Nobody is a perfect writer, but if you watch carefully you might be able to keep your own little bad writing habits under control. Errors or odd turns of phrase happen to anyone, but repeated occurrences can really stand out, especially if you are doing a lot of freelance writing for one client. Identifying your own quirks can help, but isn’t always enough to stop you from doing them. I know my own biggest problem, but still have trouble keeping myself from repeating it.

So, have you figured out my annoying bad habit yet?

I had to work a bit to create that first paragraph to include 4 instances of my particular writing quirk, but it really does sneak in by itself. Wait, I just did it again.

In case it’s not glaringly obvious yet, I shall explain. I have a horrible habit of structuring my sentences as 2 phrases separated with a comma and “but”. I do it all the time, and have to constantly correct myself from doing it 2 or 3 times in a row. My mind just seems to work that way when I try to say something. Your quirk might be using too many run-on sentences, overuse of particular words, using parenthetical asides (I do this one too), or any number of things. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an ongoing mistake. The problem comes from overuse rather than correctness.

If you don’t think you have any quirks, ask a friend to read over some of your writing and ask if they see anything being repeated. You may not even notice it yourself, but a fresh pair of eyes always help.

Once you identify your personal quirk, do your best to change your habits so that it doesn’t take over your writing.

See, I can stop when I try.