Ways Your Writing is Making Readers Angry

This week were talking writer mistakes that are frustrating your reader and potentially, making them put down your book. They are things to pay attention to during the editing phase to rewrite or cut out completely.

1. Making your protagonist too smart. There’s cleverness and there’s a know-it-all. A person who can figure out everything instantly without struggle is boring and unrealistic. Sure, you can have a character who is a genius, but if they never struggle, you have no story. At the very least, show the thought and how the smart character comes to the conclusion they do and don’t be afraid to make your character be wrong. Nobody is perfect and we most certainly cannot relate to a person who is always instantly right. 

2. Making your protagonist too dumb. On the opposite end, a character who cannot see the obvious is frustrating and boring. Your character does not have to be smart but you should keep in mind the reader’s perspective as you write and if there are lots of clues indicating a certain conclusion and your character just can’t figure it out for no reason, the reader may throw your book at the wall (in not a good way.) If you are uncertain, try getting beta reader feedback on if your character is drawing appropriate conclusions in a way that seems realistic to their character. 

3. Stalling the romance for funsies. I understand wanting to write a slow-burn romance with building anticipation by stalling that big first kiss but if there are no environmental or internal factors preventing two characters from getting together when they are clearly meant to get together, it details from the romance you’re trying to setup. If they aren’t making progress, make sure to have a why. And the why cannot be because you want them to get together at the end of the book. Do better. 

4. Relying on plot twists instead of proper planning. Plot twists are good, you should include plot twists. But here’s the thing: They must be planned out in advance so that it enhances your plot. There are times when it is very obvious an author had no idea what to do next so a wild plot twist is thrown in to keep the story going and it’s not a good look. It makes your plot seem underwhelming and sloppy. Make sure it fits the trajectory of the novel. 

5. Shoving prose in your face. We want our writing to stand out, but shoving five-syllable words sandwiched in the middle of complex metaphors will not make you sound smarter as an author. It detracts from the story if the reader has to sit back and think about what complex code you’re trying to say. Not everything needs to be flourished with elaborate details and fancy words. Especially in regards to pacing, check out our previous blog to see more on word choice and pacing. 

We’re stopping at five today but will continue the list in the future. If you do have one of these in your writing that is on the list, don’t be afraid of getting outside feedback on how to correct some of these without having to do a complete rewrite of your work. Until next time, write-on!