Retreat Guest Blogger Cassandra Carr

Website ~ Facebook ~Twitter
Cassandra Carr is a multi-published, award-winning erotic romance writer with Ellora's Cave, Siren, Sybarite Seductions and Loose Id who lives in Western New York with her husband, Inspiration, and her daughter, Too Cute for Words. When not writing she enjoys watching hockey and hanging out on Twitter. Cassandra's book Caught was recently named Best BDSM Book 2011 by LoveRomancesCafe and Impact was named BDSM Book of the Month for May 2012 by BDSM Book Reviews.


Five Annoying Problems in Books


Recently I was talking to friends who are not in the publishing business and we were discussing some of their pet peeves with books. I work hard on my stories, and while they're not perfect, I really try not to be guilty of any of these writing sins. See if you agree with what my friends said.
1. Head hopping: I think writers especially notice this, but I know readers do too. If I don't see a scene break, an extra line of space, or other indication and the point of view suddenly changes I have to go back and figure out who's talking. That takes me out of the story, as I'm sure it does you.
2. Impossible body positioning: Particularly during either sex scenes or when the characters are cuddling. As a writer, I know how hard it is to keep track of body parts, but if the hero has five hands, it's a problem.
3. Out of character dialogue: Have you ever come across a hero who is, say, a high-school educated cowboy but whose speech makes him sound like a PhD candidate? While I know that too much bad English is annoying, so is going too far the other way.
4. Plot loopholes: Did you ever get to the end of a book and say, "But what happened with [insert plot element]?" This is something all writers are guilty of at one time or another, but according to my friends, it's pretty annoying. Sorry about that, readers. *hangs head*
5. Rapidly switching points of view: Even if there are scene/POV breaks, when an author switches points of view for only a few paragraphs and then goes back to the former one, it makes me and my friends wonder why it was necessary to change the POV.


Let's chat!What are some of your pet peeves as a reader? Tell me in the comments!