Oh no she di'int

JennaGlatzer · Jul 13, 2006

Because I run AW, publishers send me lots of books to review. Got one today. Here's the opening:

"Ah, Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year. Not. Not if you're a newly single mom."

I wanted to put the book down right then. "Not?" What a lame, outdated slanggy, lazy opening. "Not" is one of those words that makes me think of people who think they're very funny-- but aren't.

I forced myself to read on, and every paragraph, I had to re-remind myself to stop being so cynical about the writing. But either it didn't improve, or I was already so biased because of the opening that I was looking for the other bad stuff (which was seemingly there in abundance).

Another way a writer can turn me off right away is by using the same unusual word or phrase more than twice. Or even a fairly mundane phrase-- if every other time your character talks, he "says with a grin," I'm going to assume you didn't bother to edit your work to realize how many times you wrote the same phrase.

You have any toss-the-book-aside things like this?

Kristen King · Jul 13, 2006

"niggling"

Every single character in the Left Behind series seems to have an addiction to the word "niggling" and its various forms. There was something "niggling" at so-and-so. It "niggled" at the back of his mind. Don't you just hate those little "niggles"? Bestseller, millions of copies, I don't care. I tried to like them, for the sake of the person who kept forcing me to read them, I really did. But when I met Jerry B. Jenkins in May of this year, the word "niggling" niggled at me so much that I could barely look him in the eye.

Niggling, for Pete's sake!

Kristen

Puma · Jul 13, 2006

Pet Peeve

And this has nothing to do with the writing - I always crack the book to look at type size - too small and back on the rack it goes. Puma

alleycat · Jul 13, 2006

Any non-fiction book that starts out with a definition from Webster's. Worse if they then spend three pages fine-tuning the definition.

davids · Jul 13, 2006

This got to a publisher-who-what-where-how-not oh not-it is full of knots!

Shelli_Rox · Jul 13, 2006

I read a Jackie Collins book once, and had this same feeling. Seems to me it was "Rock Star". This is what made me decide to pen my own novel, because I was sure I could do better.

Still praying that I'm right.

Cath · Jul 13, 2006

Footnotes when they're not supposed to be humorous* - it drives me nuts. And, yes, I have seen it in a fictional novel.

* so, of course, Pratchett and Jasper Fforde are let off the hook...

awatkins · Jul 13, 2006

Read a book once where the female protag was forever 'casting sideways glances through the fringe of her lashes.' How does one even do that? I tried it and got eyestrain and a headache.

Shwebb · Jul 13, 2006

In Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, every piece of dinnerware seems to be "gold-chased" or "silver-chased." These descriptions started to bug me long before the lack of plot momentum did.

alleycat · Jul 13, 2006

It wasn't quite a "book tosser", but Jane Austen's overuse of the word "solemnity" used to annoy me. At least I think it was Austen; one of the women writers of that period in any event.

Elizabeth Slick · Jul 13, 2006

Words that make me cringe:

When someone is talking and has to utter the word "Nanosecond"
Alternatively, when it's written in a book.

"BLING BLING"

"MOLLYCODDLE" (who says that?)

The trendy sloppy dialogue in every sitcom that is created for the pre-teen. No, I don't sit there and watch them, but I have two children, so occasionally they have the T.V. on.

When a book/movie had to ram it home that it is PRESENT by throwing in waaaay too many uses of the words "online", "cell phone", " "Ipod."
When the book is full of scenes featuring tiny dogs crammed in pink shoulder bags.

Please don't hate me. This is just my opinion!!!!

Cath · Jul 13, 2006

"MOLLYCODDLE" (who says that?)

Raises hand and blushes....

AprilBoo · Jul 13, 2006

Elizabeth Slick said:
"MOLLYCODDLE" (who says that?)

What does mollycoddle mean?

