Avoid Mindless Patterns in Your Writing

Your writing can slip into a mindless pattern like those associated with certain activities in your life, such as getting dressed in the morning and driving to work. These mindless patterns indicate that you are acting without conscious thought. You are relying on past experiences to handle your needs in the present.
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One of the most obvious ways in which these patterns express in your writing is through using worn-out phrases. These can be clichés, but they can also be buzzwords that are thought to be stylish or trendy for your target audience. There are two problems with trendy and stylish phrases or words:

• everyone else has used them – many times! Your audience has become immune to their original intent. Consequently, your message is lost.
• sometimes it is taken for granted that the meanings of such words/phrases are known by all when the truth is that no one has bothered to define these terms in so long that their meanings are vague to most of your readers. Again, the full impact of your message is lost.

Another way in which mindless patterns emerge in your writing is through the repetitive use of your own pet phrases. These phrases are peppered through article after article without your even realizing it. In a manuscript I read recently, a writer used the word basically followed by a comma in nearly every paragraph. It was not only a mindless pattern for him, it represented lazy writing on his part: he was unwilling to take the time to be creative in his writing. 

To avoid these mindless patterns as a writer, you must stay in the moment. Be aware of every word you write. Make the conscious choice to be creative in how you express your thoughts. After all, writing is not about the number of articles or manuscripts you complete; it is about the message within each work and the uniqueness with which you express it.