Suggested by Barbara:
I’ve seen many bloggers say that what draws them to certain books or authors is good writing, and what causes them to stop reading a certain book or author is bad writing. What constitutes good writing and bad writing to you?
This is really hard to put into words for me. Of course, good writing includes the traditional hallmarks of proper spelling, grammar and punctuation, unless these rules are being bent or broken for a good reason within the text. There should be interesting and well-drawn characters, enough description to give you a sense of the time or place of the story, and a plot that makes sense within the setting and characters that have been presented.
Bad writing for me would be things like the overuse of favorite words or phrases to the point where they become annoying, plot twists that go beyond what is conceivable for the characters abilities or natures, and over-simplistic or just plain boring prose.
And, although I don’t mind a certain amount of mystery or confusion, I can’t stand it when a writer opens a book with too little information about how things are connected or what they mean, or when they seem to be trying to mislead you in thinking a certain thing when something else is actually true. A good writer can pull this off, usually in a couple of sentences and in a way that makes you smile when the truth is revealed, but otherwise, it shouldn’t even be attempted.
I’m not sure if I’ve expressed that in a way where it would make sense to anyone but me, and I can’t think of any examples right now. If I find any, I will share them in the future.
What do you think constitutes “good” or “bad” writing?
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I'm a mom with Asperger's raising an amazing son with autism, which means I'm basically the case manager/advocate/cheerleader/chauffeur. The rest of the time, you can usually find me with my nose in a book!
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Good writing for me is when I can hear the author’s voice coming off the page. I want the experience to be like the author is in the room with me telling me the story.
I like that description. For me, the experience would probably be more
visual, like I can see the events unfolding in my head.
Both of these are excellent.
Makes perfect sense to me.
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Good answer, I basically agree
Here is mine
Great answer. Check out my What Were They Thinking?! post this week at The Crowded Leaf.
I found this very hard to put into words, too. You brought up some good points.
Relating to the characters is very important to me, think that is why I am unable to read the newest rage, paranormal.
That’s an interesting point. I have not really had an interest in that
genre either, and perhaps that partly explains why.
Good writing is not boring, and peaks your interest, throughout the book.
Bad writing is when a book doesn’t have substance & doesn’t appeal to the reader in many ways.
These are some good points. I totally agree on the ‘too little info’ at the beginning. Really annoying.
It’s a broad question, but I think you managed to cover everything!
Great answer!
Thanks for stopping by mine!
I get what you’re saying completely. Right now, I think whether or not they’re speaking ‘normally’ or talking down…if they’re giving good information or repeating themselves over and over again needlessly…and the kind of books I *wish* I were reading again (like Twilight), a really good book is the one I can disappear in and forget who I am, what I’m doing, how we’re living, and what’s on my calendar for the week.