Biggest pet peeve as an author

TheMonotonePuppet

TheMonotonePuppet

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I feel like every author has one or more things that just rubs them the wrong way.
For me, it's laughter and sighing. Or more specifically, the overuse of "Fufufufufufufu", "Hohohohoho," and "Haaah..." The first is just incredibly fake no matter what, the second should be used very sparingly, and the third is a very specific type of sigh that can have incredible impact, but it is often used exactly where it shouldn't be.
What about you guys? Anything that really gets your engine going?
 
TheMonotonePuppet

TheMonotonePuppet

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T.K._Paradox said:
Narration of actions instead of showing them. Also references, making a reference to another media just dates your work and alienates part of your audience.
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Oof. Yeah. It's the rare author that manages to narrate actions without making the reader wince every few seconds
I personally enjoy references, because that's how I have found a lot of things that I really enjoy, just enjoy them because I get them, or because I enjoy looking at the context and trying to guess (like a detective) what the story they are referencing is about. But I understand what you mean at least!
 
Rezcore

Rezcore

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My dialogue skills suck. Too much tell and not show. Too many stories where the author sets his MC to do something, and you realize the author doesn't know what he is talking about. Like I get it, not everyone has ever killed, but trust me, pulling a blade out is a lot harder than you think. Also survival stories, come on, stop acting as if wilderness survival is so fucking hard, I did it for more or less 10 years as a homeless bum with no training.
 
BlackKnightX

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Trying too hard to be clever. I'm not talking about writing in flowery prose—if done with purpose, it can be very enjoyable—I'm talking about using long jargons when it's not necessary, using weird synonyms, dancing around the point.
 
NateTC

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While I'm not personally an author, if you don't mind my input, I'm not a big fan of using words from other languages like Japanese when the story is in English. An example of this is the person above me who used Keikaku. I think it's okay if they like to do it. However, I find it cringe-worthy. I'm okay with honorifics like san and kun, but I still prefer the English versions like Mr. for san and maybe a nickname in place of kun.
 
TheMonotonePuppet

TheMonotonePuppet

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BlackKnightX said:
Trying too hard to be clever. I'm not talking about writing in flowery prose—if done with purpose, it can be very enjoyable—I'm talking about using long jargons when it's not necessary, using weird synonyms, dancing around the point.
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Agreed! Totally agree! I love flowery prose, but sometimes people don't do it correctly, as you say.

For example, I am going to rewrite the above sentence below this sentence as painfully as I can!:blob_evil::blob_evil::blob_evil:

I exclaim my sincerest, most genuine confirmation to the rhetoric that you placed-most grammatically correct-onto this digital thread, and then truly promptly commit to the repetition of said confirmation. I gush like the saliva of a maggot with praise on verdant, wildflower prose. Alas, unfortunately, it pains to me to admit that Homo sapiens rarely succeed in their garden of writing, as you put it so succinctly.
 
TheMonotonePuppet

TheMonotonePuppet

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LORD_SHAXX said:
"Not cool man!, not cool." i think its a fun thing to do and its part of my keikaku (Keikaku means plan) to make my audience as cringe as me. does that make sense to you Mr white.
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LOL! Look down below your comment. You succeeded in making someone cringe already!
 
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On a serious note, I don't really have a pet peeve. Although, I do skip paragraphs sometimes that are just full of character descriptions.
 
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Paul_Tromba said:
I am not a fan of when authors fail to understand pacing or don't know how to point out a specific plotpoint without making it obvious. These kind of go hand in hand as good pacing can fix the latter.
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My struggle with pacing has usually come from over eagerness. It has gotten better, but originally, I wanted parts of the plot to move forward. Then I would just try and rush through the slow bits, but I realized that in the end it would only make the climaxes worse. Usually the slow parts are used for building tension or ideas.
 
Representing_Tromba

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RepresentingEnvy said:
My struggle with pacing has usually come from over eagerness. It has gotten better, but originally, I wanted parts of the plot to move forward. Then I would just try and rush through the slow bits, but I realized that in the end it would only make the climaxes worse. Usually the slow parts are used for building tension or ideas.
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It just takes practice. It's not like it's a bad thing for a 1st-3rd draft because there is plenty of time to work on the flow and pacing. If it's a published book or story though, I may get annoyed.
 
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