Writing has ruined my reading enjoyment

snc84 · Mar 14, 2013

After starting my WIP and being almost 90,000 words into it, I decided to take a break tonight and read a new book for enjoyment's sake. Since I joined AW, and have been teaching myself through research what makes up a good story, plotting, subplots, info-dumping, showing vs telling, more correct grammar, my writing has improved greatly.

However, I almost can't get through this book I'm reading. The story is great and everything but there is telling, incorrect punctuation, jumpy action, info-dumping, an ever expanding cast of nonessential characters and extraneous description of passing characters. None of this would had bothered me three months ago, but now it is all I can see!!! I'm kinda sad that I'm not enjoying my quiet night more but at the same time, if this person could get their book published, I have more hope for myself.

Has anyone had this moment before? Is it just bad editing and a single instance or am I just more aware now that I have been exposed to "the rules"?

Kerosene · Mar 14, 2013

Congratulations... er...

Yeah, typical shit.

You can either search the world for books that'll fit your criteria.

Or just relearn to enjoy them, as no one can write the perfect book, so just get to used to it.

Wait until you find a book that'll blow you away, and the feeling is much more powerful now that you know why it's so amazing.

French Maiden · Mar 14, 2013

Switch the writer in you off and enjoy.

After I joined AW I had the same problem. But for me it's like there is a switch I can switch subconsciously. I just flick the switch from editor and writer to avid reader and I'm usually all good. I read the book for what it is, not what it should be.

onesecondglance · Mar 15, 2013

I've gone through this at various stages. After my English degree I couldn't stop analysing themes and character arcs, looking for underlying metaphors... I learned to turn it off. I can still turn it on when I want it, but it no longer gets in the way of my enjoyment.

It'll take a little time, but it'll move out of your conscious mind into your unconscious. Don't sweat it and keep reading!

Bufty · Mar 15, 2013

Can't say that writing has ruined my reading enjoyment at all.

If I'm reading I read for enjoyment. If something leaps out at me as being 'odd' I might notice it, but I'm not consciously looking for anything 'wrong'.

The only place I do notice grammar and punctuation and clarity isues that make me cringe is when browsing the first few pages of stuff in Amazon - usually self-published material.

shaldna · Mar 15, 2013

onesecondglance said:
I've gone through this at various stages. After my English degree I couldn't stop analysing themes and character arcs, looking for underlying metaphors... I learned to turn it off. I can still turn it on when I want it, but it no longer gets in the way of my enjoyment.

I was the same, both during my A levels and then later when I took Literature. I found that I HATED books for a while.

feather · Mar 15, 2013

I struggled with reading new books until I managed to separate my writing self from my reading self. I'm not an editor hired to improve the book I'm reading, and I'm not supposed to re-write them the way I would have written them, and reminding myself of that helps me enjoy the books for what they are.

One thing I notice now is that I've started judging books differently. I don't give them the same chance I used to, but that might just be because I don't have as much time to read. If a book becomes great after fifty pages, I'll never know because I won't give them more than ten pages to hook me in. I've also stopped reading blurbs and started reading the first pages of the book instead. Too many great books have bad blurbs, and a great blurb doesn't mean I'll enjoy the author's writing style.

Polenth · Mar 15, 2013

Another thing to beware is that you're not becoming overly fond of 'the rules'. If you never tell, your writing is going to be a wordy bloated mess of trivial detail and needless scenes. If you never describe anything the reader doesn't absolutely need, your world may end up coming across as rather flat. If you never explain anything to the reader, it might be confusing. The rules are only intended as guidelines about things people often overdo. It doesn't mean the things they describe should never be done. If the story works (and if it's great and you'd otherwise enjoy it if you weren't worrying about rules, that suggests it works) then it doesn't matter if it hits a checklist of rules.

