Would you read this book?

If you're really into the lore of the Elder Scrolls series, you might. But for me, a big wall of text like this almost guarantees that I'll put that book back where I found it without a second glance.

Here at Bitmob, we love giving attention to our community members' articles. But some of those stories are easier to feature than others. See, we want to use your words as much as possible. But we also want to make sure that each story has squeaky-clean writing, punctuation, and grammar. That means we have to change some stuff. And we'd rather not.

So in this latest edition of our Writing Tips column, we asked our editors about some of the biggest errors they see in community articles...and how to avoid them. As a famous homicidal computer once said: Thank you for helping us help you help us all.

Peeve #1: Overly long paragraphs

This is one of the easiest things to fix because you often don't have to change anything. Just hit the Return key a couple of times, and you're good to go.

Here's an example from a recent article in the Mobfeed:

Now might be a good time to admit that, even though I'd decided to uninhibit my character from the conventions of proper Skyrim decency and societal etiquette, and I knew my save was still right there for me to pick up at any time, ...I still felt guilty. I couldn't help it. You see, from the beginning of the game, from the moment we start out with our ride in the 'cart of the damned' into Helgen, it just all felt so realistic. Of course the amazing HD graphics were/are a huge part of it, with the way every NPC and creature physically moves and interacts with their surroundings, to the awesome dialogue we experience with and between the NPC's of the game. From the moment I first booted it up and had my first glimpse of Skyrim in the opening sequence, I wanted to believe in the reality of this world. It draws you in very quickly. I felt immediately a part of this story and became my character.

We could fix a few different things in here, but check out what happens with just a few paragraph breaks:

Now might be a good time to admit that, even though I'd decided to uninhibit my character from the conventions of proper Skyrim decency and societal etiquette, and I knew my save was still right there for me to pick up at any time...I still felt guilty.

I couldn't help it. You see, from the beginning of the game, from the moment we start out with our ride in the 'cart of the damned' into Helgen, it just all felt so realistic.

Of course the amazing HD graphics were/are a huge part of it, with the way every NPC and creature physically moves and interacts with their surroundings, to the awesome dialogue we experience with and between the NPC's of the game.

From the moment I first booted it up and had my first glimpse of Skyrim in the opening sequence, I wanted to believe in the reality of this world. It draws you in very quickly. I felt immediately a part of this story and became my character.

There. Those spaces are much less intimidating, and they emphasize the author's points, too.

Peeve #2: Unclear pronouns

I'll leave this explanation to our own Rob Savillo:

Beginning a sentence or paragraph with "it" when "it" cannot possibly point to anything at all, such as the common, "It seems to me...." What seems to you, exactly?

Such writing is a pain to edit because I have to discern the author's meaning with little or nothing to go on. If I'm staring for too long at your text just trying to decipher what you mean to say, chances are that I'll stop revising the article and move on to something else that has more clarity.

I absolutely loathe this kind of lazy writing because you can easily confuse readers while simultaneously boring them with bland text. Be descriptive! English is a colorful language, and you should be able to say the same thing in a dozen different ways.

Agreed, Rob. This advice goes for personal pronouns, too.

Peeve #3: Repeated words

Do you really have to use the word "game" in that sentence? It might be the most apt description, but we're betting you can think of a different way to describe what you mean. Check out this example (bold added for emphasis):

In the newest BioShock game, you get to play as Booker DeWitt. Personally, I think Infinite is the greatest game in the series to date, and Irrational's contribution to the first-person-shooter genre is a significant gain for gamers everywhere. With this sequel, the company has moved gaming forward by leaps and bounds. In fact, it's a game that does so many new things right that one wonders how most of its innovations weren't conceived of years ago. I'd even go so far as to say it's already in the running for Game of the Year.

Here's how Bitmob editor James DeRosa would rewrite it:

In the newest installment of the BioShock franchise, you get to play as Booker DeWitt. Personally, I think Infinite is the most original effort in the series to date, and Irrational's contribution to the first-person shooter is a significant gain for fans everywhere. With this sequel, the company has moved our favorite pastime forward by leaps and bounds. In fact, it does so many new things right that one wonders how most of its innovations weren't conceived of years ago. I'd even go so far as to say it's already in the running for Game of the Year.

Ta-da! A paragraph that used the same word six times now only includes it once, in a context where it really makes sense.

Peeve #4: Homophone mix-ups

From our fearless leader and site founder Dan "Shoe" Hsu:

Its vs. it's, your vs. you're, their vs. there vs. they're, then vs. than...people shouldn't even be getting these wrong on their Tweets or Facebook updates! Let's clean up the Internet!

You heard the man. And while we're on the subject of common Internet errors: "A lot" is two words, not one.

(courtesy of Hyperbole and a Half)

Avoiding these errors will help you get to the Bitmob front page more often (and make our lives a whole lot easier in the process).

More importantly, you'll be a better writer. And that's what we really care about.