forum Things You Want LESS Of In Books

Started January 21, 2019 by @GoodThingGoing group

tune

I thought the premise for mortal instruments was interesting, so I started reading the first book.

So much regret. The romance was creepy (even before it was maybe incest), the characters just seemed … flimsy? Like, they would do anything if the plot asked for it - even things that seem completely out of character. That really annoys me in books, when characters aren’t consistent (unless it’s for a good reason, which it usually isn’t).

Well I read the mortal instruments and liked it the first time but that was before i realized how very creepy it was and i dropped it very quickly
I still kinda like the infernal devices tho

The Infernal Devices was wonderful!!

Yeah I really liked the story, but Cassandra Clare? Not so much

This was when I started questioning the decisions that had led me up to ever considering opening the first book

I think for me that moment was when Clary and Jace found out that they were brother and sister they were so weirdly ok with being in a relationship. I stopped reading the series after I finished the third book, and I think at that point it came to light that they weren't siblings but still… They were waaay too ok with incest for my liking.

Characters who die and get resurrected after being dead for 5 minutes

I kind of don't like resurrection, regardless of how long they've been dead. It kinda just desensitizes the reader to character deaths. The tv show Supernatural is guilty as hell for this. Every time a character died, I was just like "well, they're just gonna come back so…"

The only times I have been ok with this was in Scythe and Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman (actual spoilers below)

Spoiler - click to show.

Because in Scythe, Faraday wasn't actually dead to begin with, and I guess you could say the same thing about Rand. And as much and all as I dislike Goddard, he is a really good villain. I wasn't happy per se when he came back, but the story wouldn't have been what it was if he had stayed dead.

Plus it's kind of established that they have the technology to resurrect early on in the series so it wasn't like any of this came out of nowhere.

Yeah I liked how they used it in Scythe and how not everyone who died came back. I also wasn't totally happy about

(Please, call me Kylee) A soul is basically your brain, your intire being, it makes you, well you.

Well then Kylee, wouldn't that mean their essence was destroyed, so they would cease to exist and therefore, not be able to do revenge?

This isn't necessarily common in regular books, but comic books, webtoons, and TV shows tend to have it and it drives me nuts.

• Less armor = More power

Don't get me started on how much I hate this trope. I can't pinpoint the exact reason why I despise it so much, but I just want to see a character try to use this in a battle and suffer a severe injury because of it. That would be so satisfying…

Yes! Or whenever female knights/warriors have on super sexy armor that would get them killed in a real fight!?

The "I'm wearing a bikini made out of metal I'm unstoppable." + "I have only a small slit in my armor- Oh no! an arrow!"

How people can get shot in like the leg or the shoulder and just walk it off. No! If you get a bullet lodged in your shoulder YOU CAN'T HECKING USE IT BY THE NEXT SCENE!

Yes! Real wounds can take months before you can attempt to use the injured limb properly again!

Just in general, a lot of books have an issue with having lasting consequences or impacts on their world. This causes - among other things - badly timed resurrections, people blowing off fatal injuries, and pacing issues where it feels like the story is moving too fast. A lot of authors have a bajillion ideas for their story at once, which is fine, as long as the author doesn’t try to rush the story to get out all of their ideas at once.

• Villains leaving the hero to die instead of just finishing them off
• Characters who do stupid things solely for the drama
• “This plan never should have worked, but I’m the protagonist and I’m special”
• Trying to force tension by waiting until the last possible moment for the person/Important Thing to be saved
• Vital information being learned by eavesdropping on a convenient conversation or reading conveniently placed papers
• The plot being moved forward by coincidence in general
• The protagonist having a Fatal Flaw that is rarely if ever shown and no other flaws
• The good vs. evil trope

i will say that i have a character who does stupid things just for drama, but thats like literally a key part of her personality, is causing drama and pretending to be stupider than she is

i will say that i have a character who does stupid things just for drama, but thats like literally a key part of her personality, is causing drama and pretending to be stupider than she is

Understandable. What I meant was stupid and out of character; for example: "Villain A is really smart and sensible, but she decided to monologue to Hero B instead of killing him so that he could make a daring escape."

oooooohh that makes sense

Yeah, sorry if that wasn't clear.

well i kinda understood, but i didnt think about the villain aspect

I enjoy villainous monologues a bit, but mine are always delivered while the villain is beating the hell out of the hero.
They enjoy mocking people.

I likey.

• Villains with no true motives (I'm a bit guilty of this myself, honestly, but ya know)
• Love Interests that would be in prison for harassment and/or abuse if they were real
• Love Interests who do horrible things but it's a-okay because he (and it's 99% of the time a he in this situation) is totes in luv even though it's really lust with her

Though I think there is value in a "I am evil" villian. But not as a character. More like and obstacle. (Big Brother, Sauron.) Not to discount what you said. All villain characters need to be better than that.
Yes.
Argh! Yes! Why can't people learn the difference!

More things I hate

• Cliffhangers
• When literally everything seems to be forcing the main ship apart ;-;
• When characters die

Of course, these are things that make a book good, but I hate them anyways.

I have a question though. So y’all are over here talking about how resurrecting characters is bad (sorry I’m late by a page or two), and I totally agree.
However, in one of my stories, one of the main catalysts to all of the events is that someone gets brought back to life. This is within the first three chapters, and the rest of the story is brutal. It is made clear that his resurrection was a one-time thing (result of using a magic object that was the only of its kind and breaks after one use), and there’s a pretty clear why.
I’m just curious as to what you all think about resurrection as a plot catalyst as opposed to plot armor. Is it different? Still terrible?

No, it's fine then. What we were talking about is "Oh no they're dead!" then anywhere from a chapter to a couple sequels down "I didn't actually die!" or another such thing. Hazel Levesque was an example of a good brought back to life. The reason behind the death-ressurrection trope is mostly so the author can get the punch from someone dying, without any negative consequences (Except no one understands death and grieving in writing apparently.) plus a spurt of joy for them,
or because there needs to be a sacrifice but the protagonist can't go on without them. Such as a certain person in KotLC.