Seven Mistakes Every Author Makes by Judy L. Murray

Whether you are working on your first novel or your tenth, you cannot help but wonder what elements strengthen your storyline, attract a publisher, and grow your readership. If I’m not writing or reading, I often tap into different courses, YouTubes, newsletters, and blogs like our fabulous Writers Who Kill to help me improve.

Writing coach and professional editor Patrick Walsh offers YouTube posts with succinct advice that even the most experienced could use. He reminds us that good intentions don’t make good books. Good writing decisions do.

What are those good decisions? Patrick names seven mistakes often invisible to writers until someone else points them out. Let’s review. 1) Explanation Addiction: The propensity to explain something the reader already knows. “She slammed the door behind her. She was angry.” Explanation addiction is apparent every time we explain something the reader already knows. Each time you describe an emotion, stop, and ask yourself if you have already demonstrated it.

2) Overly Elaborate Dialogue: Patrick reminds us that real life dialogue is messy. When we talk, we hesitate, we stumble. If your dialogue is too neat, too smooth, too proper, it probably needs revision. Messy dialogue is far more interesting, more believable.

3) Point of View Slips: It takes a lot of practice to avoid POV slips. My first agent was an expert at correcting me until the concept jelled. His head then her head then his head. Stay within character.

4) Stakes do not Land: Patrick reminds us that often a book’s failure is because the protagonist(s) stakes are not high enough. What is the human cost? In my latest, Villain in the Vineyard, Helen Morrisey is harassed by a hoodlum who is graffitiing her clients’ homes. It is frustrating and even embarrassing. Or are these escalating attacks a targeted attempt to devastate her family, ruin her reputation, and drive her out of town. Keep readers turning your pages by elevating the stakes within every scene.

5) Pacing at the same Speed: When you write and revise ask yourself if every sentence is the same length. Every writer has their own style of writing. But fragmented sentences can help you vary the pace.

6) Starting Late: Is your story starting too late? The start of a story is a moment that changes everything. The start is not when your character begins their day. A detective’s story does not begin while he’s shaving. Not when he pours himself a cup of coffee. His story starts the moment he arrives at a crime scene.

7) Overwriting: This reminds me of Explanation Addiction. It’s human to feel compelled to elaborate, like the person in a conversation who repeats their story a second time. We can be so enamored with our perfect, beautiful phrases, we can forget the storyline. Patrick advises us to let your readers fill in the gaps. Their imagination is stronger than your elaborate descriptions which might bog down the pace and the dialogue. Don’t let overwriting for your personal pleasure dilute the stakes.

I’ll be reviewing Patrick’s checkpoints in 2026 as I work on my next book. I am curious. Which of these mistakes do you tend to make as you work?

You can find more of Patrick Harris’ advice at https://www.youtube.com/@publishingpushofficial

Find out more about me at Https://www.judylmurraymysteries.com

Rethinking Your 'Back of the Book' Blurb by Judy L Murray

Ever wonder how different authors tackle writing their back of the book blurbs? I consider the book blurb a critical component to my overall marketing effort, and I like nailing down my descriptions long before I begin writing the manuscript. They serve as a neat synopsis for me. Then I tweak the blurb right down to the final edit stage.

This time I handled my blurb for my fourth in the Chesapeake Bay Mystery Series differently. I couldn’t get the words out, so I set it aside until the manuscript was complete. I also did some research on how other authors handle blurbs. It led me to a book entitled Fiction Blurbs – The Step-by Step Guide by Phoebe J. Ravencraft and Bryan Cohen.

Let me say upfront that my bookshelves hold plenty of writing guides collected over the years. I’m sure you have them too. More often than not, I’m disappointed. They frequently ramble, focus on the author, or are far too basic.

Fiction Blurbs gets five stars from me. My copy of the book is riddled with highlighted phrases and caused me to reconsider my approach. It also served as a resource for evaluating my overall storyline. I think many book blurbs, even written for/by extremely well-known authors, could use a few of these pointers.

Here are brief recaps of some of Fiction Blurbs’ lessons:
• Book blurbs have one job – to get the reader involved.
• A book description is not a summary. I’ve fallen into this trap as have many authors.
• Evoke images.
• Ramp up the story’s tension with each sentence or phrase.
• Your main character is the focus of your blurb. Don’t use names of any other character to distract. Big mistake on my part.
• The plot doesn’t matter. It only provides the protagonist’s challenge. Readers care most about characters. Show them why they should root for your main character.
• Use active, powerful verbs.
• Show, don’t tell. The Golden Rule when we’re writing our manuscripts. Do we forget this when we write book blurbs?

Below is my blurb ‘headline’ for Villian in the Vineyard scheduled for spring release and the second paragraph using much of Fiction Blurb’s advice.

Chesapeake Bay’s favorite sleuth unearths a vineyard’s poisonous secrets
Her phone rings. Her heart sinks. A local business leader and friend is dead. Last to see him alive, Helen convinces police her friend’s death is no accident. It’s murder. Days later, she discovers an eccentric vineyard owner slashed with a bottle of his prized wine. Two distinctly different backgrounds. How can these two crimes be related? Or are they?

Best of luck with your descriptions! Who else has advice or books you might suggest?

Judy L Murray
Learn more at https://www.judymurraymysteries.com