Questions for Those Who Regularly Read the Work of Others

[queenoftheskies]

I've been reading through some submissions posted to the various groups I belong to...OWW, Critters, QnI...and thinking.

I wanted to get opinions of others who read and critique/review.

What writing errors do you most commonly see in the work you read and critique/review? If you wouldn't mind, you could further break that down between beginning writers and those who have been writing a while.

What do you most balk at when you read to review/critique?

Do you often find errors that you have in your own work? Do you find errors you didn't realize you had until you see them in someone else's work and said, "Ah-oh, I do that too"? And, along the same lines, what do you think you learn the most from critiquing/reviewing?

Just curious.

Thanks. :)

Comments

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Like the others, I find more elementary mistakes in the work of newer writers who are still trying to find structure, pacing, and not forget characterization. Cliches and bad grammar as well--and I don't mean just the obvious cliches, like the emerald glowing eyes, the A'p'pstyphy names, the magic swords that solve all problems, but phrases--shivers running up and down spines, tables that groan under food, storms that always rage, screams that always pierce (along with eyes), beauty that haunts.

More experienced writers sometimes lapse into the phrase things, but usually need commentary on pacing, flow, incluing, and so forth.

Though I have found that both experienced and non experienced writers have some curious grammar lacunae, like not knowing the difference between lie and lay (the first intransitive, the second transitive) alright and all right, each other and one another, glitches in the perfect verb tenses (not knowing had had really is the past perfect, and trying to force it into the subjunctive because it 'sounds better'), etc.