Things like spelling and punctuation are different issues. Books should get those right, but even big publishers let some mistakes through.

ap123 · Mar 15, 2013

Polenth said:
Another thing to beware is that you're not becoming overly fond of 'the rules'. If you never tell, your writing is going to be a wordy bloated mess of trivial detail and needless scenes. If you never describe anything the reader doesn't absolutely need, your world may end up coming across as rather flat. If you never explain anything to the reader, it might be confusing. The rules are only intended as guidelines about things people often overdo. It doesn't mean the things they describe should never be done. If the story works (and if it's great and you'd otherwise enjoy it if you weren't worrying about rules, that suggests it works) then it doesn't matter if it hits a checklist of rules.

Things like spelling and punctuation are different issues. Books should get those right, but even big publishers let some mistakes through.

This is an excellent point! And I've had the same experience as the others, when I first started writing it became hard to read, I was either tearing my hair out because my writing would never be "that good," or pretty much sitting down to read with a red pen. It settles down.

aixsponsa · Mar 15, 2013

This has happened to me as well. When I read, I try to focus on the important thing—story. But if there are too many things I see as errors, I mentally correct them in my head and try to learn from what I perceive as others' mistakes.

Example: I never knew about info-dumping before I started writing and came here. Recently, I tried to read The Plains of Passage by Jean Auel, and had to bail out in the second chapter because of the massive amounts of info-dumping. I found it unreadable and boring to the extreme.

Lissibith · Mar 15, 2013

I guess it was the opposite for me. First studying creative writing in college and then further learning the art of writing through practice and sites like this has led me to getting a lot more out of reading even bad books. I used to know if I didn't enjoy a book, but wasn't able to understand why. But now, there's a certain fun in picking apart the details for me and working out where things could have gone right.

kkbe · Mar 15, 2013

I'm more aware now, just as I'm noticing how so many tv shows, movies, etc., have to do w/ writers/writing.

One nifty thing: I recognize stellar writing now. Sometimes I come across a sentence and it's just so perfect. I imagine the writer knew it, too. I imagine he wrote it and thought, Damn, that's really good. I'm proud of that one.

Roger J Carlson · Mar 15, 2013

snc84 said:
The story is great and everything but there is telling, incorrect punctuation, jumpy action, info-dumping, an ever expanding cast of nonessential characters and extraneous description of passing characters.

And yet, "the story is great." Why do you suppose that is?

ebbrown · Mar 15, 2013

Polenth said:
Another thing to beware is that you're not becoming overly fond of 'the rules'. If you never tell, your writing is going to be a wordy bloated mess of trivial detail and needless scenes. If you never describe anything the reader doesn't absolutely need, your world may end up coming across as rather flat. If you never explain anything to the reader, it might be confusing. The rules are only intended as guidelines about things people often overdo. It doesn't mean the things they describe should never be done. If the story works (and if it's great and you'd otherwise enjoy it if you weren't worrying about rules, that suggests it works) then it doesn't matter if it hits a checklist of rules.

I agree. It's tough to switch it off sometimes and just enjoy the book in your hand. When you write, you have such a limited amount of time to read, you have to make it worthwhile.

quicklime · Mar 15, 2013

snc84 said:
....
However, I almost can't get through this book I'm reading. The story is great and everything but there is telling, incorrect punctuation, jumpy action, info-dumping, an ever expanding cast of nonessential characters and extraneous description of passing characters. None of this would had bothered me three months ago, but now it is all I can see!!! I'm kinda sad that I'm not enjoying my quiet night more but at the same time, if this person could get their book published, I have more hope for myself.

Has anyone had this moment before? Is it just bad editing and a single instance or am I just more aware now that I have been exposed to "the rules"?

well, if it has all that but the story is good, it seems it is a good story that could have been better. Life isn't black or white, and very few stories are universally good or bad.

Writing hasn't ruined my reading, but it has taught me to do so much more critically.

