by Sam E. Jones

Created on: October 25, 2010

The problem with writing is that it takes so much time, effort and work to get any good at it. Fortunately though, there are many outlets available to people who want to learn. Some things are obvious though, and that’s why lists such a “five things that kill good writing” come in handy. Below is mine:

1 – Phoniness. More than anything else, a writer trying to sound like he or she thinks writers should sound when they write, puts me off. The signs are generally obvious; suspect word choices or phrases, logic inconsistencies, odd ideas that aren’t clarified; these all telltale signs that the writer is a beginner and a struggling one at that.

2 – Problems with flow. When I’m reading something, I don’t want to think about the writer, or be reminded that I’m reading for that matter. I want the text to carry me away to the extent that I am transported to another place. I want to be out of my stream of consciousness and into the world that I am reading about; and it doesn’t matter if it’s fiction or not. I want the author to fill my mind with whatever has been written to the extent that there is no other thought going on, just the words as they are read and processed by my mind. Anything else, and I am ripped back to reality; something that absolutely kills good writing.

3 – Stilted dialogue. If you’re going to write dialogue, it had better ring true, otherwise, it will sound wooden and awkward. Not only should you be sure to have characters say things that make sense in the context of your work, but you need to make sure that what they are saying is how people truly speak; otherwise the dialogue will sound like someone who didn’t know them was writing it.

4 – Stating the obvious. If you have two characters suddenly confronted by a man with a gun, it is assumed that they are both scared. Telling us that they are scared, is not only unnecessary, but is insulting to the reader, because in doing so, you are telling us that we are too stupid to know what any normal person would; give us the benefit of the doubt.

5 – Poor sentence structure. Yes, we all know that misspellings, typos and errors in grammar are problems in writing, but even worse is poor sentence structure. By its very nature, writing is about creating sentences with words in ways that convey what is intended in hopefully engaging ways. Poor sentence structure gets in the way of making that happen. If your aim is to write and you’re not sure what exactly poor sentence is, then you should sign up for a class and find out.

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