I must admit I have pet peeves about things I read (and watch). Here are a few that come to mind:
1) If I can take 30 seconds and fact check it on Google, or Yahoo, or whatever search engine, and find out all I need to know about it, the author should have done that, too.
2) If you are setting your story in the real world, I expect things to happen as in the real world--ie. the laws of physics still apply. If you are setting your world in a made up place, you need to be sure to create what your laws are and stick with them.
3) Not doing enough research for specific things in your story.For example, if you are setting it in a country you've never been to, you still need to research enough so those of us who have been there, or live there, have no idea you've never been there.
What are some of your pet peeves?
Number two drives me nuts.
ReplyDeleteI'm big on research, so I agree with you here. If you're going to write something, make sure you've got your facts straight. If you don't, you might loss credibility with your readers. Once you've lost that, you're screwed.
I'm no writer, but my pet peeve when reading is improper use of a word. The biggest offenders are affect and effect. I guess it is really the editor that needs to catch this, but it affects me so much. The effect is that I can't concentrate on the rest of the work.
ReplyDeleteBut I agree that fact checking is so easy that there is no excuse for not doing it. To me, it comes across that the writer doesn't really care about his or her work. If the writer doesn't care, why should I even read it.
Oh, so true. I'm really big on research too. In fact I could probably write much faster if I researched less. I may miss something but sometimes the research is the best part. I love reading books where its obvious the writer did their homework. It makes the story so much better.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of those. In a similar vein, I'm annoyed by authors and creators who just choose to stereotype a character instead of making him/her genuine. I'm a part of the "geek" subculture, and I can't stand when a character is just described as a "Star Wars geek" when clearly the author didn't research geek culture. Just my opinion.
ReplyDeletehmm . . . so let me get this straight, If I am writing a YA contemporary wth absolutely no paranormal elements, and I place my mc in say Topeka, Kansas in the present day . . . then they can't fly or defy all reasonable laws of gravity. You mean they actually have to dress, act, partake in all the usual,regular present-day stuff. Well . . . ahh crap, Mary, off to the drawing board I go. LOL
ReplyDeletePet peeves . . . where shall I begin. Here's one. His eyes furrowed in anger as her twitched in curiosity. Seriously, there are so many better ways to describe emotion rather then eye movements.
GREAT points. It's so easy to research online, too. No excuse! :)
ReplyDelete