Hello! Master-Jiraiya here with his first work on his path to being a BETA reader. Keep in mind that this is a pointer to all authors out there, and since the majority of authors write Naruto stories, then this is going under the Naruto category. So let's start!
Top Mistake Number 5: Comma Dereliction.
Plenty of authors out there make this mistake. The comma is quite possibly the most commonly used punctuation mark. Learning the rules of how to use a comma will aid you in the path to greatness. Not putting enough of these in a work can quickly drop your level from "Good Story" to "This Story Kinda Sucks…"
Top Mistake Number 4: Spell Check Dereliction.
Oh my god, has nobody ever heard of this? This is an essential tool as an author, as it is all too easy to slip up and misspell something while typing. The keys, you may have not noticed, are placed quite closely together, and can make for some rough typing. This can quickly drop your level from "Great Story!" to "This Must Be Why People Commit Suicide!!"
Top Mistake Number 3: Capitalization Dereliction.
Please, for the love of all that is good, use correct capitalization! Failing to capitalize correctly can repulse people from your story before they ever click on the story to start reading! Make sure that you properly use the "shift" button when giving your story or chapter a title and when writing your summary. This lowers a story level from "Hey, This Is Awesome!" to "This Story Isn't Worth My Time."
Top Mistake Number 2: Irrelevant Thought Similarities.
Too many authors out there make this mistake. Let's say that Character A Likes Character B, and Character B likes Character C. Character C has no romantic feelings for B, but A does like B. Character C will go from thinking, "When did that guy I sat behind in the theater take a bath last?!" to thinking, "Why does (Insert name of Character B here) like me so much?" directly after an inserted scene of Character A Thinking, "Oh, How I love you (insert name of Character B here)…" It's a subtle mistake that will take a story from "Pro" to "Newb" in nanoseconds.
Top Mistake Number 1: HPS (Horrible Plotline Syndrome).
Why oh why must this affect so many authors?! An author will be writing a perfectly fine story, when all of a sudden *BAM* a character's personality changes completely or an unneeded random irrelevant event is thrown in to try and make a story take a certain direction. [OR] The plotline is complete and utter rubbish to such an extreme that it fails to capture the interest of a viewer. A storyline must flow into events perfectly, the events can't just be jabbed in there like some desperate guy will jab a hooker with his penis. It just doesn't work. This will take a story from "Best Story Ever!!" to something so negative that it can't be conceived by human minds.