Any tips on what to avoid when writing a novel?

Question

Any tips on what to avoid when writing a novel?

Answer 1

Avoid purple prose--basically, you've become so enamored with your talent of description, you use too many adjectives: Twilight for example.

Do not use too many said-bookisms--words used in place of 'said.' Said should always be your tag because it's invisible and makes the dialogue stand out more. If you do use a said-bookism, don't make it flowery, like ejaculated. Ex. Harry Potter uses that word, A LOT.

Avoid dull scenes. Those scenes should not exist and should be cut out.

Avoid coincidences. Do not name your character Bob Vampyre if he's a vampire and he didn't specifically choose that last name for himself.

Avoid POV switches if you're in third or first person. It's also dubbed head-hopping. Take this for example:

1st POV.

My nose was all scrunched up and my eyes turned from blue to gray.

You can only say that if the character is looking in a mirror, but I did not state that this character was looking in a mirror, did I? So, this would be head-hopping.

Absolutely avoid cliches. They are a sign of lazy writing, and often flaunt your amateur status. You might be an amateur, but you want to appear as professional as possible.

Tom Swifties should be avoided as much as possible, too. They are adverbs used after 'said.' They should be used sparingly. Sometimes, they can make dialogue redundant, and might even insult the reader. Take this, for example:

Sara was wearing a hideous hat on her head.

"I know," Sara said. "It looks stupid.

"Oh no. I thought it was so beautiful," I said sarcastically.

That's redundant because we already know the POV character thinks the hat's stupid, so saying she said it sarcastically is just reinforcing it and might make the readers roll their eyes.

You need to not use too many adverbs in your narration, too, because they can and will get annoying if overused.

Basically, don't ever use too much of anything. Do not use too many semi-colons, colons, or em-dashes, or ellipses. A period should be your dominant mark.

Avoid Mary Sues.

Grammar is a book issue, but it should be the last thing on your mind when you're re-writing your novel, because you have to get your plot ironed out before you concentrate on those itty bitty things. Believe it or not, editors will not strangle you if you have missed a couple of commas. That's what editors and copyeditors are for. If are books had to absolutely be perfect for publication, editors and copyeditors would not exist. This does not give you an excuse to have hundreds of typos and spelling errors. Typos and spelling errors are easily avoided, and you need to have a strong sense of grammar, too.

Answer 2

Avoid 'cobwebs'.

What I mean are those inane, flowery descriptions and metaphors.  These only serve to cloud the issue and confuse the reader.  

Avoid boring scenes.

You do NOT have to describe everything step-by-step, detail by detail.

Avoid Mary Sues and Ed Stus

Avoid spelling and grammatical errors.

Nothing boots a reader out faster than a book that is inundated with errors.

Know the difference between 'there', 'their' and 'they're' / ''your' and 'you're' / 'to', 'too' and 'two' / 'threw' and 'through' just to name a few.

You'd be surprised at how many misuses of those I've seen right here on these pages.

Answer 3

I've never written a novel before, so I can't give you that perspective, but I have read a lot of novels, so I'll over you some critique from there.

-Don't write what everyone has already read.

-Don't use too many stereotypes (some are good--relatable--but too many make your story dull)

-Don't make it too predictable, or too twisty.

-Do incorporate dialogue, especially if your characters have an accent.

Okay, that's just a few ideas from me...merely a reader.

Answer 4

Start by reading this blog:

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2008/07/ho...

Then either take some courses, or attend writer's conferences and workshops to learn other rules of the writing road.

Good luck!