What's your biggest pet peeves with writing

Discussion in 'General Writing' started by SunnyDays, Jan 25, 2012.

  1. TDFuhringer

    TDFuhringer Contributor Contributor

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    Excellent suggestion TheIllustratedMan. Thank you. Done!
     
  2. Jared King

    Jared King New Member

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    I don't really have any pet peeves when it comes to an authors writing style, unless its something that very noticeable. I do however have a dislike characters who from a young age are just naturally good at everything, with weaknesses that seem tacked on to make the character 'believable' but really just seem to make the characters perfection stand out even more.
     
  3. TDFuhringer

    TDFuhringer Contributor Contributor

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    I very much agree with this. I didn't like young people when I was young, I don't like them any more now. :p If you're going to give us beautiful, young and healthy characters, give them serious problems to overcome, not just quirks. Make them interesting! Make them assholes and screwups who have to learn not to be.
     
  4. DrueBernardid

    DrueBernardid New Member

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    I hate when the author takes a break from the Main Story to explain the background of a character who amounts to nothing more than a walk on or overly explaining every detail of a situation. Tom Clancy has a habit of doing this and it derails my interest in the story.
     
  5. topeka sal

    topeka sal New Member

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    Never seen it. Recommend?

    p.s. I knew someone was gonna take issue with that one! :D
     
  6. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

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    I don't like blatant inconsistency in characters. I haven't read the Harry Potter series, but I've seen the first four or five movies, and I got annoyed with the treatment of Ron Weasley. In the first movie, he's a brave and loyal kid, even casting himself as the self-sacrificing knight in that big chess game. I thought, "I like this kid." But in later movies, Ron is more of a coward who is just there for comic relief. No trace of knightliness remained in him. This is one of the reasons I lost interest in Harry Potter.
     
  7. Dandroid

    Dandroid New Member

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    i tend to get annoyed when certain professions are employed and described without any accuracy...for example, when ems shows up on a scene and do things completely contrary to their practice...it's just sloppy...a little research would save those situations....
     
  8. muscle979

    muscle979 Member

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    I'm almost finished with Chamber of Secrets with my daughters and have so far seen no inconsistencies in the Ron Weasley character. Sometimes movies screw these things up. I'm not saying that's the case because there are five Harry Potter books I have yet to read but it could be. I'm not sure if you should judge the writing of that series based on things you saw in movies.
     
  9. muscle979

    muscle979 Member

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    It's probably the best B movie ever made. A lot of the one-liners in that movie are instantly recognizable by almost anybody.
     
  10. TDFuhringer

    TDFuhringer Contributor Contributor

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    Agreed. I haven't stopped quoting from that movie since the day I saw it in the theater.

     
  11. UrbanBanshee

    UrbanBanshee Member

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    On the topic of characters, I can't stand it when the author states something about a character but nothing ever happens to back it up. Like being told a character is great at "X" but anytime they are shown doing something related to it they fail miserably. Baring comedy of course. I'm tired of Heroes that are supposed to be "kind" but we only know because the author states, "Alfred was a kind soul."

    It goes along with inconsistent characters. If the hero can pick locks in chapter 2 then he shouldn't get thrown in a cage and cry out "if only I knew how to pick locks."
     
  12. spklvr

    spklvr Contributor Contributor

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    While that is annoying as well, I find the opposite more annoying. Only using said that is. A little "whispered" and "shouted" is needed now and again so it won't be too repetitive.
     
  13. Melzaar the Almighty

    Melzaar the Almighty Contributor Contributor

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    Yeah, and also because sometimes people say things in a tone other than "said" >_< I tend not to use more than "whispered" and variants of "shouted", along with the occasional grumble or mutter when the character is talking to themselves.

    I suppose people can't help it but really stinted dialogue, where the characters seem almost to be talking to themselves. Especially with minor characters or people discussing plot, I dislike seeing where people just use dialogue for plot, and don't spare anything for characterisation. I mean, not even an "Um" as the character stops to think about the last time she saw that plot-important item? Just "Bam! It was in there!" and no one stops to ask how they're doing before they run off to get it.

    PEOPLE CHAT, GUYS. Urgh. :p I'm not saying writers need to pad up with meaningless dialogue, but it would be nice to have a little humanity sometimes.
     
  14. joanna

    joanna Active Member

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    Regarding inconsistent characters: I know people like that in real life, who say they are great at something and actually they suck at it, and it's mostly hilarious. But it's silly when authors can't render their characters consistently. The best is when the hero leaps through five hoops of fire and when confronted with some arbitrary hurdle, says, "This is hopeless."

    Regarding use of 'said': I want to mostly see 'said' and then I want to see the other things only when they are necessary. And as discussed some time ago, I don't want to read that a character breathed, gasped, or laughed the words.

    An additional pet peeve: Punctuating dialogue incorrectly. I hate seeing this:

    "This is not the way to punctuate dialogue." he said.

    There are other offenses, but this to me is the most annoying. I'm pretty forgiving, and I can correct people politely, but inside I'm thinking, What is this? Hasn't this person read books?
     

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