Top Mistakes Beginning Writers Make, Part I

It's time to spruce up the syllabus for the new semester, and that means lots of thinking about the kind of students I'll be teaching and what they need to learn. I teach an introductory course, so that means truly raw beginners—students who may never have attempted to write creatively before. Over the years, one comes to notice repeating struggles, and, since I'm into counting lately, I thought I'd compile a list of the top mistakes beginning writers make. At first I thought I'd distinguish ...