Myrealana · Mar 15, 2013

I understand what you mean. Sometimes when I go back and read a book I remember really enjoying, all I can see are the writing flaws: the excessive use of adverbs, info dumps disguised as dialogue ("As you know, your father, the king..." -- ARGH)

My husband is a filmmaker and movie critic and he says the same thing about movies. He got into film because he liked movies - all movies. If it was on a big screen, he liked it. Now, a single boom mic in a shot can completely ruin a film. The man who used to love anything on celluloid now gives more moves yellow or red lights on his reviews than he does green.

The thing is, it has heightened our appreciation of things that are truly done well. When we do find that gem that hits all the right notes in story, craft and character, we can appreciate it on so many more levels than we did before.

Beachgirl · Mar 15, 2013

quicklime said:
well, if it has all that but the story is good, it seems it is a good story that could have been better. Life isn't black or white, and very few stories are universally good or bad.

Writing hasn't ruined my reading, but it has taught me to do so much more critically.

^This. I just finished reading a book that had a good story and I enjoyed it very much. But I had to switch off the writer in me and ignore the occasional head-hopping, info-dumping, and unattributed dialogue. The story could have been so much better, but it was enjoyable enough that I kept reading, in spite of being yanked out of it a few times.

AshleyEpidemic · Mar 15, 2013

Recently I have felt the same. Issues with characters, illogical leaps, and strange sentence construction had been leaping out of at me. I still keep reading and I power through it. I still enjoy the books, but I make note of things I can make sure to watch for myself.

johnhallow · Mar 15, 2013

Don't worry, after you read enough it goes away. You'll still evaluate texts, but rather than constantly skimming along the surface you'll be able to immerse yourself again. At least, that's how it worked for me.

I do stop to think about why certain things put me off or wow me, but that comes after I've experienced them as a reader.

It took me about two or three years to get out of perma-editor mode, haha. Good luck!

Papaya · Mar 15, 2013

I've always been a somewhat picky reader, and I've been rewriting really bad sentences in my head since the 8th grade. Once the sentence is up to par, I can continue on with the story. Writing a novel made me even choosier, and helped me to better understand why poor writing bothers me, but that's about it. If the writing is good, I'll forgive the imperfections. After all, no book is perfect and all writers have weaknesses.

Poor punctuation and misspelled words is another matter. I expect those to be as close to perfect as possible. A few oversights is forgivable, but I won't keep reading if there are a lot of punctuation and spelling errors.

Cathy C · Mar 15, 2013

Yep. My hubby too. Le sigh...

Siri Kirpal · Mar 15, 2013

Polenth said:
Another thing to beware is that you're not becoming overly fond of 'the rules'. If you never tell, your writing is going to be a wordy bloated mess of trivial detail and needless scenes. If you never describe anything the reader doesn't absolutely need, your world may end up coming across as rather flat. If you never explain anything to the reader, it might be confusing. The rules are only intended as guidelines about things people often overdo. It doesn't mean the things they describe should never be done. If the story works (and if it's great and you'd otherwise enjoy it if you weren't worrying about rules, that suggests it works) then it doesn't matter if it hits a checklist of rules.

Things like spelling and punctuation are different issues. Books should get those right, but even big publishers let some mistakes through.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

This.

Also, I had the same problem when I trained for opera. Couldn't enjoy the listening.

With books, I ignore the rules as long as someone doesn't tell me something I know isn't true on the first few pages. (Not talking about humor or insanity or new realm fantasy. But stuff like putting tomatoes in pre-Columbian Italy.)

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Susan Coffin · Mar 15, 2013

I read for enjoyment. If I notice something off, I just read on.

The bottom line is that all writers, as well as every person involved in the publication process, are human. Everybody makes mistakes.

Ken · Mar 15, 2013

... to some extent. It's made me more selective. Before, I might have been okay with a novel that was ok. Now, I really need a bit more than that. The novel has got to be good. Not necessarily great, but at least good.

Amadan · Mar 15, 2013

Read better books.

Writing has ruined my reading enjoyment

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