Ten mistakes writers don’t see (but can easily fix when they do).

…the following is a list I’ll be referring to people *before* they submit anything in writing to anybody… From email messages and front-page news in the New York Times to published books and magazine articles, the 10 ouchies listed here crop up everywhere. They’re so pernicious that even respected Internet columnists are not immune.

1. Repeats
2. Flat writing
3. Empty adverbs
4. Phony dialogue
5. No-good suffixes
6. The “to be” words
7. Lists
8. Show, don’t tell
9. Awkward phrasing
10. Commas