Saturday 10 September 2011

Things I hate to see in stories

  1. The new cute / hot boy in school - This device is everywhere these days; I'm over it already.
  2. Love triangles - Maybe it raises tension, but I get a bit miffed to think the heroine (or hero) proclaims undying love for someone, and then thinks perhaps the other guy (or girl) would be a better choice. Seems flaky to me.
  3. Adverb ardour - yes, they can be useful, but does the author really need three in a sentence, one after the other?
  4. A prologue or beginning snippet that tricks me into thinking the book will move quickly, only to find I have to get to chapter 17 before anything happens - I know it's a way to sell books initially, but it's also a way to make sure I never buy a book by the author again.
  5. Characters who, after being silly and not bothering to think things out for themselves, get proclaimed "special" - Why? Why are they special? They didn't do anything to earn it.
Well, that's my pet moan for the day. What do you guys see in stories that make you want to hurl the book across the room (or the eReader for that matter, but then it might break - hmm, not such a good idea…)?

Image: Surachai / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

6 comments:

Christine Rains said...

I hate those things too. I also hate seeing a character who is silly and shallow suddenly overcoming things with grace and wisdom that is far beyond them.

C D Meetens said...

That's another good point. I've also learnt recently that I hate POV switches in the middle of scenes (without a scene break). I spend half of the next few paragraphs trying to work out what's happened and whose head I'm in.

Beth Kemp said...

I hate the handy friend to explain it all to which means I'm in for several pages of unexpurgated infodump. Yours are all irritating things too!

C D Meetens said...

Oh, yes, absolutely! It's almost a red-outlined sign saying, "Infodump coming", isn't it?

Anonymous said...

You've hit the nail on the head. Now I don't have to write a post about this stuff. I hate love triangles--makes the characters seem unable to make a descision. If they can't make up thier minds about the love of their life, mercy, how am I as a reader supposed to believe/trust them to save the world? LOL.

C D Meetens said...

I agree with that entirely. I certainly wouldn't trust them to save the world. They'd probably go between two viable options, and while they were deciding, the world would end ;).

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