I love reading, but I get annoyed seeing the same old flaws over and over again. Why aren’t editors picking them up? For example:
·
A constant parade of uninteresting minor
characters who're instantly forgettable and add nothing to the plot. Why not
leave them all out?
·
A plot so complex and full of twists and
turns that it's impossible to keep track if you have a poor memory and an IQ
less than 250.
·
A pretentious writing style that equates obscure
words and references with literary merit and equates simplicity with lack of
imagination.
·
Numerous flash-forwards and flash-backs that
leave me thoroughly confused and wondering which day or year or century we're
currently in.
·
Stories told by several different narrators
which never quite come together and leave gaping holes in the plot that nobody
ever explains.
·
A book that would have been perfect at 300
pages, but the author thought it needed another 200 pages to do justice to
their literary brilliance.
·
Amazing coincidences and lucky breaks that
miraculously save a character from a sticky end. A £50,000 inheritance from a
long-forgotten aunt or the sudden discovery of an identical twin sister living
in Sidcup.
I would add those who introduce an item in chapter one we never see again. Why did they describe it to us in the first place?
ReplyDeleteLinda
Linda: Yes, I've had that a few times.
DeleteI dislike too many characters, especially when none have unique names.
ReplyDeleteI have had to DNF a number of books recently due to their obnoxious content. Characters who use the F word in every conversation is just a lack of imagination, IMO.
Bijoux: I agree, the F word is used far too often. There used to be a much bigger range of swearwords when I was a kid.
DeleteOr when the names are so similar I have trouble remembering which is which. Steve and Stu, Joan and Jane; really?!
DeleteAnon: Me too. Sometimes different people even have the same first name, which is ridiculous.
DeleteI love reading. I do gravitate to non fiction, history & other various topics as I am curious & eager to learn.
ReplyDeletePaula: I mostly read fiction, but with a few non-fiction titles thrown in. I'm currently reading a book on the Irish potato famine!
DeleteI don't understand why Hilary Mantel's books got so much appreciation, when she seemed to be deliberately obnoxious with antecedents. I was constantly looking back to verify the antecedent of "he", because it usually (but not always!) was Cromwell.
ReplyDeleteRick: Yes, that annoys me as well. I've just read a book that constantly refers to he or she rather than naming the person concerned.
DeleteI don't like open endings either. A cliffhanger will make me stop reading that author.
ReplyDeleteMary: I assume open endings just mean the author was too lazy to think up a proper ending.
DeleteI'm reading a book that's got a lot of threads and characters - and I am interested in some more than others - when I get a character that I'm not so keen on I leave the book for ages before picking it up again - I'm worried I'll still be reading it this time next year.
ReplyDeleteSx
Ms Scarlet: Good luck with finishing the book! A lot of people dislike a book because it has horrible characters, but the point of a book is surely to have interesting characters, be they lovely or utterly vile.
DeleteAs for too many F words, that Maltese Falcon detective (1930) lived in a rough noir world, yet the entire novel avoids swearing. Except in the chapter The Belvedere Divan. In a hotel lobby, Sam Spade asks a young 20 year old who has been tailing him, "Well, where is he?"
ReplyDeleteThe boy spoke two words, the first a short guttural verb, the second "you."
"People lose teeth talking like that." Spade's voice was still amiable though his face had become wooden. "If you want to hang around you'll be polite."
The boy repeated his two words.
Spade dropped his cigarette into a stone jar by the divan and with a lifted hand caught the attention... (of the hotel detective, who runs the boy out of the place)
Sean: "People lose teeth talking like that." I like it! When I was young, the usual swear words were "bloody hell" or "damnation" or "bugger me". A bit more imaginative than the F word.
DeleteYou have made so many valid comments, Nick =, and perhaps you might want to pen a tome yourself?
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: I thought of writing a book when I was young, but I just don't have the necessary skills. So I'll leave writing to the natural writers.
Delete