For the last several weeks, I have struggled to finish reading a
book. This is a book written by someone I call a friend. A face book friend -
true enough, but we have supported and encouraged each other and though I have
never met this person, I consider him a friend. I was really looking
forward to reading his book. The book, so far is receiving high accolades from
reviewers on at least two continents. Imagine my disappointment, when
after more than a month I was only on page 87. I could not finish reading this
book...No - I refuse to continue to read this book. This book is dead!
What is it about books that cause a reader to lose interest, or
stop reading? I don't know. I suppose that is an individual's taste and is
different for everyone. For me, I can muscle through most stories. The truth is
I enjoy reading, so if the story is good, and the characters are believable,
I'm good. With my friend's book, the story line was excellent. The way he was
developing his characters - superb. So why did I stop? There were too
many of these: anywho-be-doo, hunky-doubly dory, loopy-doo, doggy
doo- doo, lazy-daisy and more. On top of which there were numerous cliché, and
the syntax of the cliché left me with mixed messages. It was British...it was
American...it was cowboy...it was rural, poor Ohio. For me, it was confusing.
The combination of all of the above made this book, for me
impossible to read. I was so distracted, I could not move forward. But that was
me, and as I said before, it is highly individual. It is different for
everyone.
You will probably never read a review I write that smashes
another writer's work. I believe that writers, novice to master deserve credit
for making the journey, and writing a story for others to enjoy. The fact that
they spend months, or years writing their story for my entertainment or
education is good enough for me. Still, there are books out there that for one reason
or another are difficult for some of us to read.
I wish I could have ignored the distractions in this book, and
enjoyed the ride his character was clearly prepared to provide. It was a great
story line. For much of the first 87 pages, the writing was flawless.
So the question I throw out to the universe this morning is
this: How many cliché is too many? How many - I do not even know what to call
them..."any who" types of words and phrases can a manuscript have
before those words and phrases become intrusive to the story?
Oh! I don’t have the answers. Just the questions. I think I will
leave the answering of the questions to you.
Have a regular week every one.
I figured if I said "great week", I would be raising the bar
too high, and setting us all up for failure!
Brian M. Hayden
first published March 21, 2013 on my blog
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