When you start writing your next piece of work, you might not realize you are repeating the same mistake. Knowing the common writing mistakes that most authors make can prevent you from losing readership.

Your reader's attention span is short and should not be taken for granted. Knowing that your writing is clear, to the point, and easy to understand will ensure they keep reading.

This guide not only explains what you should avoid but also gives you five critical tips for writing you can use to make your writing more engaging and concise.

Common Writing Mistakes

Common writing mistakes include lengthy introductions that are often unnecessary and risk losing the reader’s attention. The beginning of your article, email, book, or blog post is the most essential part of your piece and needs to grab the reader’s attention. Readers will skim the introduction first to ensure they want to invest in reading the rest of the work.

Keep your introduction short, to the point, and relevant. It should hint at the rest of the article and convince your reader to keep reading and discover what else is in the work. Explain technical terms or jargon that a typical layperson might need help to recognize or understand. Make your writing more readable by defining terms and avoiding terminology specific to a particular industry.

Avoid using filler words that will muddle your writing and make it uninteresting. Keep your work free from unnecessary phrases and adjectives so the reader doesn't feel like you are wasting their time. Keep it crisp, concise, and to the point.

5 Essential Tips for Writing

1. Avoid Writing in the Passive Voice

If you write in the passive voice, try not to and see what a difference it will make to your writing. Being more direct and removing passive phrases will make your writing more assertive and engaging. It is sometimes hard to identify the passive voice, but once you do, you can avoid using it. This is one of the most practical writing tips.

2. Identify Ideal Word Length

Knowing how long your body of work should be is imperative. Readers’ attention spans have decreased, and writers have acknowledged and accepted this. You may think people have the time to read pages and pages, but this is no longer the case. This can even be included in tips for writing books, as readers are looking for short pieces of work to read. 

3. Edit your work

Knowing how to edit your work before you pass it on to someone else is one of the most essential writing tips. If you are hesitant to have anyone edit your work and change sentences and words, then why not do it yourself first? This will not only save your editor a lot of time, but it will also let you re-write portions and make any changes that you feel are necessary.

4. Read what you want to Write

Reading similar topics and books you want to write is a great way to get a feel of what you want to produce. You cannot copy another author's writing style, and every writer has their own. But if you have a favourite author or someone who writes well, try and read their articles as often as you can, including their tips for writing.

5. Create the Mood to Write

Sometimes you need to create an environment to write. Writer's block is an actual phenomenon that happens when you face a mental wall that blocks you from putting words on the screen. This is something that only those who write often can understand.

You can counter this issue by changing the setting of where you usually write and giving your mind a break. This may mean taking a walk, watching a movie, or distracting yourself so that you are not thinking about what you need to write. When you sit to write, you will find your mind refreshed and ready to write!

Write More Efficiently

These writing tips will improve how you draft your next body of work. Remember who your audience is and that your objective is to hold their attention, and this will help you to write better, more engaging work.

Now that you know the common writing mistakes, you can ensure your writing is more precise, concise, and readable.

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