Survey says

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What turns you away from a story?
I did a small survey the other day on various platforms and here's some of my results.

55 votes on unrealistic dialogue. For sure a common error.
41 votes on forcing an unrealistic relationship on a character. Drab.
34 votes on a story that tells more than it shows. No excitement there.
27 votes on atrocious grammar.
17 votes on pop culture reference without context.
11 votes on using a comma where a period should be.

Now the last one brought up only received 5 votes but I think its major problem that occurs, that even I am guilty of here and there.
Malapropisms. In case you aren't familiar that pretty much means using the wrong word because they sound similar.
Ex: Amendments vs Amenities


I will now list some real life comments on what ruins a book for readers.

-The extreme ends of fight scene: overchoreography and underchoreography. Over: "I swing my sword diagonally upward to the left and then in 180 degree arc." Under: "I cast Hellfire and reduce the monster to ashes. Then I cast a combination of (insert several different spell names here) to destroy its den."

-A big flashback in the middle of a fight scene. Bonus: after the flashback, the losing MC gains newfound power and one-shot the big bad.

-Unprofessional author's notes. This goes with my first peeve. For the most part, all they do is muddle up the story and make the page look sloppy. There are times when a note is fine to me, but that's rare. Let the story speak for itself. Talk about how sad or busy you are on your profile, if you feel the need to explain why you haven't posted in a while.

-Casting for books that aren't fanfiction. Or, in general, pages that introduce the characters.

-I bore myself with things written like a fax. Short sentences, a lot of telling, a couple of feelings here and there. Stating instead of telling a story is how I call it. "John woke up. The sun was shining. The air smelled of lavender. He got dressed. As he picked up his coffee mug, he felt a punch of depression against his chest. He sighed and slammed the door shut as he marched onward to work." Great. John needs a therapist, and I'm out. It's just not my style. It doesn't draw me in, I suppose.

-Descriptions like the one listed below will make me hate you.

"I have black hair with flashes of auburn, cut into a curved fringe and drawn into a french pleat in the back. Green eyes. A pointy, sharp face that was described to me as unattractive as a little girl. I remember crying for ages one day when a cousin referred to me as an 'abominable parrot'. I was left with an acute awareness that some people might think I look like a bird. Even if I do have a slightly hooked nose, I actually have very full, cushiony lips, and I think my complexion is more like peaches than feathers."

I wanted to add a bit about a common problem, the chapter length.
A good point was brought up, there is no perfect length. It differs for each and every story. Your plot might require a longer more elaborate chapter or a more short and to the point one. It doesn't matter and you shouldn't listen to nay sayers.

Spacing your paragraphs.
This is huge. Here on wattpad long passages can be a headache! Nobody wants to deal with an  endless body of text. Also spacing actually makes it easier for your reader to communicate with you about specific lines.

Contractions
can help develop your character on a more personal level when used in dialogue. It can give them there own style in a way.

Tell me a bad habit of yours as a writer?

Mine would have to be I am so unorganized with my thoughts.  I tend to get carried away and slack on my editing so mistakes are often present. I plan on doing a few editing sessions at the end of my current novel.


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