For all you avid readers out there...?

Question

I'm writing a book currently (young adult novel) and want to avoid typical author mistakes; what are some common things that annoy you or detract from an otherwise good story? Plot, cliches, style, etc.? Thank you, dear readers!

Answer 1

I find when I read novels sometimes the characters seem weak or vapid; unrealistic. When a character can stir up emotions in you then you know the author did a good job giving them life.
What I really hate in novels is when it has an open ending, sort of leaving you to wonder what is going to happen. It feels lazy to me, like the author couldn't think of a good way to end his book neatly, and so the author takes the easy way out and gives his book one of those loose string endings that leaves the reader wondering and unsatisfied.

Answer 2

When an author takes a positive look upon the angst of their character and abuses it to death. Characters like that tend to just be a reflection of the author himself/herself, and it just doesn't manage to squeeze any emotions out of me besides a smile and chuckle. I mean, the grief pushed onto a well-constructed character can make for some truly great work, especially if it is done with humorous stride and the author never pushes the atmosphere and instead lets it subtly build. This problem is especially apparent with most teenage girls or boys who try too hard to be edgy, especially if the drama is self-inflicted, which generally tends to be what those exact writers have done in their actual lives. Not that having an author avatar is inherently bad, but nobody cares for a pseudo-intellectual whiner who believes their lack of Pocky and their faux-punk style not being respected is an eternal struggle. I also have trouble with people who clearly try to sound intelligent yet do not care to check for accuracy at all; if you want to be taken seriously with your formal writing then you should probably at least try to spell check or make sure that the structure of most sentences in the piece do not seem too awkward. Style is also somewhat important when it comes to writing an engaging or quality story, and I honestly wouldn't call being formal stylistic. I know that this was more so a rant about general writing than books, but I hope you don't mind. A lot of this crap appears in even the most well-known of fiction and I'm positive that I'm not alone on these complaints.

Answer 3

1. Write about what you know, not what you don't know--even
if you disguise it in fantasy or sci-fi.

2. Don't change points of view. Decide on your narrator and
stick with him/her. I prefer a him. Too many books are
written for girls these days, and not enough for boys.

3. Authors tend to get attached to their words. Sometimes
lovely bits of language have to be scrapped even if it feels
like cutting off an arm, in order to keep the story line moving
along properly.

4. Don't use slang. It goes out of date too quickly.

5. Work for integrity in the telling of your story.

6. A technique I've used is to just write out everything I'm thinking, no holds barred. Then strip the story down to it's bones. And then build back in what the story needs to fill it out.

7. But always avoid indulging yourself. It's about the story,
not you.

Good going. Maggie.

Answer 4

For me - long descriptions of the surroundings and other minute details that go on for long paragraphs tend to distract from the plot and main focus of the story. One author I am reading at the moment has gone into pages of description of the surroundings and lost the characters' emotional thrust that he had so dedicatedly built up to a crescendo only to have it lost in the shuffle.

Good luck with your book!

Answer 5

I think Maggie LeMasters has summed it up pretty well! I would just like to add: honesty! Be honest in your narrative - in other words don't lie to yourself, as your readers would pick this up quickly. You don't say if you are a "young adult" yourself. If not, speak to "young adults" and learn their "language". I've found with my children (19 and 22) that they speak in a different idiom than what we spoke when we were that age!

Answer 6

Avoid youre typical Mary or Gary Stu. Who is that you ask well its your lovable perfect character. Often Blond haired blue eyed terribly attractive yet tragically misunderstood brillaint at everything they do character. They have no flaws, except for thier perfection which causes them to be misunderstood.

Its a flat character no one can relate and no one likes to read. Make sure your characters are flawed and real and relateable. We want storeis about people like us.

Answer 7

The most important thing is to create believable characters. the book Building Believable Characters by Marc McCutcheon has really helped me to refine my characters. It helps create believable physical descriptions along with personalities and body language. It also has a character questionnaire that is very handy.

Answer 8

Make your characters complex--no cookie-cutter antagonists. No one is just "evil." People do what they think is right, so make sure your readers know why your characters make the choices they do.

Don't over-do adjectives. Use descriptive verbs rather than linking verbs whenever possible.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Good luck!

Answer 9

make your characters seem like real everyday people involving everyday situations that young people feel like. I have discovered in my volunteer work that teens like characters they can relate to. this often also holds true for adults as well. This is the best advice I have. Good Luck!

Answer 10

I am a read, I would say nothing, but then I love it when the author describe everything completely and fully. Because if they don't, you feel like your just standing in a dark box.