- Forcing descriptions, long and lengthy ones that begin to bunch around each other like stockings around an old lady’s ankles.
- Inserting flowery language. Playing dress up with words. This especially falls flat when we’re not even sure of the meaning of the word, but we use it anyway because it “sounds so nice.”
“Remember the basic rule of vocabulary is use the first word that comes to your mind, if it is appropriate and colorful.” ~ Stephen King
- Writing about something we know nothing about without conducting research.
- Trying too hard to emulate a well-known author. I’ll stay and UBU sit on this one for a bit. The dog in the picture is studying the art of talking, clearly unable to read or talk. Can he give it his best bark? Sure. Will it ever sound like anything other than a dog’s bark? Not likely. So what does the dog need to do? The pup needs to bark like he’s never barked before. He needs to take ownership of his own vocal cords and give it his strongest bark.
We need to play with our own voice, bat it around a little, and risk things that don’t work in order to find pure sentences that shine. Our voice is one of the deciding factors whether someone will purchase our second, third and fourth book. As you can tell, I’m big on voice, but I’m particularly big on authors discovering and developing their own voice.
Hope you enjoyed the list. Can you think of other things writers do that essentially equates to barking up the wrong tree?
*photo by flickr