Welcome, 2021! And huzzah for the first Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog hop of the new year.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! The awesome co-hosts for the January 6 posting of the IWSG are Ronel Janse van Vuuren , J Lenni Dorner, Gwen Gardner Sandra Cox, and Louise – Fundy Blue! Care to join us? Check out all the writerly goodness waiting for you here: https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

Hoo-boy, this is going to be a hot one. This month’s question: Being a writer, when you’re reading someone else’s work, what stops you from finishing a book/throws you out of the story/frustrates you the most about other people’s books? I look forward to reading the answers from the blog hop authors.

I’ll admit to being a picky reader. First of all, I taught literature and English composition for many years, so grammatical and mechanical errors bug me. Of course, a few errors will always sneak under the radar, even in bestsellers from the Big 4 publishers. But I can’t enjoy a book stuffed with careless writing. I’m looking at you, Minimum Viable Product authors who publish first and hire an editor later.

(My editor would never let me get away with all these em-dashes.)

Likewise, poor storytelling is a huge turn-off. You know the type: all the characters sound alike, or dialogue is stuffed with backstory (“As you know, Bob…”), or excessive head-hopping leaves the reader dizzy. Ditto excessive flashbacks and flashforwards that give a reader whiplash.

Cardboard characters result in a big, fat nope every time. So do vacuous twits who repeatedly make self-destructive, impulsive decisions. I want characters with depth and humanity, not ootsie-cutsie cupcake bakery owners or two-dimensional tough guys.

In non-fiction, I’ll make a Frisbee of any how-to book that devotes the first 25% to assuring me how this new technique will revolutionize my life/career/waistline. I’m looking at you, marketing books!

If I can’t relate to the protagonist in some way, out goes the book. I don’t care if she’s the Queen of Planet Zoltron or he’s the troll under the bridge–show me motivation that makes sense given their circumstances. Sure, characters should be flawed, but I expect a protagonist to have a moral code and make the best decisions they can under the circumstances. Of course they’ll screw up. And when they realize they’ve screwed up, they’ll do something about it. Otherwise, they should’ve been cast as a villain.

Finally, I’ll DNF (Did Not Finish) a book that’s clearly not what it appeared to be. Cozy mystery turns gory and graphic? Nope. Romance gets us attached to a love interest and then kills them off? Nope. Humorous sci-fi veers into bleak dystopian gloom? Nope. The story should match the cover and blurb–or vice versa, I suppose. If it’s a quirky, genre-spanning/defying tale, tell us so up front!

Okay, fire at will. What are your turnoffs?