As a beginning writer, you’re going to make a lot of mistakes, (I sure did). It’s all part of the process. This can oftentimes be frustrating, because there are so many details of writing you may never have thought about before you did them wrong. For me, that was the case with all five of these. So, to save you just a few struggles, here are five mistakes beginning writers make.

Taking All Writing Advice To Be Objective

Research is a great thing to do when you first start writing. Whether you’re researching how to write a novel, or how to adopt a productive work schedule, there’s a lot of advice out there—and a lot of people very confident in what they’re telling you. This advice, however, can often be displayed as objective. But really, it’s not. All of that “you have to do this if you want to be a real writer” is just a bunch of lies, especially when it comes to planning a schedule. (See number 3 for an example). So yes, take even my advice with a grain of salt. Writing involves a lot of figuring it out for yourself.

Giving Every Character a Unique Name

This detail may seem small, but as a reader, it can be annoying when every character has a never heard before name. Unless you’re writing fantasy or sci fi, it’s just not realistic. It’s totally okay to give your characters a name you like, but a character doesn’t have to have a unique name to have a unique personality.

“You Have to Write Everyday”

This might be one of the most annoying statements I’ve ever heard, and I hear it a lot. You’ve probably seen those articles that, if you want to be a real writer, you have to write every day. This statement is just not true. If writing every day works for you, that’s great. But please don’t think you’re any less of a writer if you don’t. I tend to take 1-3 days off writing per week, and for me, it helps build the motivation and creativity to do more (and better) the other days.

Focusing on Page Count and Not Word Count

If you’ve done any research about writing, you’ve probably learned that writers rely mostly on their word count—not page count. This takes a long time to get used to, but once you do, you’ll never go back. Looking at your page count is a sure way to destroy expectations. Because sometimes, something is much longer, or much shorter, once it’s properly formatted.

Not Punctuating Dialogue Correctly

I’d be lying if I told you I’ve known how to punctuate dialogue correctly for my entire lifetime of writing. It’s a tough thing to do, and I only recently learned how to punctuate action beats and dialogue tags. Do your research, because punctuating dialogue is tricky, and often done incorrectly.

Well, good luck on your writing journey! And remember, mistakes are a big part of being a writer, and there’s plenty of seasoned authors that make them too.