Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Pet Peeves... what's yours?


Hi!

This month's question is a three part question. I hope you'll chime in in the comments.


What are your pet peeves...

... when reading?  I'm not a fan of long exposition or back story. Most of the time it slows the pace and pulls me right out of the story. If it goes on too long, I'll lose interest and the book goes in my DNF pile. And yes, I hate when people dog-ear pages in books.

... when writing?  Hands down when I'm in a good flow and have to stop. This happens to me a lot during the week, because I like to write in the morning before work so I have a hard stop. The only thing worse is having all day to write and barely adding a hundred words to my word count.

... when editing? Working diligently to fix a sentence, paragraph or page only to realize I just spent an hour or longer revising and the scene works better with that sentence, paragraph or page deleted.

How about you? What are your pet peeves?




This has been an Insecure Writer's Support Group post. It's where writers share their thoughts, insecurities, and encouraging words. Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh and our co-hosts for keeping IWSG going. If you would like to know more about the group, just follow the link.

22 comments:

  1. I'm with you on all of it. The stopping is the hardest though. :-)

    Anna from elements of emaginette

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  2. Good list of pet peeves...I agree with every one!

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  3. There are times when I'm in a good writing flow and I make myself stop. Don't ask me why I do this. I think it's actually because I'm excited and can't sit still anymore. So I'll get up. Then I'll tell anyone around "I'm writing really good right now. No, I don't know why I left my computer. Yes, I should go back. But I'm writing really good! WOO-HOO!" lol

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    1. LOL... too funny, but I get it and have probably done that same thing.

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  4. LOL! An hour on one sentence... It's funny because it's true. Kills me every time.

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    1. Me too... when I realize how long I've obsessed over such a small number of words.

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  5. I can't believe when I get a book from the library and someone has folded down a page. Horror! I never do that to books I own let alone those I don't.

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  6. Not a fan of a lot of description either.
    A hard stop isn't too bad. Then you're eager to pick it up the next day.

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  7. I totally agree with all of your pet peeves. There's nothing worse than having a day off, planning to get everything done, and getting nowhere. Then there is the bit, like you said, where you spend hours writing a sentence or paragraph only to delete it later. ARGH!

    I actually heard about an editing website (not sure what it was called) where they delete words as you are writing if you haven't written in, for example, 15 minutes. I thought it was the coolest thing when I heard about it, because sometimes those words are what is causing the hold up. Of course, I've never used the site, so I can't really say whether or not it's helpful. It just sounds like it could be helpful. :)

    With Love,
    Mandy

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    1. Hmm... that's interesting and could be good or bad. :)

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  8. All good, and so true. I sometimes go too fast and need to slow down. That kind of speed can hurt the project, plus I give up all else to do so. It's not the wisest move!

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  9. I do hate it when I'm in the middle of a good flow and the school bus arrives early after school!

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  10. I hate "As you know, Bob" dialogue, particularly when it conveys important background information or historical details that could've easily been expressed in narrative passages. It just sounds so fake.

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    1. Fake dialogue is so hard to read. I'm not a fan of it either.

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  11. I love reading novels and writing poems especially those that interests me the most.

    But what's annoying was when a part of what you've written gets deleted by the publisher.

    A year ago I was asked to write a poem about life, decisions, failures and goal in life and so I did.

    Wrote a poem for one of our local newspaper here in the Philippines and to my disappointment, it got chopped to a half...

    Life is precious and you only live once
    Just stand up if ever you get hit by a lance
    Let not worldly dilemmas put you into dissonance
    Life as we know it will still advance

    Now the past is all but a glance
    Decisions made if there was ever a second chance
    Hold on to the music and let your body dance
    Aim for your goal in life and pose a brave stance

    Where is the other half I asked? Well my boss said those 2 stanzas will do.

    Life indeed goes on, half or not. :D

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    1. The would be frustrating. I enjoyed the poem, but now you have me wondering what I missed. :)

      Thanks for stopping by and leaving a message.

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  12. Pet Peeve #1: I'm in my book, either reading or writing and. . . the phone rings. What?!!! So who should I be upset with? The callers for calling? Thomas Edison for inventing the damned thing, or Me for not unplugging it? I'm going for Edison.

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    1. That is a great question! And in a world where we are so connected our phones can be a big distraction.

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