The Lazy Writing Habits We Pretend Aren’t Lazy

For example, you might purposely write “etc.” because you don't want to research the specific details.

Another example is using vague descriptions instead of researching how something actually works. You may write, “She hacked into the system,” without knowing how the system works or what hacking it would actually involve.

Or when you have a character doing a job you know nothing about, and instead of spending some time researching it, you just write something vague and hope nobody notices. (A surgeon, for example.)

Same thing with places. You’ve never been there, but you just write what you assume it looks like because researching it feels like too much work.

Sometimes it’s also just using the same words over and over because you are too lazy to look for a better way to describe something.

And honestly, there are times when you know a scene needs more detail, but you leave it vague because you are too lazy to figure out the details. That’s probably one of the easiest lazy habits to brush off because the writing still looks fine at first.

For me though, one lazy writing habit I have is sometimes skipping over scenes that I know I need to write because I don't feel like figuring out how to connect them. I'll basically think, “I'll just write this part later,” and then end up with a scene that jumps from one thing to another because I never went back to fill in the gap.

What about you?