Have you ever started reading a novel and after a few chapters in you paused and asked yourself, "Why am I forcing myself to read this?" Then, in the hopes of it getting better you continue reading only to stop a few chapters later and repeat the question?
I have.
We all have.
And that's the last unpleasantry any writer wants their readers to experience.
I love reading fantasy above all other genres. In fact, I love it so much that I write it. Years ago I wanted to see what all the hubbub was about with the Harry Potter books I'd yet to read. I mean, everyone was reading them and talking about them. So much so in fact that they were turned into billion dollar movies. So I borrowed the first Harry Potter novel, sat and began reading. After a few chapters in I paused and asked myself, "Really? This is what all the fuss is about?"
Now, I'm not trying to hate on what's-her-butt's Harry Potter novels, because obviously millions, if not billions, of people love them and have enjoyed them. But what I couldn't get past, what began grating on my nerves after only a few chapters in, were all of the unnecessary adverb tags what's-her-butt had written into her otherwise entertaining story.
"Harry sighed softly" or "Hermione ran fastly" or "Ron shouted loudly" and so on and so forth.
I HATE adverb tags. I mean, how else can someone sigh but soft? How else can someone run but fast? How else can someone shout but loud?
Harry sighed. Hermione ran. Ron shouted.
Ahh, there, that's better.
And so I learned never to use adverb tags in my own writing... or at least to use them "sparingly."
Terry Goodkind comes to mind next. If you don't know who Terry is, he's the famous author of the successful Sword of Truth fantasy series. His novels are so good, in fact, that one of my favorite film directors Sam Raimi turned Terry's novels into a television show (I'm still waiting for good ol' Sam to do the same with The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, but alas...). I heard all this fluff n' nutter about how great a writer Terry was, so I "ran fastly" to the library and checked out a few of his books.
These held my interest much more so than the Harry Potter books, but that's just a personal preference. And after a few hours of reading I paused with reader annoyance. You see, Terry has the bad habit of repeating himself... and repeating himself... and repeating himself to the point that I wanted to tear the pages out and eat them so I could crap them out just to pee on them then yell at the stinky puddle!
I have anger issues.
This is not to say that I think Terry is a bad writer... quite the opposite. I've read every novel in his Sword of Truth series and then some, and I enjoyed them all. But I also learned a valuable lesson to apply to my own writing: your readers are not idiots. You don't have to beat them over the head with the Obvious Stick by repeating something you know is important to your story's plot just to ensure the reader will remember it when it pays off later in your story.
And so I learned The Rule of Three: write it once for atmosphere, describe it twice for spice, and only repeat it three times throughout your entire story if it's important.
Atmosphere is pretty much anything background. If your protagonist is sitting at a table and the waiter drops their order off then walks away never to be seen again then there's no point in spending the next few pages describing said nameless waiter. Spice is your protagonist's childhood scar on their cheek, or their favorite shirt they just can't leave the house without, or a recurring "something" that adds depth to the story or characters but doesn't otherwise affect the plot. And anything important that affects the plot is, well, obviously important enough that it needs be repeated for the sake of your reader's remembrance.
But DON'T beat your reader over the head with it. Mentioning it three times is enough. Readers aren't "bad puppies" who keep peeing on the carpet when you're not looking.
Personally, I had (and sometimes still do, but thank god for editing) the bad habit of having my characters "standing up" or "sitting down."
But how else can you stand but up? How else can you sit but down?
Just read my first novel and you'll see my characters standing "up" or sitting "down" all over the place! A small embarrassment, yes, but I also wrote and published it years ago and have yet to go back and edit out these minor annoyances in lieu of writing new novels. Time, after all, is against us all.
He stood. She sat. 'Nuff said.
Ahh, there, that's better.
It's hard to find the annoying mistakes in your own writing, which is why it's always a good idea to have someone else point your mistakes out to you... and preferably not a close friend or family member; they have the bad habit of telling you something is good even when it's not so as to not hurt your pwecious wittle feelwings. Because it's human nature to point out others' mistakes much easier than it is to perceive our own. So use this to your utmost advantage as a writer. Because mistakes exist as opportunities for learning and improving one's self.
The next time you sit and begin reading a novel that you soon find grates on your nerves, maybe, just maybe consider pushing through it. Because by the time you finish you might just learn something new and valuable to apply to your own writing.
I know I have.
