There’s a lot of things I’m forgiving of when it comes to reading books. The occasional typo. (Like one or two in an entire book. Not one per page! ) As an author, I know how hard it is to track those things down and I’m willing to overlook the occasional slip.
I’ll forgive a slight slip in logic especially in fantasy and science-fiction. After all, you have to be able to suspend reality to read those stories.
There are a few things I can’t forgive.
Many years ago, when I wasn’t working out of the house, I’d watch a soap opera—more to have noise in the house than to follow the story line—and then I realized that one night in soap opera time had eaten up over a week in real life. That was the last time I watched the show. Time slips in books do the same thing to me.
The beginning of the page it’s morning? And by the bottom of the page the characters are eating supper? And there’s been no break in the conversation in between? Imaginary points deducted. Depending upon the story, it may be what drives me to close the book and never finish reading it. Sorry, I can’t tell you what book that was so you can avoid it. I’ve driven it out of my memory.
Another thing I despise are books for teenagers that try way too hard to sound cool. (See what I did there?) Sure, teenagers use slang, but I’ve never talked to one that every word that came out of their mouth was a fad. I’ve talked to a lot of teenagers and guess what? Most of them use the same words as you and I.
One more. If you are going to write a series, you must have a different plot for each book. Don’t rehash the same story over and over. The heroine gets kidnapped in book one? She’d better not get abducted in book two. The dashing hero overcomes his past trauma and rescues the lady and falls in love with her all in one book? Maybe book two the heroine should rescue the hero!
And please, even if you are writing a series, don’t write a cliffhanger at the end of the story. Give us closure at the end of the book. You can leave enough open questions to make us want to read the next book without leaving us dangling. I’ll refuse to by the next book out of sheer orneryness. (That’s not a word, I know! It should be.)
‘Nuff said. Let’s find out what everyone else has to pick on!
September 4, 2017 – As writers, we’re also readers. What is a common mistake you see in many books? Offer suggestions for making a change. You can even share a paragraph from a book and correct it.
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Yes to all of your points. Those are the type of things that drive me bonkers. You can tell when the author is trying too hard, it's a turn off.