11 common mistakes fiction authors make

You may have spent months or even years writing your novel, but no matter how hard you try, errors will always slip through (you can blame cognitive bias and overfamiliarity for that!). To avoid this, I’ll share some common mistakes fiction authors make and how to fix them – before they wind up in a Goodreads review!

1. Info-dumping

This is a repeat offender, which is why I’ve listed it first. Info-dumping is when you give away too much to the reader. It could be background information, world-building or action summaries. While it’s more common with newbies, seasoned authors are guilty of it too.

Now don’t get me wrong. There’s a place for exposition in fiction, such as when you want to slow down the pace or provide brief but crucial information about a character or event, but too much (and I mean multiple pages of info-dumping ) can stall the plot and overwhelm readers.

How to fix it

Review each chapter for sections that summarise action or characters. If those passages distract, overexplain or go on for too long, cut them. If they need to be there for narrative reasons, only include key ideas. Readers prefer to discover characters and events for themselves rather than have them explained by the narrator.

2. Telling rather than showing

Telling rather than showing is similar to info-dumping, but with a subtle difference. While info-dumping is more about the big picture (i.e. providing background information), telling is about scene-level detail. In this case, telling summarises a scene or emotion rather than showing it. It’s brief, factual and often dull.

How to fix it

If you’re telling readers what someone felt or experienced, rewrite that passage and let the scene unfold, building tension along the way (you can do this with dialogue, sensory detail or both). This makes the scene dramatic, immersive and memorable for readers – which is what great storytelling is all about.

3. Having a weak opener

Most of our favourite novels have exciting or intriguing openers – and we remember them! It was probably what drew us to the writing in the first place. But some openers don’t quite cut the mustard, either because nothing much happens, the event is clichéd (e.g. waking from a dream, boarding a plane) or the scene fails to establish the novel’s tone straight away. This can lose readers right off the bat.

How to fix it

Clear any filler and get straight to the point. Start with an inciting incident or revelation and let that guide the scene. Often, that incident or revelation occurs further down the page, after a paragraph or two of ‘atmosphere’ or ‘pretty’ prose, so move it up and watch that opener spring to life.   

4. Head-hopping

Some novels use different perspectives on purpose – and that’s perfectly fine. But head-hopping isn’t the same thing. It’s when the perspective changes when it’s not supposed to, sometimes in the same sentence or paragraph. You may start with Tina’s perspective and then inadvertently lapse into Clara’s. This can be confusing for readers or look like an error.

How to fix it

Go through each scene and pay attention to the emotions you attribute to characters. If you have one perspective throughout, you won’t have a problem, but if you have several, separate those perspectives with a dinkus, line space or new chapter to prevent confusion or loss of focus.

5. Not differentiating between characters

Some characters can sound suspiciously similar, particularly if they’re the same age or have similar goals. This can make it difficult for readers to tell one character from the other, or to feel invested in their journey.

How to fix it

Before you start writing, make sure you have a profile for each character in your story. And even if you have three characters who are college students or axe-wielding murderers, differentiate their characters, appearance and motivations. Think about how they talk, move and dress – and convey that in your scenes.

It may even be useful to keep a style sheet with the names of your characters, what they look like and their personalities (among other things!) to avoid inconsistencies.

6. Making timeline errors

If you’re writing literary fiction, timeliness can be loose and unstructured (within reason). But if you’re writing genre fiction, you need to pay attention to what events are unfolding, when and why. This is doubly important in fantasy, crime or other genres where plot is an integral part of the story. Timeline errors, often accidental (because it's easy to lose track of what you wrote before), can break the spell and lose readers.

How to fix it

Before you start writing, plot out your novel (sorry, pantsers). Include events, characters and how long each particular event/situation lasts. This will keep the sequence of events in the right order, which helps strengthen your plot and meet (or surpass!) your reader’s expectations.  

7. Confusing action beats with dialogue tags

This language error happens A LOT, even with seasoned writers. So let’s get one thing straight: an action beat is what happens before or after something is said, and a dialogue tag is how something is said.

Here’s an example of a dialogue tag:

• ‘Where did you find it?’ he asked.

• ‘I’m telling on you’, she whispered.

Dialogue tags use verbs of utterance like ‘said’, ‘cried’, ‘demanded’, ‘whispered’, ‘muttered’ or ‘bellowed’.

Here’s an example of an action beat:

• ‘It’s in there.’ Carly pointed to the wardrobe.

