What really annoys you about a book when reading it.

[Michael]

Every one of us has something that really gets under our skin when reading a book. Maybe the book is too wordy, storyline stilted, dialogue unrealistic, characters underdeveloped, the storyline is all over the place, or many other reasons.

What's that one thing that just makes it so difficult to get through a book?

[Skye]

Poor dialogue

[David]

Overly long descriptions of characters or location.
Stilted dialog.
Long passages of introspection.
GPS-like descriptions of how a character gets from here to there.

[Skye]

Yes, yes, and something that is overwritten.

[David]

I knew I'd think of more.

When the words the author gives a character don't line up with the type of person the character is (a working man using words a college professor would have to look up).

[Pete]

I don’t like books that are too heavy to hold up in bed.

And when I’m not reading it, it just sits there, doing nothing.

[BookwormCleo]

I don't like it when two characters are talking and the only reason they're having a conversation is to tell the reader some background information.

It's better when the conversation is more normal and there are little crumbs dropped here and there instead so you can work it out.

[Pete]

LOL, this was referred to by my tutors as “As you know, Bob” dialogue.

I thought that was a perfect epithet.

[Michael]

Pete wrote: "I don’t like books that are too heavy to hold up in bed.

And when I’m not reading it, it just sits there, doing nothing."

Hi Pete, those type of books makes a great coaster.

[Michael]

I like to keep the character court within reason. I really don't want to keep a scorecard in order to follow the plot.

[Pete]

Michael wrote: "I like to keep the character court within reason. I really don't want to keep a scorecard in order to follow the plot."

This is a subject on which I am a bit of a contrarian.

I agree that you cannot have so many characters that you can’t keep track of them. The usual advice is, don’t give the character a name if he’s just passing through. I disagree with that.

Character names are part of the ensemble, even setting. You walk into a bar, you see a guy sitting on a stool. Without describing the bar at all, you mention a name and it’ll give you a picture of the bar (or part of the picture). If the guy’s name is Snooks McCoy, you might see a pool table and bar bottles. If it’s Thurston Huffingman, it’d be leather chairs and a white-gloved waiter.

I have enormous fun making up names for the most inconsequential characters. They’re part of the cast, they all have a purpose in the story, they deserve an identity!

If you like fun character names, try reading Dashiell Hammett, especially The Big Knockover.

[Jerri]

I love your character-filled background, Pete. I think the most annoying thing is weak endings.