My toss-it experience - as cliche as it is, The Da Vinci Code. And, I recently tried to read a self-published book that someone who knows my mom wrote (convoluted connection, yes), and I barely made it through ten pages - instead of the man calling his wife by name, he came up with new and more elaborate pet names in each paragraph, so by page ten he referred to his wife as "My Darling Angel Bride"

Ken Schneider · Jul 13, 2006

Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year. The smell of a fresh cut tree, trimmed with ornaments collected through the years, sparkling with tiny lights reflecting off their polished surface. I wiped the tear from my eye as I remembered the fifeteen,happier,Christmas years past. The tree skirt hugged a few prescious gifts that a newly divorced, single mom, could afford. Damned deadbeat dad. I dried another tear as Joey climbed on the couch, and stood facing me on his knees. His lower lip was sucked into his mouth and held there by his upper teeth. I tried to smile, but the tears kept coming. Joey pushed the strand of hair covering the half of my face closest to him behind my ear as he had seen me do so many times.
"Santa will bring more presents mom, I'm sure," he said. "If he doesn't, you can have mine." More tears....

I'll more than likely get in trouble for my re-mix.

rugcat · Jul 13, 2006

JennaGlatzer said:
Another way a writer can turn me off right away is by using the same unusual word or phrase more than twice. Or even a fairly mundane phrase-- if every other time your character talks, he "says with a grin," I'm going to assume you didn't bother to edit your work to realize how many times you wrote the same phrase.

I just finished a book (not too bad otherwise) where to denote surprise "eyebrows crawled up his head" at least six times. It happened to more than one character.

jbal · Jul 13, 2006

Ok these aren't book tossers, but "continue on" really bugs me. It's redundant, and very few people seem to catch it. But the worst is misuse of the word "literally", as in "the election literally came down to the wire". It seems there are a lot of folks who just don't know what the word means. Now that you know this it can bother you too.

scfirenice · Jul 13, 2006

Okay, I Like Laurrel K Hamilton, but if she uses 'metaphysical' one more time, I'm going to implode. She uses it CONSTANTLY!!!!!! EVERYTHING is metaphysical. I try to not see it.

Cath · Jul 13, 2006

AprilBoo said:
What does mollycoddle mean?

It means to over-nurture - kind of like a mom who won't let her 37 year old son cook his own meals...

/OT post...

Cath · Jul 13, 2006

jbal said:
Ok these aren't book tossers, but "continue on" really bugs me. It's redundant, and very few people seem to catch it.

"Before in the past".

Arrrggghhh!

drevil915 · Jul 13, 2006

I can't stand reading dialog laced with ebonics or any other accent-type thing. It just takes away from the story and just sounds so canned. Anyone else agree?

JennaGlatzer · Jul 13, 2006

One of the things I don't get is how editors let writers slip through with these repeated words/phrases. Surely the editors notice when a writer uses the phrase "eyebrows crawled up his head" six times, no? Do they think they're honoring the writer's "style" by letting it stay?

jbal · Jul 13, 2006

Cath said:
"Before in the past".

Arrrggghhh!

Ok here's another, "return back", and I also see "retreat back" quite a bit. I hear this stuff from newscasters and it drives me crazy even though I know they're just reading a teleprompter.

Jamesaritchie · Jul 13, 2006

molly

Cath said:
Raises hand and blushes....

Yep, I use it, too.

Jamesaritchie · Jul 13, 2006

writing

I think the best thing to do with such writing is learn from it. Be better.

blacbird · Jul 13, 2006

One of my favorites: A well-published friend of mine once had an editor "correct" the phrase "two a.m." to "two a.m. in the morning."

caw.

Oh no she di'int

wishes you happiness

Retired and loving it!

Still around

Shelli_Rox

The mean one

Not harboring illegal parrot

She's the creepy-looking dude

Still around

The mean one

Good to be back

Absolute sagebrush

Lost in the Fog

professional multitasker

The mean one

The mean one

wishes you happiness