These 7 Writing Mistakes Are Killing Your Progress—Fix Them Now

The quickest way to upgrade your writing

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If you're struggling to make progress with your writing, it's not because you're not trying hard enough.

It's because you're making these 7 mistakes—and they're silently killing your growth.
I get it.

Writing is hard. You pour out your heart. But no one reads it. Instead of blaming the algorithm. Why not stop sabotaging your own success?

You don’t have to be perfect. But some mistakes destroy your hope of growth. Today I'm going to break down the 7 lethal mistakes that hold you back. And I’ll show you how to fix them, fast.

It's time to stop wasting time and start making real progress.

1. Bloated sentences

Make your writing dynamic by making it shorter.

That sentence used to be: You can make your writing more dynamic if you make it shorter.

8 words have more sparkle than 12. Look for ways to shorten sentences. Rephrase to use fewer words. Delete fluff phrases that add nothing:

• in my opinion

• on reflection

• it seems to me

Watch out for sentences that paraphrase each other. Simplify to one.

Unclutter your sentence to let your words shine.

2. Fancy words

Simple words make your writing compelling.

This is hard to believe. We assume complicated words are a sign of intelligence. But the evidence proves simple is more persuasive.

Princeton University researched the effect of complex words. They discovered reports with simple language were more persuasive. And their authors are seen as intelligent.

Big words make you sound stupid. Easy-to-read words increase the trust of the reader. I use Hemingway to spot complex words for me.

Simplify your words to magnify your power.

3. Clickbait titles

Clickbait titles gain a click but lose respect.

They over-promise. Offering grand claims. Making them irresistible. Readers click articles about losing 30kgs in 3 days. But they don’t deliver. And this costs you.

Readers won’t get excited when your next article pops up on their feed. Clickbait ruins your reputation. So use your title to highlight realistic benefits. Build your future with long-term connections.

I made a big mistake with this one:

You’ll Get More Readers If You Tell Them These 4 Things

The response was poor. Because the title was unclear. What do you think it was about? It explored how to write an effective headline. But you wouldn’t know that from the title (I get the irony). Some readers clicked but didn’t want to learn about headlines. So stopped reading.

A better title would have been:

You’ll Get More Readers If Your Title Reveals These 4 Things

Don’t be cryptic with your headline. Be crystal clear.

4. Adverbs

Adverbs weaken your writing and mess up your sentences.

• very

• really

• probably

All need deleting.

Swap an adverb for a stronger verb to power up your writing.

He ran quickly becomes he dashed

She spoke softy better as she whispered or she mumbled

If you struggle to notice adverbs. Hemingway will help.

When you spot one remove it.

5. Call to actions

A CTA (call to action) is your sales pitch at the end of your article.

Marketing research shows offering more choices gets fewer buyers. At the end of your article, your reader is on the verge of clicking off. You have a split second to get more from them.

So delete every CTA except one.

Pick the CTA with the highest value to you. A good tactic is embed a link to your previous article. This directs your reader through all your articles, through a ladder of links. I promote a free email course to grow my newsletter (see below).

Use a power-packed sentence to persuade readers to take action. Here’s mine:

I’ve gained 13,000 followers in 8 months and earn $2500/month. If you want my writing secrets. Join 2324 other writers and sign up for my free course.

Notice how I offer:

• personal credibility (13,000 followers, $2500)

• social proof (2324 other writers)

• persuasive language (writing secrets, free course)

Craft a powerful sentence to promote one CTA.

6. Long paragraphs

A UK government department can boost your writing.

The nudge unit (set up in 2010) discovered a tiny bit of friction changes behaviour.

• remove one line from a form = more will fill it in

• put information in an email rather than attach it = more will read it

What’s the lesson for your writing?

Remove friction.

Long paragraphs are a classic mistake. They cause people to stop reading. A wall of text is exactly that: a wall. Split your paragraph in half or transform it into 1/3/1 line paragraphs. I limit my paragraphs to four lines with plenty of one-sentence paragraphs.

Easy to read gets read.

7. Weak words

Most writers need to upgrade the power of their words.

I look for weak or ordinary words as part of my editing process. Then use a thesaurus to find stronger alternatives. For example, instead of ‘improving’ your writing. I have these alternatives:

• strengthen

• upgrade

• develop

• explode

• boost

Notice how these strengthen a sentence. Time invested in upgrading your words pays dividends.

Cut these 7 things from your writing. And readers will fall in love with your words.

Derek

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