by Marijane Suttor

Created on: October 08, 2007

Like a stake in the heart, there are five problems that will kill good writing and send it to the burial zone. Fix these five problems and authors will be well on the way to a successful bounty of writing.

1) Having nothing to say. Sometimes the writing is just words with no organization, no plan and no direction. The writing flounders, repeats itself and often times leads no where. To have good solid writing, it requires pre-writing as well a drafting and revising. Usually bad writing occurs when it is submitted upon the first draft and is never really allowed to sit and be read for improvement.

2)Vague language. "Sometimes it takes a very long time to write something that leads to nothing but a writer thinks it has everything that could possibly be included in the thing." This is an example of a poorly written sentence that doesn't contain any specific words. One of the reasons for vague language is that it distances the writer from what he or she really wants to say. It gives a safe boundary without the risk of making a statement, but as a result it leads to colorless, uninteresting, and almost unintelligible writing.

3)Cliche overload. "Hitting the nail on the head with a cream of a crop piece of writing will put stars in your eyes and you will get the most bang for your buck." If it is phrase that you have heard many many many times before, try to refrain from using it. Sometimes without thinking it just slips into the writing. Proofread for it just like you would grammar and spelling errors.

4)Not having an engaging beginning. No matter the genre, the lead paragraph needs to be engaging, yet concise. If readers aren't interested immediately, they won't want to read further. This can be the most difficult step in writing because it can be hard to evaluate too much, too little or too vague. Experiment with different introductions and find the one that is most effective. Don't settle for the first one that comes to mind and always revisit the beginning after the writing is complete.

5) Proofreading. Unfortunately most readers can't see beyond spelling and grammar errors. If a reader has to wade through errors to find the content, it quite simply is too much effort. Taking the time to proofread is very important and for some writers it is a place that learning needs to take place. The more you read and write the more this will improve. Often times, the errors happen when editing one area and a sentence ends up losing its punctuation or two words do not have a space between them. So... "try two bee dillgent in thsi are a and youwill reap hte rewards int he long ruin."

With these five suggestions and exaggerated examples, I hope this provides some insight into areas that writers should work to improve so their writing doesn't end up in the dead zone.

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