This week, BTT asks: What are your literary “pet peeves”?
Recently lack of character motivation has definitely been on my list of pet peeves. In real life, I like to know why people do what they do. This extends to book characters as well. I want to know why they do what they do. If they do something crazy out of the blue, fine but I want to know why they went crazy. I think explaining motivations really helps the character to feel more real.
What say you?
I agree with you, knowing their motivation can help connecting with a character.
ReplyDeleteI care way more about a character's story if I know why they are doing what they're doing!
DeleteCharacters were one of my "pet peeves" also. Have a nice weekend.
ReplyDeleteI'll check out what you had to say!
DeleteOh, that's a good one...yes, I also want to know why characters do what they do.
ReplyDeleteHere's MY THURSDAY MEMES POST
I feel like I connect better when I understand a character and why they do what they do.
DeleteI know what you mean!
ReplyDeleteHere is my BTT post!
One of the reasons I love mysteries. There is always an explanation and a motive for actions.
ReplyDeleteMysteries are not really a go to genre for me but the motive is always present in those kinds of books!
DeleteGreat response. Here’s my BTT
ReplyDeleteThanks
Cathy @ Addicted to Books
PROLOGUES! Seriously, I get ridiculously angry when I see them because most often, as soon as I read them, the rest of the book goes elsewhere, and I forget about it entirely. Then, at the very end of the book, it might reference it, and I'm totally lost. Annoying.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, character motivation is another good one.
Ooo, prologues are another big thing for me as well. They should be connected to what's happening in the bulk of the story!!!
DeleteYeah, I'm not a fan of people acting "out of character" in novels -- it breaks down my sense of order with the narrative, making me think the author doesn't really know her own characters! If it's a case of someone legitimately going crazy, I might be able to handle it . . . but that's pretty rare!
ReplyDeleteIt almost takes me out of the story because if a character does something out of character, I spend a lot of time thinking about what the possible motivation might be, which prevents me from enjoying the book!
DeleteI probably have 25 literary pet peeves... but one is excessive back story before I've come to care about the characters.
ReplyDeleteThe other is the opposite - an author plops me in the middle of a complicated situation and gives me NO back story and no real character introduction, thinking all my questions will be suspenseful. Except all I feel is confused, and if I don't get clued in really soon, I get bored and close the book.
I agree with you on both pet peeves but especially the excessive back story. Who cares? I don't care about what the character did when they were 11 if it doesn't connect directly to the narrative arc that the author is trying to write about.
DeleteI think my primary literary pet peeve is the lack of rich vocabulary, adjectives, and language in contemporary books. When I was a child and teenager, "chapter books" were written with language that made me think, made me make connections, and hence made my reading skills stronger (which only made me want to read MORE!). These days, published books seem to have lowered the bar in regards to the reader's ability to enjoy/understand the text (much like the newspaper is published in language that an eighth-grader can understand). I LOVE to read books that have mature word choice!! Kudos to the authors who don't "write down" to us...thank you for having the confidence that we love thinking about what we read.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Admittedly I like easy books every once in awhile but its so much more fun to be challenged and to stretch your mind a little! It's sad that so many publishers/authors feel that readers need to be written down to!
DeleteAnd thank you for linking to my page!
I LOVE this question! Hope you don't mind, but I posted a link on my book blog to this page in hopes that you will get more input. It's so interesting to hear readers' thoughts!
ReplyDeleteBeth :-)