How would you define your writing? By DANIELLE uRBAN

Your writing should not contain.. NO PASSIVE VERBS! USE ADVERBS SPARINGLY NO REPEATED/OVERUSED WORDS Why? Because they make your writing less direct. Why? Because it distracts your readers. Why? Because they make your writing boring. I, I, I, or she, she, she. They get dull after the first two times you used them. Switch to using the character’s name in place of these.

The most common mistakes writers make: The use of passive verbs instead of action verbs. Hint: Most of these start off with was or were. The over use of words used repeatedly. The misuse of punctuation. Having little or no dialogue at all in their fiction piece. (Must include dialogue in fiction. Or else write a nonfiction book.) Misspelling of every day common use words. Formatting. (Chapter numbers and or titles should be centered!)

What should be on every writer’s checklist? Misspelled words – use Microsoft Word to check for most misspelled words. Check for any passive verbs that start off with was or were. These are the most popular two used. Check for adverbs. These should be used sparingly. You can substitute a stronger verb for them or delete them if they are used too much in your writing. Check the formatting of your chapters. Are the titles centered? Check the point of view. Is there one point of view being used throughout the chapter? If you switch point of views, use one point of view per chapter. Then start off the next chapter with the other character’s point of view. This makes for a more interesting read.

Now for Judgment Time 1) Write 2-3 paragraphs. Must be fiction. At least two characters, use dialogue, conflict and a setting. 2) Look over your sentences. Every 3 sentences or more that start with the same first word, circle them. 3) Using a highlighter, highlight every passive verb. Ex of a passive is: were gone, was considered, been told. 4) Using a pen underline, every adverb you see. How many times does it pop up in your paragraph? 5) Place an SP by every word that is misspelled. How many misspelled words are there? 6) Highlight every misused form of punctuation in a different color than the passive verbs. 7) Now deduct 10pts off 100pts for every passive verb, 5 pts for every misspelled word, 3pts off for every adverb, and 3 points off misuse of punctuation.

Scoring Time! If your score is 70 pts out of 100, than you are a beginning writer. But you need more work. If your score is 75pts out of 100, than you are an average writer. If your score is 80 pts out of 100, than you are a good writer. If your score is 90 pts out of 100, than you are a fabulous writer. If your score is 100 pts of 100, than you are an excellent writer.