I have.
We all have.
And that's the last unpleasantry any writer wants their readers to experience.
I love reading fantasy above all other genres. In fact, I love it so much that I write it. Years ago I wanted to see what all the hubbub was about with the Harry Potter books I'd yet to read. I mean, everyone was reading them and talking about them. So much so in fact that they were turned into billion dollar movies. So I borrowed the first Harry Potter novel, sat and began reading. After a few chapters in I paused and asked myself, "Really? This is what all the fuss is about?"
Now, I'm not trying to hate on what's-her-butt's Harry Potter novels, because obviously millions, if not billions, of people love them and have enjoyed them. But what I couldn't get past, what began grating on my nerves after only a few chapters in, were all of the unnecessary adverb tags what's-her-butt had written into her otherwise entertaining story.
"Harry sighed softly" or "Hermione ran fastly" or "Ron shouted loudly" and so on and so forth.
I HATE adverb tags. I mean, how else can someone sigh but soft? How else can someone run but fast? How else can someone shout but loud?
Harry sighed. Hermione ran. Ron shouted.
Ahh, there, that's better.
And so I learned never to use adverb tags in my own writing... or at least to use them "sparingly."
Terry Goodkind comes to mind next. If you don't know who Terry is, he's the famous author of the successful Sword of Truth fantasy series. His novels are so good, in fact, that one of my favorite film directors Sam Raimi turned Terry's novels into a television show (I'm still waiting for good ol' Sam to do the same with The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, but alas...). I heard all this fluff n' nutter about how great a writer Terry was, so I "ran fastly" to the library and checked out a few of his books.
These held my interest much more so than the Harry Potter books, but that's just a personal preference. And after a few hours of reading I paused with reader annoyance. You see, Terry has the bad habit of repeating himself... and repeating himself... and repeating himself to the point that I wanted to tear the pages out and eat them so I could crap them out just to pee on them then yell at the stinky puddle!
I have anger issues.
This is not to say that I think Terry is a bad writer... quite the opposite. I've read every novel in his Sword of Truth series and then some, and I enjoyed them all. But I also learned a valuable lesson to apply to my own writing: your readers are not idiots. You don't have to beat them over the head with the Obvious Stick by repeating something you know is important to your story's plot just to ensure the reader will remember it when it pays off later in your story.
And so I learned The Rule of Three: write it once for atmosphere, describe it twice for spice, and only repeat it three times throughout your entire story if it's important.
Atmosphere is pretty much anything background. If your protagonist is sitting at a table and the waiter drops their order off then walks away never to be seen again then there's no point in spending the next few pages describing said nameless waiter. Spice is your protagonist's childhood scar on their cheek, or their favorite shirt they just can't leave the house without, or a recurring "something" that adds depth to the story or characters but doesn't otherwise affect the plot. And anything important that affects the plot is, well, obviously important enough that it needs be repeated for the sake of your reader's remembrance.
But DON'T beat your reader over the head with it. Mentioning it three times is enough. Readers aren't "bad puppies" who keep peeing on the carpet when you're not looking.
Personally, I had (and sometimes still do, but thank god for editing) the bad habit of having my characters "standing up" or "sitting down."
But how else can you stand but up? How else can you sit but down?
Just read my first novel and you'll see my characters standing "up" or sitting "down" all over the place! A small embarrassment, yes, but I also wrote and published it years ago and have yet to go back and edit out these minor annoyances in lieu of writing new novels. Time, after all, is against us all.
He stood. She sat. 'Nuff said.
Ahh, there, that's better.
It's hard to find the annoying mistakes in your own writing, which is why it's always a good idea to have someone else point your mistakes out to you... and preferably not a close friend or family member; they have the bad habit of telling you something is good even when it's not so as to not hurt your pwecious wittle feelwings. Because it's human nature to point out others' mistakes much easier than it is to perceive our own. So use this to your utmost advantage as a writer. Because mistakes exist as opportunities for learning and improving one's self.
The next time you sit and begin reading a novel that you soon find grates on your nerves, maybe, just maybe consider pushing through it. Because by the time you finish you might just learn something new and valuable to apply to your own writing.
I know I have.
great post!
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it, and i hope that it proves helpful in some way. I love the craft of writing and I love helping other writers. And there's definitely more to come. Thanks again for the compliment and upvote. I really appreciate you taking the time to do so :-)