistake #5: Not editing right

I was introduced to editing in my initial years of writing. And damn, we edited our articles like anything. I worked in a magazine, so there was no scope of any mistake. But I was not editing “right”.

But things changed soon. I learnt what real editing was.

Editing is not just checking for spelling or grammatical mistakes. You have to watch for inconsistencies, tone, flow, etc.

Focus on these and your article will touch a new level of quality.

That’s my share of mistakes. What about you?