What Makes a Poorly Written Book?

This weekend’s Book Blogger Hop question asked us what makes us keep reading a book or stop us from reading it. One of the reasons bloggers, including me, often mentioned was poor writing.

In comments to my answer Lisa of Lisa Loves Literature asked me this question: “What do you feel makes a poorly written book?” 

Now, Lisa mentions Twilight as one of the books people often consider poorly written. Like her, I must disagree with that. Just like her, I get sucked into the Twilight books every time I read them and find myself unable to put them down.

Therefore, I started thinking about how to answer Lisa’s question. Since it would make much too long a comment, I decided to dedicate it a post.

Now, bear in mind, even though I graduated in English, I do not consider myself being of any authority in the field, so this is just my personal opinion as an avid reader of what makes a poorly written book.

1)     Grammatical and spelling errors

This is self-explanatory. It is understandable if there is a typo or two. We are all humans and mishaps happen. However, when grammatical and spelling mistakes recur so often that they interfere with the reading process they cannot be overlooked.

2)     Confusing use of vocabulary and awkward sentences

It really makes it difficult to read when there are obviously misused words and the sentences are formed in such a way that you must read them twice to get the meaning. This has especially to do with the use of pronouns. It is very disturbing when you have to flip back and forth to figure who or what was meant by a particular pronoun.

For example: “He liked her sister but she didn’t know about it.” All right, I made up this sentence, but I read plenty of similar material, which takes you a page to figure which one was clueless – “she” or “her sister.”

3)     Incoherent transitions between P. O. V.-s and topics.

I love different P. O. V. -s and multiple topics/themes in a book if they are well organised and the transitions are natural. Jumping between P. O. V.-s and topics can be irritating.

For example: In the middle of a heated discussion between the policemen on the crime scene, there is a paragraph on the lead detective’s breakfast, which has nothing whatsoever to do with the discussion. Even if it is somehow important for the characterisation, there must be some better place to fit it in.

Considering all of the above, I would say that a poorly written book is a book where writing gets in the way of enjoying reading. I enjoy reading when I can read a book smoothly. Do not confuse it with the difficulty or quality of writing. I think both “easy” and “difficult" books can be equally enjoyed if the writing is good.

Let me give some examples. While many readers would agree Sookie Stackhouse series is an easy read with one main story arch, it is not easy when you have to flip back a page or two to figure out who said what or where something happened (see number two above – pronouns). Though I love the series, the writing is a little off at times (but this is a very mild case of writing problems).

Conversly, Random Magic by Sasha Soren (see my review) is an instance of a well-written book. It is a book with numerous topics, elaborate sentencing, countless references (they require quite some worldliness to appreciate them all), and beautiful language; and is a really enjoyable, smooth read you do not feel like putting down.

In the end, I will return to The Twilight Saga (see my review). Examining its writing, I cannot find anything of what I mentioned to make poor writing in it. Its grammar and spelling are good, the wording is not only appropriate but also rich, the text is coherent and transitions graceful; all of which make reading unforced and engaging.  

To conclude, I think good writing is such which enables the reader to enter the world it describes. If you imagine a book as a garden, the writing is the entrance door. If writing is good, you pass the door effortlessly, perhaps marvelling its intricate design, but then you take a stroll in the garden and enjoy it. In case of bad writing, the door to the garden is a plain iron framework; it is closed and you must strain to peek at the garden through the bars. 

The Letter

All Caitlin wanted was to go to bed and put the tiresome day out of her memory. Passing the study on the way upstairs she remembered the mail having arrived in the morning just as she was heading out.

She hesitated awhile. Surely, whatever it is, the bills could wait over night. Yet, she retraced her steps and entered the study. “I’ll just browse through it,” she thought.

The mail was on the desk. It was as she thought. Bills and pleas for aid. She would see to them in the morning. Suddenly her hand, flipping through the envelopes, stopped.

She set the candle she was holding in her hand on the desk. With a trembling hand she slowly lit another one. She lowered herself into the leather seat that still smelled of him.

Firstly, she carefully read his writing on the envelope. It was dated more than two months ago. A lot could have happened since then.

Finally, she opened the letter and leaned over it.

It read:

               Dearest Caitlin,

How are you doing? How is everybody on Clarefield? I have my absolute confidence in you; therefore I am certain you are running the estate for the wellbeing of everyone entrusted to our care. I believe you enjoy love and support of our people. I hope your mutual affection is a solace to all of you in these most difficult of times.

I will not write about war. You see plenty of its gory results by yourself. How I wish you, we, none of us would be burdened with this suffering brought upon us by those who are deemed to posses the wisdom to lead us.

There is hell all around me. But as I am thinking of you right now, I feel as if we were having a conversation in person. I can hear your clear, soothing voice. I smell your perfume. I can see you now and look in your eyes. And peace and happiness are in my heart.

