by Lisa Beach

Created on: June 12, 2009   Last Updated: June 13, 2009

It would be wonderful if writing well came with instructions: when one was stumped for ideas [s]he could merely turn to page 23, and find what [s]he needed. Life would be grand, and all prose perfect: there would be no mistakes to avoid.

But writers know things don't work that way, and mistakes are made. Wrestling with what mistakes to mention and how to avoid them, this writer came up with the following five: they are very dangerous, but can be avoided.

1.) Personal Tense: learn not to write "I" and "you"

Avoiding this mistake takes practice. So much of writing must remain impersonal in order for a reader to feel at ease. Strangers one does not know do not want the author talking directly to them as in "you"; it is off-putting to say the least.

The writer must learn to use "one", "oneself"; "he/she", [or a version of it], "him/her", and "him/herself". This mistake is mentioned first because it takes time and patience to learn. In fact, the only way to avoid it is to practice, practice, practice.

2.) Misspelled words:

Surely writers are tired of hearing about checking for misspelled words, and how easy it is to use Spell Check. But what if one uses the "Write now" box here at Helium? I suggest [s]he start using a word processing tool instead. Something that works like Word for Windows, which anyone with a computer is familiar with.

3.) Word or other writing program:

Choose Times New Roman, font size 12, with "Normal" as the format style, and then start writing. Times New Roman, size 12 is what editors prefer, because it's easiest on their eyes, and is what the pro's use.

But all that aside, Word does indeed have a spell check tool. Just click on "Tools" on the tool bar. There a writer will find "Spell Check/Grammar". Activate it with a click, and it goes through the entire article looking for grammar errors as well. It is up to the author whether to use them or not, because sometimes the writer's "speaking style" is different from the official rules. I tend to use more definitive pauses, for example.

Anyway, after one finishes writing and checking, scroll to the "Edit" button, down to "Select All", and click it. It will highlight the entire article, at which point "Copy" should be chosen. Then one should return to his/her "Write now" box at Helium, clicking on the Word Document icon. Open it, hit "Control" and the "V" on the keyboard, and the article will be inserted.

Now the writer can save the story/article just written on his/her computer,

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