What mistakes do you commonly make?

[Juneberry]

It was brought to my attention that the third of March is National Grammar Day, and it made me think... How is my grammar when I write? I'm an editor, but I'm not near perfect as a writer. Hell, I'm sure my editing still needs work too- there's always room for improvement. But, in order to grow as writers, I think it's a good thing to recognize the errors we make on a regular basis for ourselves. So, are there any you notice you make a lot?

For me, it's all about commas. I vary my oxford comma use a lot, and I just overuse them in general. I also use some notably common words a lot. I have major overuse of he said/she said, so to speak! I do a lot of dialogue, so that's a big issue to me.

What are some grammar or wording issues you have that you want to work on? I'm curious what different writers deem problematic differently from others!

[Aeowulf]

I overuse commas as well, but the Oxford comma is not a mistake. People that don't use it are making the mistake.

I seem to start sentences with 'but' and 'and' which apparently is a no-no.

[Juneberry]

You'll find a lot of editors (myself included) say not to worry about the Fanboys rule (the rule about starting with but and and), Also the oxford comma is a common debate and for many years I was against it because it didn't sound right when I spoke a sentence with one (because I speak weirdly, I think). So in personal work, I wasn't using it forever, and then work suddenly made me, so now my brain is getting in the habit of both using it and not using it... but mostly using it.

[Aeowulf]

Its a must! It can cause some understanding issues if not used, and there's actually been legislation that was loopholed because of its lack of use in a state in the 1800s (dont remember which).

[Juneberry]

I never knew about that little factoid! Thank you for teaching me it!

[CherryBlossom]

I am not very good with words that sound the same but are spelled differently and I've never been that great at grammar but spell checker is a lot better now so really helps me out with my writing more now.