I must stop for I am due for the first night watch. Take good care of yourself – I know, it would be useless to ask you not to work so hard – I w . Stay safe. I love you.

Christopher  

“Oh, Chris,” whispered Caitlin, leaning back in his chair. Her face was wet with silent tears. She closed her eyes, pressing the letter tightly to her heart. “I’m with you, too, right now.”

After some time she stood up, took her candle and blew out the other one. She went to their bedroom and climbed into the bed, putting the letter carefully under the pillow. Then she closed her eyes and dreamt she was with Christopher. There was a bright, sunny day. He was holding her in his embrace and they were laughing with pure joy.

 

This post is a response to Red Writing Hood, a weekly writing meme hosted at The Red Dress Club. This week's prompt asked to have you or your character find a forgotten letter or card from someone important in your life - whether good or bad. What does it say? How does it affect you or your character? What is done with it?

Book Blogger Hop, July 1 – 4, 2011

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books. It is a great way of discovering new blogs and meeting fellow book bloggers, talking about books and authors, and sharing our love for literature.

This week’s question is: “What keeps you reading beyond the first few pages of a book, and what makes you want to stop reading a book and put it back on the shelf?”

MY ANSWER:

A good plot is definitely the most significant for keeping me reading a book. Sometimes, however, the plot is not particularly special, but there might be an intriguing character or more of them, because of which I insist on finding out what happens to them. Also, often it is the writing which makes it worth reading a book through.

The plot, the characters and the writing, if they are of poor quality, are also the reasons that can stop me from continuing reading a book and put it back on the shelf. Nothing is more torturous than reading a badly-written book with a boring story and predictable, one-dimensional characters. 

The War Begins

This is my June follow-up post for LOTR Read-Along hosted by Lorren at The Story Girl. It includes SPOILERS.

 

The War of the Ring begins in the West. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli help the Rohirrim in the Battle at Helm’s Deep, and Merry and Pippin make friends with the Ents. Together they remove the threat of Saruman.

Tolkien’s depiction of the battle is epic and detailed, and the readers feel as if they were watching it from close by. There are some great symbolic events, let me just point out the cleansing of Isengard by water of the river Isen. The purifying power of water is another Christian trait Tolkien uses in his work.

Meanwhile, the real Quest continues in the East. Frodo and Sam journey to Mordor. And since they would not get far on that part of the journey without Gollum, I, insolent as I am (*she winks*), think it best to let Gollum describe the journey by himself. I think it would sound somewhat like this:

¨We’ve caught up with them, my Precious, yess, we did. Those nassty thieves, thieves, they stole it, from us. We wants it back, we does, it’s ours, ours, my Precious. Cruel hobbits, they jumps on us like cats on poor mices, they hurt us, my Precious. We are so alone, and hungry, and they ties us, we knows they are cruel, they visit Elves, fierce Elves with bright eyes.

“Masster, kind Masster takes mercy on us. Nice hobbits, they don’t hurt us. We promise, we swear, we swear on the Precious. We swear to do what he wants, never to let Him have it.

“Sméagol helps, I take nice hobbits safely through the marshes, through nice thick mists. Sméagol is starving. He can’t eat hobbit food, dust and ashes, Elves made it, he can’t eat that.

“Then Wraiths came, Wraiths on wings, White Face shows us to them. Wraiths see us, they tell him everything. He sees, He knows. We are afraid. Must take the Precious. But we promised, we promised not to let him have it. If he gets the Precious, he will eat us all, gollum, gollum. Must take it. But not for Him. It’s ours, ours.

“The Black gate is closed, but we knows other, more secret way to Mordor. We come to nice land, we catch us nice food. The nassty, suspicious hobbit wants us to catch some food. We brings them rabbits, juicy young rabbits. Stupid fat hobbit cooks the rabbits, spoils nice meet.

“Tricksy hobbits, they find new friends, they leave us and go with their new friends. False Masster betrays us, gollum. We want some fish, only some fish for poor, hungry Sméagol, and they say death. Cruel Man asks questions we don’t want to answer.

“Nassty Men let us go. Nice Masster goes with us. We found it, we knows it, the path across the mountains. She is there, always hungry, she helps us. Gollum brings nice meat. When she throws away clothes and bones, perhaps we finds it, the Precious, gollum.

“They have lights, terrible lights. Curse them, gollum. The nasty suspicious hobbit fight us, jumps us with the sword, yes, my Precious. We run my Precious, but we will come back. We will find the Precious. It’s ours, ours, gollum.”

Have I overdone it?

