Wednesday, January 6, 2021

IWSG - Unnecessary Prose


Insecure Writer's Support Group


Purpose of the IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Join us!

I hope you all had a glorious holiday 
and have started the New Year 
with confidence and purpose!

Once again I'm relying on the 
Question posted to fill my post.


Question - Being a writer, when you're reading someone else's work, what stops you from finishing a book/throws you out of the story/frustrates you the most about other people's books?

 Answer: - I just finished a mystery set in the English countryside, one of my favorite places. The mystery was a good one, a who-done-it with great characters, and well written,  but filled with constant rehashing of the clues and motives.

It drew me out of the story continuously. At first, I thought it was the author's first book and understood because I know I did the same thing in my first attempt, but it was the third book. By then, the editor should have caught that, if not the author.

I finished the book, but I won't be reading another. There are very few books that I just couldn't finish. That's because they simply didn't hold my interest, usually because I find myself not caring about the characters or the storyline. It's very disappointing when the description fails to fit the book.

 The outstanding co-hosts this month are:

Ronel Janse van Vuuren 

J Lenni Dorner

Gwen Gardner 

Sandra Cox 

Louise - Fundy Blue!

Be sure to say hello!


KEEP WRITING!


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7 comments:

  1. Hi and Happy New Year!
    I wish you all the best for 2021.
    It is my belief that sometimes authors stop learning. When we do that, we keep repeating the same mistakes.
    Take care.

    Shalom aleichem,
    Pat G @ EverythingMustChange

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  2. A constant rehashing is like talking down to your readers.

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  3. That would drive me a bit batty too. We have to trust the readers!

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  4. Happy New Year, Yolanda. Hope 2021 brings you lots of blessings.

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  5. Yes, I need a story to keep my interest. And not repeat things too much. Happy New Year, Yolanda!

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  6. Verbosity is toxic for fiction, that's for sure. I recently read the latest Murderbot novel, Network Effect by Martha Wells. It suffered from the same malady. The writer wrote 4 previous novellas about the same protagonist, and because they were shorter works, they were so much better than the novel. Very enjoyable. But this book - it felt like the author tried to pad the word count to bring it to the required length. I think the story would have fared much better as a novella too.

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  7. I used to read every book to the end, but that's changed over time. If a book is boring, has flat characters or has too many logic holes, I put it down.

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