What NOT To Do

You know, it's funny -- I think I learned more about how to be a better teacher from not-so-great teachers, than from the good ones. I watched them closely, realized the kind of teacher I didn't want to be, by observing what they did wrong, or did poorly. "I will never be/do/say that!" I would think to myself, filing their error away in my mind.

The same can be said of not-so-great books. Reading poorly-written sentences or intros, observing awkward dialogue and thin characterization -- these are all great teachers. We can learn what not to do, in our own prose. "I will never write/say/do that!" <--we should file that away in our writers' minds.

Along those lines, here's a fantastic blog entry that reveals 18 "Don'ts" that I fully agree with.

Ultimately, I think it's about awareness - once we're aware of the pitfalls and weaknesses, we can do our best to avoid them!