Mistakes

I read an informative article yesterday by Pat Holt, an editorial consultant and former editor, describing 10 common writing problems and how to fix them. Now, Ms. Perfect insists that I go back through my current work to check for these problems. But what of the fact that most of the mistake examples Mr. Holt gave were from published works? Are these “mistakes” simply Mr. Holt’s preferences? Are contemporary writers ignorant, undisciplined, or rebellious? Are editors too overworked, careless, or eager? Or do we forget that we are writing for the reader, who will either ignore or forgive some imperfections … as long as the story is strong enough to grab their hearts and minds? Ahhh, to find the perfect balance between writing and storytelling.

1 thought on “Mistakes”

That was a really good article. The kind I need to stop reading because I’m already too hard on myself. 🙂 No, but really, it’s good to remind ourselves of those types of things. I know for a fact that I have “go to” words that I always use. I need to be more careful about that. Along with the whole “to be” talk. Oh, there’s so much. But like you said, these were all published works, so it goes to show even published authors aren’t perfect.

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