Kim Graff who has been a literary intern three times and an editor in several different jobs wrote a blog post on the most common mistakes made in manuscripts. Here is her list.
- Overuse of names in dialogue.
- Periods ending dialogue.
- Lack of inciting incident.
- Overuse of filter phrases.
- Every scene must have multiple dimensions.
(For futher explanation of the above list, check out her blog here.)
I tend to struggle with numbers one and four. Every time I make a pass through my manuscript, I find these mistakes, even though I actively look for them every time.
If you’re a writer, what mistakes do you make?