STOP! Don't Make These Writing Mistakes

We've all done it. We've made a mistake that's horribly embarrassing. Maybe nobody else saw it, or maybe only our critique partners saw it. Or maybe we sent that mistake out into the big, wide publishing world.

Let's have a therapy session, shall we?

Last February we helped each other by adding tips to the post Writers: take a tip, leave a tip (if you haven't visited that post yet, read the comments for some brilliant tips from fellow writers). What do you say we list some of our biggest blunders, hoping other writers will avoid the same mistakes?

I'll start with two of my biggest boo-boos:

1. I wrote a middle grade novel that included an adult's point of view. Yeah, don't do that. That book had many faults, but that was the biggest. Really, when you were a middle grader, did you care about the adult's point of view? Me neither. *hangs head in shame*
2. That same middle grade book started out okay in the first chapter, but the second and third chapters were exposition and backstory. Yep, as each character was introduced, I went on and on and on about who they were and what their home life was like. *snore*

Hey, that's what practice books are for, right? At least that's what I tell myself! Needless to say, that book will collect virtual dust on my hard drive forever. But I learned from those blunders, so that book was not a waste of time and effort.

Ok, your turn. What's the biggest writing mistake you've made, and how can the rest of us learn from your faux pas? Don't be afraid...we've all made some doozies!