Book "Flops"

What do you consider makes a book “flop” for you?

Thankfully, I’ve not had too much experience of this but if a character doesn’t grip me quickly, I’m unlikely to read much further.

I have to care about the character. I have to care about what happens to them and what they do or don’t do to help themselves. There has to be the hook to draw me into reading more and then more etc.

For non-fiction, firstly the topic has to grip me. Secondly, the narrative has to be interesting.

I don’t want a list of dates. I want a good read which helps me take in useful information as I go.

This is where I welcome creative non-fiction which uses techniques in fiction writing to great effect in presenting non-fiction material in a more engaging manner.

I’ve mentioned before I love the works of Ben Mcintyre. His books read as novels though they are all non-fiction. Case in point here I think.

The biggest killer of a book is dullness. Dull presentation. Dull characters. Funnily enough, you can learn from books you didn’t enjoy and work out what it was that failed for you to help you avoid doing the same in your own work.