Don't flaunt yourself. This is maybe the most often mentioned writing error among editors. Authors are naturally inclined to tell rather than demonstrate. This indicates that the author summarizes or narrates what happened rather than allowing the reader to experience the tale via action, conversation, ideas, and sensations. The best stories allow the reader to experience events first-hand. For example, instead of telling us how Mike felt upon hearing that his father had been killed by a bear, we can read about it in the words of someone who was there - the bear's! The other problem with narratives is that they are linear. They usually start with a beginning, middle, and end. This means that you can't add anything else to them. As you write your story, you will probably think of things that need to be added for it to be complete. For example, you might realize that one part is missing from your narrative. You could go back and edit this section, but once you have finished you can't add any more information. Linear narratives are fine for short stories or poems, but if you want to write a novel or longer piece of non-fiction then you'll need to write something that isn't linear.