What do I do in everything I write without noticing?

Three habits that run through your writing, with your own lines as proof, and one to try dropping.


When to use
When you’ve written the same way for years and can’t tell what’s style and what’s rut.
Time
10 min

The prompt

Tone

I want to know my habits as a writer, the ones I can’t see because I’m inside them. Don’t comment yet. Ask me to paste three things I’ve written, one at a time, with anything private removed: ideally an email, a longer piece and something casual. Then tell me the three habits that show up across them, each with a short quote from my own text as evidence. For each, say whether it’s serving me or has become a crutch. Finish with one habit to try dropping in the next thing I write, and what to do in its place. Don’t flatter me, and don’t call something a habit if it appears only once. Three samples is a small window, so say where you’re guessing. Be direct. No padding and no reassurance I did not ask for.

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