I love writing, but sometimes as a writer I do things that drive the editors crazy – and not in a good way.
My passion, however, isn’t all easy-peasy pen to paper and bam!, a written masterpiece is created; there are so many things to consider when writing.
It’s important to remember that writing newsworthy content for a client is not the same as creative writing from Grade 11, or literature reviews from varsity.
After bashing away at my keyboard, I send my piece of work for subbing.
This is a bit like sending in your essay for marking except, depending on the kind of editor you have and the type of work you produce, you could either get a pat on the back for your work or find yourself ducking an Apple Mac being thrown at you for writing such a disturbingly terrible piece, filled with enough errors to make your English teacher cringe and quit his job.
I’ve put together a list of things that editors hate, and if you’re as passionate about writing as I am, you’ll do well to steer clear of them.
1. Spellcheck
Not running a spellcheck when you’re done is one sure way to make an editor hate you. Perhaps in the days of typewriters spellchecks were overlooked, but now with a spellcheck function built into your computer, there really is no excuse to be spelling anything wrong.
2. Full stops, question marks and never-ending exclamation marks
When you write, make sure that the reader won’t feel like they’re rushing to catch a train, or feel like a car that keeps jolting.
Use commas sparingly, only when you need to – and if you really need to have an exclamation mark at the end of the sentence, only use one.
Writers sometimes forget that there’s more to punctuation than just commas, full stops and exclamation marks. The other punctuation marks are there for a reason, so learn what they’re for and use them.
3. Thumb-sucked ‘facts’
Google is a search engine that can open your mind up to a cyber-universe filled with interesting information, and if you use it correctly you’ll find fact after fact after fact ... But be sure of your information. Always.
4. Breath-nestled
At Flow we write a lot of content about South Africa and its natural wonders for various clients, and when writing about a lovely lodge in the mountains, for example, the words "nestled between" immediately spring to mind.
The same goes for trying to describe beautiful scenery; it’s definitely breathtaking, right?
The words "breathtaking" and "nestled" are used so much that they have been banned in the Flow writing studio. There are plenty of other descriptors to use.
From one writer to countless others, keep these pointers in mind and read as many good books as you can. You’ll thank me later.