Personally, I believe Gollum is one of the most fascinating characters Tolkien created. He is overcome with evil, but deep down inside him, there is still some good which resurfaces if given a chance. Gollum hates the Enemy and is afraid of him, therefore he would do anything to stop the Enemy from getting the Ring. Yet, the Ring’s command over him is so strong he cannot resist it. All he wants is to get back his Precious and this is what eventually leads his actions.

In the last part of The Two Towers, Tolkien introduces Faramir, one of my favourite characters in the book. Faramir is a friend to Frodo, found where the least expected. He is honourable, just, wise, and stronger in heart than his brother. He helps Frodo as much as he can.

Also, Tolkien puts another one of his beautiful settings in Ithilien. Hennenth Annȗn, a sanctuary of people of Gondor is a cave behind a waterfall, called Window of the Sunset. Through it one can see sparkling setting of the Sun and the Moon. This image is one of the last beautiful visions of the West before the War unleashes from the East.

The Fury (The Vampire Diaries #3) by L. J. Smith

SUMMARY (from Goodreads): Faced with an ancient evil, Stefan and Damon must stop their feuding and join forces with Elena to confront it. But in so doing, they are unwittingly sealing her fate...

MY OPINION:

Now, this is it. The third book in The Vampire Diaries series finally reaches up to my expectations.

As Elena’s life utterly changes, she becomes a much more multi-dimensional character than before. She is less self-absorbed, more compassionate, and she starts cherishing her friends. She gives helping other people priority, while she is still adapting to new circumstances in her life.

Smith portrays the reaction of Elena’s friends to her new situation well. Their response is very natural, and in the end Elena finds out who her true friends are. We learn more details about certain people and some are rather surprising.

Stefan and Damon show some new layers of their personalities, though diametrically opposite, too. While the readers get to know the caring and sensitive side of Damon, Stefan’s dark and resentful side reveals itself. 

The Fury is a thoroughly suspenseful book and the readers are left guessing about the new big bad evil power almost to the last page. There is plenty of excitement, and several twists ensure continuous entertainment.

RECOMMENDATION: Even if you, like me, did not like the first two books in the series so much, sticking to reading the series totally pays off with The Fury.

Teaser Tuesday (June 28, 2011)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

MY TEASERS: 

I have just started this and after a few pages in I think this will be an enjoyable read. Hera are the two opening sentences: 

"Laurel, young yet ancient, lost Kate on a golden summer afternoon near the beginning of the 20^th century. Had a midday outing begun a second earlier or a moment later, their story might have been entirely different."

The Lowlands of Heaven by F. J. Dagg, p. 1

Cat Diary (6): Visitors and a Dragonfly

This is an ocasional Sunday feature where my cat, pardon, Her Majesty the Cat, offers her more or less gracious insight into our lives.

Last Sunday I couldn't write because we had visitors. Consequently, I was hiding under the bed…

…and behind the couch (sorry, no picture). But it wasn’t so bad. They didn’t make too much noise. So, I might, MIGHT, start tolerating those particular visitors.

Pepca insisted that I include this:

Isn’t that a pretty dragonfly? Apparently Pepca saw it when we were outside earlier. Weird. I didn’t notice it at all. It’s usually the other way around – I see all sorts of things which Pepca doesn’t. Well, in this case, good for her, because otherwise she certainly wouldn’t have been able to take the picture.

Hope you see lots of pretty things next week,

Ransom My Heart by Meg Cabot

SUMMARY (by the publisher): He's a tall, handsome knight with a secret. She’s an adventurous beauty with more than a few secrets of her own. Finnula needs money for her sister’s dowry, and fast. Hugo Fitzstephen, returning home to England from the Crusades with saddlebags of jewels, has money, and lots of it. What could be simpler than to kidnap him and hold him for ransom?

Well, for starters, Finnula could make the terrible mistake of falling in love with her hostage.

MY OPINION:

Ransom My Heart is a fast-paced romance with a few steamy scenes, a predictable plot and an amazing heroine.

The heroine, Finnula, is the best part of this not-outstanding book. She is a female version of Robin Hood. She is a poacher providing food for starving subjects. She is an eccentric girl who rides the countryside dressed as a man and shoots better than any man. She is strong, independent, and, naturally, an exquisite, but modest, beauty.

The romance itself is just as it should be in such a book: quick and passionate. I liked, however, that Hugh, differently from many male protagonists in similar books, does not doubt Finnula even once. Cabot makes the chemistry between Hugh and Finnula work great, and there are some funny dialogues. However, Cabot uses some too modern language expressions which disturb the otherwise well-created thirteenth century atmosphere.

I found the ending too rushed and weak, I missed some more action in the end. Also, the fact that the villains were very transparent and known early in the book cut the suspense short considerably.

RECOMMENDATION: This light romance with a strong historical note is a perfect read for a leisurely spent afternoon or two.