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Another blog post thought you'd like to read.Have you ever been so annoyed by a writer’s style before? Fiction, non-fiction or even fanfiction – it doesn’t matter! There is clearly a problem when everyone is having so many pet peeves and to my knowledge, we are finding it hard to find good or even decent fiction these days. This can be improved if writers just look over and read what they have written. If you want more attention for your story, write better! Anyways, let me share with you some of my fiction pet peeves!
“Annoying”
- Switching a character’s narrators: Really? Do writers do this to piss people off? There have been too many stories where I have seen this happen and the writer (and most of the readers) think this is okay. It puts me off because they start off with a good plot and the writing is done so well in 3rd person then suddenly out of blue, 1st person view! AndI don’t even like reading 1st or 2nd person stories, they tend to be badly written.
- Constant use of another language’s vocabulary throughout the story: This refers to Fanfiction more. Respectful terms e.g. sensei, dongsaeng, are fine with me. It’s when they turn into sentences or every start of the word becomes Japanese or Korean that I cannot stand. We understand you want to add a few language terms into the story but it can really but a person off.
- Not displaying to the readers what is the difference between flashback/past and the present: I don’t know how to shorten this but this is a problem with some writers stories. People feel confused when an author writes the story and switches from one scene to another. Please fix that!
- Overuse of formatting: The overuse of bold, italics and underline can be really annoying. You only need to do it to one word to emphasise . With paragraphs, it’s simple! Just separate them so readers are not confused.
- (FOR FANFICTION ONLY) Assuming they are all 12-15: No. There is a bigger demography of fanfiction writers out there.
- Extended author notes or summary: There is no need for this. Keep it short and sweet for your readers because you’re bound to annoy them by talking way too much. Also, adding your own input into the story is irritating.
- Characters are OOC. Create an OC: It’s really strange how out of character a writer can make someone especially if it’s fanfiction.
- All dialogue and no description: There isn’t much to say except how do you expect a reader to enjoy your story with only dialogue in it.
- Lack of emotive vocabulary: Said, said etc. It’s so dull. Try using this for help.
- Bad Grammar/Spelling: Annoying yes, but we are not all perfect. I’d let it pass because even my spelling and grammar isn’t on point and a majority of writers’ stories that I have read are similar too.
- Short chapters: It’s not that bad unless the chapter is under 300 words then it’s a waste.
- Lemons without plot: Sometimes if it’s written well, I’ll excuse it e.g. Special Delivery
- Silent readers: It’s not that bad but I would like for readers of any stories they read to comment on my story and tell the writers what you think and (maybe if you like critiscing) what needs to be improved. We appreciate any feedback you give us!
- Mary-Sues: This is mostly aimed at fanfiction really and I was even told when I started my Naruto fanfiction that my female protagonist was Mary-Sue and needed to tone her character down. That’s why this doesn’t bother me much because the writer can always tone their character’s abilities and make them more of a fictional character.
This is why I started making a recommendation list on my blog of some from my favourite Korean boy group and most are written really well.
I agree with everything that you have pointed out! The main thing that REALLY puts me off is the lack of description; most of the time it's the ingredient that a lot of writers (conveniently or not) leave out; dialogue lines following each other without any hints of what is actually happening behind the characters' words fail to create a certain atmosphere. It's dull but too dynamic in the same time, all that chit-chatty-chat is kind of hard to follow. D:
Also, making the main character the spitting image of perfection kind of irks me a bit too. Who wants to read about a character without weaknesses, that makes no mistakes? there is no such person
But there's a big BUT. Lol.
Not all hopes are lost when it comes to writers. A lot of people start off exercising or playing with words and their first attempts are clumsy and ... ok I'll say it... VERY bad. But who is to tell their skills will not blossom in a span of a couple of years? Okay, that might be a lot, but that's how much it took me >>
Before committing to read a fanfic, I read through the lines beforehand and see if it's to my liking, or if it sparks my interest. But you're right, I've bumped into poorly written fanfiction too many times and I'm not as enthusiastic any more about finding a decent one.
Maybe things will change?
We shall wait and see. Great blog entry by the way, I felt like reading my own words I'm telling you! 