Readers' Pet Peeves

Those of us who are chain readers develop a list of things that annoy us in a novel, often because they are so overused. What was charming the first time just doesn't have the same effect the hundredth time. I can look at this from both a writer's and reader's perspective. Here are seven flaws that readers mention over and over again:

Amnesia as a plot ploy - I read at least one book a month that has a main character develop amnesia, and this seems especially true in westerns. The last one I read, I almost put it down, because I didn't want to read any further. Please authors, use your creative thinking and come up with some alternatives.

Just telling instead of showing - This is one of the no-no's of good writing. It leaves the reader on the outside looking in. Good writers pull the reader into the story so  they live it with the main characters.

Lenghty backstories or pages about the characters' backgrounds - I have done workshops where I showed how to work this into the story bit by bit without whole sections telling about it. This is a much better way to present the needed background information.

Overdescribing - This is one of those tightropes authors have to walk. It's necessary to describe important people and scenes so the reader can picture them, but over-describing turns readers off and makes them start skipping sections. Never give descriptions that aren't necessary to the story, and trust readers' creativity to roll the film of what's happening in their minds. These can also be worked into the story without requiring paragraph after paragraph of nothing but descriptions.

"Released a breath he or she didn't even know they [sic] were holding" - Like amnesia, this is so overused I feel like gagging every time I read it. Don't copy such phrases. Come up with something better.

What appears to be a novel turns out to be a collection of short stories - This is the newest annoyance to make the list. It's occurring more and more often, especially in mail order bride series. In fact, both camouflaged short stories and mail order brides are becoming all too common.

What is your pet peeve as a reader?

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