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good and bad writing techniques
The replies and comments to my poll about scientific accuracy in science fiction http://www.livejournal.com/users/watervole/139771.html#cutid1 were extrememly interesting. (If you haven't already filled in that one, I'm still reading replies to it - I'm tempted to do another poll focusing more on sociological and biological factors.).
Please could you try this one on writing techniques and expand on your replies in the comments. What writing habits annoy you the most in stories you read? What will make you put down a book before finishing the first page? What makes you hit the back button when reading fiction on the web?
[Poll #652911]
Please could you try this one on writing techniques and expand on your replies in the comments. What writing habits annoy you the most in stories you read? What will make you put down a book before finishing the first page? What makes you hit the back button when reading fiction on the web?
[Poll #652911]
no subject
I don't mind frequent POV shifts so much, as long as each POV is clearly delineated within a new section- i.e. not switched within a paragraph, sentence, etc... (And ideally not within a scene)
I don't mind alternatives to "said" as long as they're simple and within reason.
Accents should pretty much always be conveyed in speech patterns, unless you're either really good or really familiar with the accent.
Background should come as we accompany the characters- I fucking hate the mini-bio when a character is introduced. Maybe it can be OK as an explanation for something later on, but anyone who does the whole life story when a character first appears on the page... Argh. (Having just read the enormous Day After Tomorrow, which does this, and switches POV within scenes, I'm not willing to go easy!)
Typos and those kind of errors... Anyone can fall victim to them, so I don't necessarily blame the writer. Some publishers are notorious for them. I do hate the use of the wrong words- e.g. someone poured over a map to a horde of treasure that's guarded by barbarian hoards...