Lazy Writing

Do you know any lazy writers? Perhaps you are one yourself. The first step is to admit that yes, you are a lazy writer once in a while or maybe quite often or even all the time. Before anyone accuses me of pointing a finger at others while playing Miss Innocent, I will admit that, at times, I have also practiced lazy writing.

We don't do it by choice; it can happen without our even realizing it. What, you might ask, is considered lazy writing? 

Lazy writing...

Using cliches or idioms:  It's so much easier to reach out and pluck a cliche to use when we want to make a point. If a cliche comes to mind first, come to a screeching halt and ask yourself what you can use to replace it with something fresher and not so well-known.

Stereotypical characters:  Beginning writers often create characters like the ones they've read about for years. The typical dumb blonde, bumbling detective or perfect mother. It's easy to recreate these kinds of characters. It's much harder to come up with someone totally different.

Proofreading:  The lazy writer doesn't bother with proofreading. 'Nuff said!

Careless with words:  If you let words like stuff, things, often creep into your writing on a regular basis, your reader gets irritated. Take time to replace these words with ones that have real meaning in regard to what you are writing.

Weak verbs:  Using passive verbs like is, are, was or plunking down went or got is the epitome of lazy writing. Take the time to find active verbs. I read a sentence the other day that used was three times. A big no-no.

Repeating words:  Repeating words close together becomes noticeable and is also boring. If you use a word like car in a sentence, then continue to talk about same in the next sentence, change car to vehicle. It's easy to catch when you proofread or read your work aloud.

Procrastination:  We can certainly identify the lazy writer as one who delays writing for various, and usually unimportant, reasons.

Telling, not showing:  We all know that telling a reader about a character's thoughts is a heck of a lot easier than showing the same. It's also faster. And also not nearly as interesting.

Find a good thing and use it too often:  Sometimes, writers find a small quirk to identify their character. Maybe a young woman pulls at her earlobe when she is upset. Use it but not constantly. Find something else to show that she's upset. The reader will become bored or irritated--yeah, we know she does this.

Most of us have been guilty of doing one or more of the things I've listed. We're writers, but we're also humans. Humans have failings. The good thing is that, once we recognize our failings in our writing world, we can correct them Correct the problems and guess what? We are suddenly better writers. It's never too late to make a change.