Writing is not easy and writing a fiction novel is even more difficult. While many people believe that anyone can write, what they don’t understand is that not everyone can write well. The people who excel at writing fiction will let you know the struggle they went through to reach a point where they became famous authors. There is a constant inner battle that a writer has to fight and win to become great at writing fiction that attracts the attention of literary agents, publishers and readers.

Writing fiction is not easy, but if an author can avoid some common mistakes, they can excel at writing good fiction and with time can even become great. All you have to do is stop making these literary mistakes to add finesse to your writing and make your novel better. Here are some common mistakes that an author must avoid in order to become better at writing good fiction.

The Setting and Portrayal

Even if it is fiction, the reader is going to look for things that will make them relate to a character or the story. Simply writing about a happy little place where the characters are happy in their lives is not a very good way to start your novel. Many authors believe that hitting the reader with a conflict later on will lead to a better impact. However, this leaves the reader with the struggle to build interest in the story. Engaging the reader is your very first priority so you should bring on the conflict as early as possible or add action in your story from very beginning to make it interesting for readers.

Create a Universe That Has No Fear

This is a mistake that many new authors make. Fear of something is the key to make your characters as human as possible and this is something that makes them relatable to readers. The fear could be of losing someone, of falling, of failing, of dying and of making mistakes. There must be something, anything that will make the characters feel real and engaging for the reader. Characters without fear will not be able to develop properly. There must be something in the lives of your characters that make them stop, think and rethink their actions. Remember that no one is perfect, so your characters should not be perfect as well.

Doing Too Much

Adding too much information and trying too hard to make things work can work against you when you are writing fiction. Your main focus should be on creating a plot that thickens with every chapter, has a smooth flow and is not rushed. Adding too much action, too many characters and too much description can irritate or distract the reader from reading on. Don’t make the plot too simple, but don’t overdo it as well. Keep a good balance between everything so that you can do well and write good fiction that stands out and succeeds in impressing your readers, bringing them back for more.