Wednesday, January 12, 2011

5 Things Writers Don't Want to Hear From Readers

As writers and readers, are there just some things that you really don't want to hear/see in stories? They could include some things like:


  1. 5 pages in and I wanted the character to kill himself

    Don't you know those irritating characters you hope won't survive much longer... but alas, they are the main character so you kind of figure they will be around much, much longer.

  2. Oh, that was a bad guy?

    I love sympathetic bad guys, but when the reader gets confused as to who's the good guys and who's the bad guys, then there's a problem.

  3. Ok, where did he get that unicycle?

    Ok, where did this new item come from? A character finds a tool that will come in handy, but where did they get it from? Now, that's the mystery.

  4. It's interesting and all, but why is there a detailed recount of the 1906 stockmarket?

    Yawn, endless information that only proves that the person is knowledgeable, but doesn't have any relevance in the story.

  5. As I thought, the Butler did it... wait, when did the butler enter the story?

    Coincidental villains. The ones that aren't really in the story, but only come along because they need someone to be the villain.
So, is there anything that you're afraid of hearing when other people read your manuscript? What sort of things don't you like seeing in the stories you read?

    11 comments:

    Stina said...

    That the writing generally sucked. Oh wait! I would rather hear that so I can fix it. If no one tells me that, I won't know I have to fix it. ;)

    Bryan Russell said...

    Hey, as long as they keep reading I don't care what they say. :)

    JE said...

    Haha, I like Bryan's comment.

    Writers (published, popular ones) have the flexibility to get away with things we (new) writers can't. I'll still read their book front to back ... no matter how annoyed some aspects make me. :o)

    ~JD

    Kayeleen Hamblin said...

    My biggest fear is that people will say my characters aren't believable or that the situations are unrealistic. I want people to connect with what I write.

    JJ said...

    Loved this post! I think than an unsatisfying ending can wreck even the most well-written novel, and I'd hate for a reader to feel that way about my novel when it's finished!

    BK Mattingly said...

    My biggest fear is the un-villainy villain. I'm worried my bad dudes just aren't bad enough.

    Anonymous said...

    LOL! This is funny!

    I want the straight up truth, through and through. ;) A little support and a "you can do this!" helps too, LOL!

    Shannon said...

    Good post! What I am afraid of hearing? That my writing is just down-right awful.

    I don't like seeing typos and misused words.

    If you get a chance, please stop by to read this week’s anonymous critique and share your feedback!

    Nic @ Irresistible Reads said...

    As a reader the thing that annoys me the most is endless useless information. There are books I would have loved if only they were a 100 pages shorter :)

    Willa said...

    Hate it when the ending is way too short! All the loose ends gets tied up in the blink of an eye... Great list btw :-)

    Kristin Rae said...

    I worry about flow most I think... do all the little chapters add up to a big picture that's worth reading at all??

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