5 Common novel writing mistakes

This is how I am when I write a novel:)



 



Writing a novel is hard enough. Writing one that will not only get published,
but also sell is harder still.



But, what if you're writing your novel and you think something's missing? Could
you be making one of these common mistakes?



1. Writing what you think will sell and not what you want to write - We all
want to have a bestseller; to write the book everybody is talking about. But we
won't do that if we don't write from the heart, because if we don't enjoy
writing our books; if we don't put our heart and soul into our writing, who on
earth is going to enjoy reading them?



2. Writing too much back story - Writers need to think like the readers they are
and what can be worse than wading through heaps of backstory to get to the real
story? You've read 30 pages of a novel and you know every intimate detail of
the main character's life but guess what - the story hasn't started yet or its
been dragged down by all that mind numbing backstory.



Tip - A little back story is fine, but generally back story should come out in
dribs and drabs in the course of telling your story. Not as an avalanche.



3. Using the wrong point of view - Are you telling your story from the right
POV? Is first person too restrictive (you can only tell the story through your
narrator's eyes) or is third person not intimate enough?



Changing POV can work wonders.



4. Starting the story too late or too early - Every story should begin when
something has actually happened or is about to happen. You need to hook the
reader from the start, not expect them to skim read through a third of the book
before they get to the good part. They won't. They'll put your book down. They
won't buy the next.







One of the best books for writing tips.



5. Being too predictable - Have you ever read a book and thought "I feel
like I've read this before" when you know you haven't? Why not follow a
tip from Stephen King's On Writing and think "what's the most logical
thing that should happen next?" then write the opposite.