The "Wide Berth" Rule: Writing Pitfalls to Avoid

Revision is the ladder that gets you to the light.

I give a wide berth to the usual suspects: lazy adverbs, tired clichés, and those sneaky shifts in voice or style that pull a reader right out of the story.

Avoiding them isn't an accident. It’s a deliberate cycle of awareness, practice, and ruthless revision that helps me recognize and fix mistakes early. By leaning into regular editing and honest feedback, I’ve learned to navigate the pitfalls from the first draft to the final polish.

What writing pitfalls have you encountered in your work, and how do you tackle them during your revision process?