When it comes to writing, every writer is unique. But mistakes made by first-time authors are not as unique. In a very unscientific poll, I asked fiction editors which errors they come across the most often. Not surprisingly, the culprits were the same.

Below are the five most common writing mistakes identified by fiction editors, with simple fixes that can be done in the revision stage. So if you’re writing a book for the first-time, make sure you avoid all of these.

Wordiness
Wordiness can come from overdescription, overexplanation, and redundant language. Those of us who are editors see this all the time in descriptions, especially in the use of adjectives and adverbs. Many first-time writers believe they need to bolster their nouns and verbs with adjectives and adverbs, but this often marks the writer as an amateur. Instead, writers should focus on using strong nouns and verbs. Take the simple phrase “a small river rushing by quickly.” A river that is rushing will naturally be doing so quickly, so eliminate the adverb.
Read more at; http://www.issacharprojects.com/five-common-writing-mistakes-by-first-time-authors-and-how-to-fix-them/