If I were to make a list of things that annoy me, it would be a mile long. I’m that person, the one who is easily annoyed by picky little details. Bad table manners, bad drivers and people who park their carts in the middle of the aisle at Costco so they can get a free sample, come to mind right away as things that get under my skin.
In a previous blog, I wrote about what I thought made a really good romance novel. I was going to write about what I thought made a really bad romance novel but have decided to just blog about what I don’t like in books in general.
I will not let this list become a mile long and will just stick to the top ten things that annoy me as a reader and make me wish I never started the book to begin with. As an author, these are the things I try to steer clear of while writing;
- Unbelievable characters. I am not talking about vampires, witches or other paranormal sorts. I am talking about the real life human beings that you don’t know and no one you know knows. We all know what I’m talking about. Nobody has it all, so don’t write a character that does.
- Bad dialogue. It’s important to make your characters sound like they exist in the time you are writing about and sound age/gender/class appropriate.
- Issues with the time space continuum. Unless you are writing about time travel, make sure your book follows a realistic time line and makes sense. I hate when I have to keep going back to reread something because the story jumps around so much.
- Characters that are so boring you want to hit them over the head with the book. If your character is so boring that people skim or skip whole chunks of the story when they are in it, you have an issue. I didn’t list this in the unbelievable section because boring people are real, but nobody wants to or needs to read about them. If they don’t add something to the story, leave them at home.
- Bad rules of engagement. I hate when I couldn’t care less what happens to the characters. I like to be invested. If you make your characters so bad/perfect/stupid/unlovable etc. that the reader doesn’t care what happens to them, it’s not a good thing.
- Length. It does matter. Some books are way too short and some are way too long. It’s important to give the reader what they need but not more than they want. It’s a slippery slope.
- Big word-itis. Ok I made that up. Writers don’t always need to use big words to try and impress us. There are books I put down because I can’t read them without the aid of a dictionary. I’m exaggerating a little, I have a huge vocabulary, but nobody needs to use the word lugubrious, disconsolate or lachrymose when sad will do just fine.
- Repetitive word-itis. I made that up too. When you start to count how many times an author used the words, “oh my,” there is a disconnect. A Thesaurus exists for a reason. Trust me, I wrote a romance novel. There is more than one way to say sexy.
- A bad ending. There is nothing worse than loving a book so much that you can’t put it down only to be ripped off by the ending. Books have to end and sometimes you don’t want them to because you’re so into the story. That’s not what I am talking about. I’m talking about the story that ends and you think, “What the Hell?” Or, “are you kidding me?” My first critique of Stay basically had that comment in it. They hated the ending. I saw the error of my ways and revised it. I read a YA book with my seventh grader last year and I am still mad about the ending. I will never read another book by that author again.
- ??? This is where I look forward to your opinions. Hint hint…
Reading is something that most of us do for pleasure. Because of this, we need to derive pleasure from what we read. We all like different genres and have different tastes, and that keeps things interesting in the reading/writing world. And I for one prefer to be interested instead of annoyed.
Jill Odom says
I pretty much exclusively read romance novels. Most of them contemporary steamy romance novels. My pet peeve is how many books and for that matter TV shows seem to feel it is necessary to give a character in their book a horrible illness such as cancer. When it comes to romance novels, I read these books to escape into other people’s lives. Yes, there are dark parts of the books that make you understand the character better and root for them to overcome these dark areas. I am not suggesting the book shouldn’t have any substance or challenging issues. But, I do not like to have to deal with the anxiety producing harsh reality of cancer when trying to enjoy a good hot steamy romance. So, if I know a book is going to deal with the cancer topic or one of my favorite characters is going to die during the book, I flat out refuse to read it.
Also, I don’t like the terminology some authors come up with for the body parts. That is a sure fire way to ruin a good sex scene 🙂
Just to sneak in what I LOVE in a romance novel…a sequel! I love when there is a series of books that revolve around the same group of people (a family, a town, a group of friends, etc.). You really get to know the characters and you get to continue to hear what is happening to the couple you read about in a previous book. Love that!
Hilary Wynne says
Hi Jill,
Thanks for the feedback. As a writer it’s hard to know what is enough and what is too much. I tried to add enough drama to keep things from going the totally “fluffy” route but I agree that some storylines are better served in a non-romance genre. As far as the terminology for the body parts goes, you have no idea how challenging that is for a first time “erotica” writer. I debated and debated on what to call what and even asked for multiple opinions. Again, it is important to set the tone of your book and I for one was trying not to go too hard core but I didn’t want to go PG either. It’s tricky for sure!
I agree a sequel is a great idea and that’s why I am busily trying to get mine done. I’m actually planning a series of at least three. Hang tight, it hopefully won’t be too long!
Hilary