Pet Peeves of Writing - Comments

@louis tomlinson

You're right, I wasn't mean when I criticized her. Heck, even at the end I told her to never give up and I know when I first started it was freakin crap, but she didn't care apparently lol.

When every cliche known to man is crammed into one story!

I think cliches can be so boring after a while. If they're well-written then that's another story, but if it's the same old "girl who thinks she's ugly but is actually super hot comes from an abusive home and meets a boy and everything is magically okay again" then I'm just like . . . bye.

It's so annoying when people refuse to accept criticism! I always feel embarrassed whenever people criticize my work, but more like, "agh, they're so right, why didn't I do that/think of that?" Sometimes people can come off mean in their comments though, and that can make it hard to accept the criticism, but I highly doubt that's what you did

It's so strange how some folks post online -- for the world and their dog to see -- but don't want any sort of criticism.

Though, I'll never be able to stand for the misuse of semicolons for whatever reason.

People that don't accept criticism but post their writing online just baffle me. Maybe they think it's perfect or something... I don't know.

Authors notes as chapters bug me as well. I get more irritated if an author note is IN THE MIDDLE of the chapter. Like, I was just reading your story and you're interrupting me, stop it.

Another one would be when it's just a block of text. Double enter your paragraph PLEASE. This isn't an actual copy of a book, it does not look nice online.

I definitely have more, but those are the only ones that I can think of right now

BLESS OMFG I AM SO HERE FOR THIS. I totally did the same thing, but like back in the day when that was just how the internet was with most writing lmao Now though, writing online has evolved and gotten so much more serious - I feel like the only people that do all that extra stuff like ~*~*POV*~*~ are people who have no idea about aesthetic (why is it so hard to just be like "X POV" as a chapter title if you're doing a multi-POV?). And as far as two paragraphs and then a whole chapter as an author's note, people that do that tend to be the ones who might have good ideas but are really only doing it for the attention or likes online.

Poor spelling and grammar is really important to me, personally, because even on the internet you are at least corrected on your spelling. Every internet browser I've used corrects incorrect spellings, so there's no excuse for that - grammar, okay, but spelling? I have met a few writers who aren't first language English and live in counties dominated by another language, which is totally fine. I love how they write in English to reach a wider audience - they want criticism. I've met maybe one who didn't like the suggestion to get a beta but there are so many more who are serious about it. I think that when a writer is dismissive of all criticism or says they aren't looking for any, it's something to take notice to. Do they have good ideas? Are they writing for themselves? OR Are they cocky? Do they want attention (i.e. "comments make me write faster" "x comments for the next chapter")?

Also stories with no line breaks just irk my soul. If something is all bunched up, it's hard to read so it's just game over for me

The POV thing doesn't bother me too much. I actually have read quite a few books like that even.

I can't read stories if they are one huge paragraph. I will either reread or skip a line completely. When a story is like that with punctuation, it is worse.

As for the author's note, I get annoyed with it as well but understand why some do it. I sometimes read stories on Quotev, and I see people who do that because they will let you know they won't be updating for awhile for whatever reason.

I also can't read stories written "lyk dis." I can understand misspelling or using the wrong word at times, but to do it to almost every word makes me stop reading. I also can understand people around 12 writing like that, but people in their 20's should know how to spell correctly.

I've also read stories where they are 90% conversation and it's written with the person's name and what they say. Usually it's in this format: George: Hey! Lucy: Hey, what's up.
Then there are the stories that have the conversations like this...
-Did you see that guy? -What guy? -The tall, dark handsome one.
I actually have a book that I was reading written like that. It confuses me to know who is even talking!

I think that basically all. I'm tired so I'm sure I forgot something, but oh well.

I find that writers on wattpad aren't too accepting of hearing criticism, so I tend to stick to mibs in terms of giving criticism (when I ever do give it )

PoeticMess.:

1. "Writers" who don't want constructive criticism. Even more than that, writers who ask for it but get upset when you mention anything they could work on rather than just listing all the things they think they're great at.

OH MY GOD YES THIS A MILLION TIMES YES IT'S LIKE WHY WHY DID YOU ASK FOR IT THEN MY LORD

Also, poor spelling/grammar mistakes where you can just tell they did not write this in word or any editing site before they posted their chapter and characters (or plotlines!) who exist for the sake of a small storyline but then never get mentioned or heard of again.

1. "Writers" who don't want constructive criticism. Even more than that, writers who ask for it but get upset when you mention anything they could work on rather than just listing all the things they think they're great at.

2. I also don't like that obvious POV thing. I've only read one book where it works and it's Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater and she switches POV between two characters every couple chapters.

3. Horrible grammar and people saying they don't care if it's like that and not to tell them how to fix it.

4. Recently a pet peeve has become people who write and don't use good grammar, but then just have it beta-ed. I don't think you can become a better writer by making the same mistakes again and again and having someone else fix them for you. It's just not how it works. I think if you make a conscious effort to fix what you're doing wrong, then you'll eventually stop doing that wrong thing.

I hate it when there is no break for paragraphs. Everything is just one body of text and I lose my place easily when reading stories online. Another thing that irritates me is when the author overly describes their characters. Height, weight, everything that the reader doesn't need to know. I have a friend who fancy himself as a writer and claims to be getting his book published when he's finished with it who does this. I asked why he did it and he said that he wanted the readers to get know his characters a bit better. And that author's note in the middle of a story is a peeve of mine too.

I think for some people they don't want con crit because they aren't really writing to become a writer. It's a hobby of sorts.
Like, I only write because I get bored, and it's something to do, and I enjoy writing out my daydreams, stories I think about etc. I don't want to be a writer. Not really. I still enjoy receiving con crit because I like to learn about what I could do better, even if it's just a hobby, but I can understand why some people maybe just aren't interested.

POV seems really popular with fanfic, I've noticed. It's how I first read online stories and it's how I first started writing them. I think it takes more effort to write from one character's POV all the time and still find a way of telling the other half of the story, and sometimes I'm just not that committed to an idea to bother.

Author's notes in the middle of a story really peeve me too, but I think mainly because I read mostly on Mibba and there's a special spot for stuff like that, so it's unnecessary. I was reading a story a while back and had to stop because half way through, there was just this chapter that had absolutely nothing to do with the story. It wasn't even an author's note. It was just a lengthy rant that was more suited to a blog.

I hate when I get totally addicted to a story and then it's never updated ever again :( But as an author, I've done this to people... so I sorta understand it.