Halfway through the year already and business is booming.

Heaps of new writers submitting manuscripts. Not sure if it’s because of the pandemic, bucket list novel dreams, or just that inner voice wanting to be heard.

I’ve been making similar corrections in all levels of manuscripts, and I’ll share them here. My goal isn’t to call out writers “making mistakes,” but to highlight common errors while reading and editing manuscripts.

 Interrobang !?

While debatably correct, it’s a stylistic minefield. A combination of a question and exclamation mark looks unprofessional and is unnecessary to convey the character’s tone (think subtext and action). It’s a chore to have them in a novel or memoir.

Why?

They’re easy to overuse. They look unprofessional. It’s easy to make them a crutch to fall back on—if only because a reader could find them jarring is a good sign they’re not working.

If it pulls the reader out of the experience, find another solution. Just finish the sentence with a single punctuation mark.

Overuse of Exclamation Points

Sometimes you need an exclamation point to add emotional context, but they’re usually a sign that you’re trying to bolster weak dialogue. They’re also distracting! And if you use them too often, they lose their emphasis!!

Stop doing this:

“Let’s go!”

 “Okay!”

“But watch out for the zombies!”

“I hate zombies!”

“That’s okay! So does Woody Harrelson!” 

Exclamation points in fiction should be used rarely, and only when conveying an inner thought or a line of dialogue.

Exclamation points are a form of telling when used to convey excitement. There are better ways to make your readers realize the characters are excited than using an exclamation point every other sentence. Body language for one. Tone for another. Using an exclamation mark is a cop out because it robs the reader of a chance to get to know this part of a character because you didn’t trust the reader to get it.

Limit exclamation points as much as possible. The rule of thumb is to use fewer than a handful for every full-length novel.

Semicolons in Fiction

In fiction, we should avoid using semicolons whenever possible. A sentence riddled with semicolons can be hard on your readers’ eyes.

If there’s a way to write the sentence without one—choose the option that avoids them. Semicolons can look pretentious or awkward because many people don’t understand what they mean or how to use them correctly. Worse, though, is that semicolons often look downright out of place. The worst offender is when we use a semicolon in our dialogue. No one speaks with semicolons.

When we’re writing fiction, the one time we need to use semicolons is in a complex sentence where commas alone wouldn’t provide enough clarity. The semicolons take the place of the serial commas that would usually separate the main elements in the sentence.

Don’t use colons or semicolons in your dialogue at all. While this might seem like a subjective rule, semicolons just look unnatural in dialogue. Mostly, you should avoid them in your fiction entirely.

Tautology

Tautologies are redundancies.

When you use two words in a phrase, technically you now have said the same thing twice. For example, “murmured quietly” or “scowled with disgust.”

Tautology is the same as repetition, which in today’s environment is a no-no. You want to state your idea clearly and not repeat it using different words. Nowadays, they’re a sign of an inexperienced writer. You must be concise, saying only once what you mean and omitting needless words.

Manner Adverbs

When someone tells a writer to avoid adverbs, the speaker really means avoid manner adverbs. The ones that answer the questions, “In what manner?” and “To what degree?”

Manner adverbs describe the way an action occurred: walk quickly, eat slowly, dance enthusiastically.

But in fact, they weaken the action. Paul gave Rick a sneer, then began walking toward him, has an understated oomph that’s lost when you try to drum it home with words like: maniacally, crazily, or angrily.

“I want you,” Audrey purred, doesn’t need sexily to convey sex. Leave something to the imagination. Simplicity is powerful. Adverbs can weaken the very ideas they’re trying to beef up.

Watch out for manner adverbs that add no solid information: extremely, very, really, incredibly, unbelievably, astonishingly, totally, truly, currently, presently, formerly, previously.

Also watch out for ones that try too hard to add impact to actions: cruelly, happily, wantonly, angrily, sexily, alluringly, menacingly, blissfully.

All these words have their place. They appear in the best writing, but they’re more often found in the worst writing.

Consider them red flags and weigh their use carefully.

Need editing or publishing help with your fiction story or memoir? I offer free consultation and personalized quotes. I’ll work with you to develop an editing plan. Please send me an email at griffinsmith74@gmail.com