• He looked up at the ceiling. ‘It’s moving.’

Action beats are separate sentences that describe an action, but I often see the following constructions:

• ‘There,’ Carly pointed to the wardrobe.

• 'It's moving,' he laughed.

  
  

These are incorrect as ‘pointing’ and 'laughing' are not verbs of utterance. Below are examples of action beats that are often mistakenly used as dialogue tags:

• balked

• breathed

• frowned

• gasped

• gestured

• grinned

• groaned

• gulped

• laughed

• nodded

• shrugged

• sighed.

How to fix it

Either remove the tag so the dialogue stands on its own or use ‘he/she/they said’ tags. The simpler the better. (The verb 'said’, even when used frequently, becomes invisible, which means your dialogue can shine.) Alternatively, check the list above and turn the incorrect tag into an action beat. For example:

• She laughed. ‘I couldn’t care less.’

Or, you could add a tag and the laugh.

• ‘I couldn’t care less,’ she said, laughing.

8. Using too many filter words

Filter words often tell the reader what someone is feeling or doing. This can create narrative distance and pull readers out of the story. Common filter words are ‘felt’, ‘thought’, ‘realised’, ‘knew’ and ‘I saw’. While these words aren’t incorrect per se, overuse can weaken your story. For more on this topic, see Are filter words weakening your writing?

How to fix it

Go through the text and find any filter words (use Find and Replace to speed things up). If they detract from the immediacy of the scene, remove them or replace them with a more descriptive word. For example, ‘I became aware he was no longer crying’ may become ‘He was no longer crying’. Or ‘It tasted sour’ may become ‘My mouth puckered’.

9. Overusing adverbs

This may be a leftover from school when teachers told us to use colour and descriptive language in our creative writing. But adverbs of duration and manner (e.g. quickly, gracefully, fitfully, momentarily, eagerly, happily, eloquently, boldly) can make your writing seem overwrought or wordy. Like most devices, a little goes a long way. Often, adverbs tell us what we already know from the dialogue or the tag. For example:

• ‘Don’t do it,’ he whispered softly.

• ‘I couldn’t be happier,’ she smiled joyfully.

• He sprinted quickly across the road.

How to fix it

Go through your novel and delete any adverbs that are doing double duty, like the ones listed above. If they need to be there to convey an emotion or mood that isn’t obvious, keep them. For example:

• She nodded numbly. ‘I don’t care.’

• He toyed with the scarf nervously.

10. Not having enough conflict (or having too much)

Some novels meander along and nothing much happens. They provide atmosphere, descriptive passages and reflections, but not much else. And when something does happen, the stakes are low and the reader’s attention flags. On the other hand, I’ve edited novels where things happen at breakneck speed and every event is high-stakes. Unfortunately, non-stop conflict can overwhelm or tire readers. It leaves little space for character development or reflective passages, which are important for nuance, context and – importantly – plausibility.

How to fix it

Again, planning is paramount. Think about what happens in each chapter and temper high-stakes events with low-stakes scenes that include character development and reflective passages. Pacing can be tricky to master, but here’s a quick guide: details slow down the pace while broad strokes speed it up. Make sure you don’t lean too heavily on one or the other.  

11. Not having a subplot (or having too many)

Unless you’re writing a novella or short story, subplots can add depth, nuance and complexity to your narrative. That’s not to say you always need a subplot (I’ve read lots of great novels with only one storyline), but depending on the genre – and your book’s themes – a subplot or two can provide context and a break from the main storyline. At the same time, I’ve seen the opposite problem too: manuscripts with too many subplots that confuse readers and dilute the book’s message.

How to fix it

If you feel that a subplot would complement your book’s themes, weave it into the main narrative, making sure it doesn’t pull too much focus (unless the two narratives carry equal weight, in which case they can run parallel). And if you have too many subplots, remove a few, preferably the weakest ones (you’ll instinctively know!) or the one that doesn’t serve the narrative. But don’t throw them away. They might come in hand in your next novel.

Final thoughts: 11 common mistakes fiction authors make

These are by no means the only mistakes I see when I’m editing manuscripts, but they’re the most common ones. Before you send your novel to an agent, publisher or editor, go through this list during the self-editing process and address them one by one. And while you won’t catch everything (that's what an editor's for), you’ll eliminate some of the bigger problems that could cost you a publishing contract or make the editing process slower and more expensive.

Looking for a copyeditor to get your novel ready for publication? Get in touch for a quote or ask for a sample edit.