It's hard to say what is actually wrong enough to make a reader stop reading. Is it a moment you can pinpoint? Or is it a myriad of "no-no's" that chip away at your tolerance for forgiveness? After all, much can be forgiven, or at least off-set by the good. A setting or premise you enjoy, sympathetic characters...any number of strengths will do. I tend to think it's largely about forgiveness.
For that matter, I like to think I'm a forgiving reader. I'm a writer too, after all. So does that make me more or less forgiving as a reader?
The question may be unfair, or at least an unfair burden. We like what we like. It's not about wondering if you've become jaded or nit-picky. Being a writer only means you have a built-in desire to analyze the why. Why did it happen? What went wrong? Or, in other words, what made it a DNF - Did Not Finish.
Granted, there are levels of DNF. As a writer, I try to remember not all DNF's are a personal statement of disliking the writing - or the writer. Thank goodness, knock on wood, I have not had a DNF review, but I'm sure it has happened - that act itself of someone not finishing my story. I would hope it is for one of the "lesser" reasons, such as "not in the mood." That is the #1 reason found in this blog post here:
The Different Types of DNF
I can live with that -- the reader simply not being in the mood or even the #2 reason, "I gave it a real chance & didn't convince me." These are the soft, undeclared types of DNF, the types I think unlikely to prompt a DNF review -- much different than the strong feelings that fuel a 1 star DNF. Those are a different animal altogether, and the reasons for the DNF are also much easier to identify. Something very specific about the book hurt you or made you angry.
It is the lesser reasons of a DNF that are most valuable to study. But how? They are largely undocumented, which is perhaps a good thing for the emotional well-being of the writer, but consequently, this makes it much harder to define the capricious nature of what exactly lost the interest of the reader. Temporarily? Perhaps. Or perhaps not. Who is to say if a reader will get back to the story they abandoned to their TBR pile out of boredom or simply not being in the mood? In this sea of mediocrity, how do we pinpoint why the reader stopped reading?
I don't think we can -- exactly, that is. The source of disconnect lies somewhere within the reader's opinions and tastes. Yes, it is a broad spectrum, but one you are a part of -- you're on the spectrum too. Hopefully the reader has a visceral response to the writer's opinions and tastes -- or in other words, the writer's voice. Take a moment to remind yourself what that is:
Writer's Voice: What It Is and How to Find Yours
Personality, tone, rhythm. All of the things to keep a writer interested. Is it any wonder if the majority of the soft DNF's may come from a reader not connecting to a writer's voice?
Reading contributes to voice. We like what we like. We know what we forgive and do not forgive.
Reading also reminds us that there is much more that is forgivable than we think when wearing our writing hat. It's not about punctuation and many other rules as we know them. We know this, but we forget. It takes reading to feel how the imperfections of broken rules, if you will, add to the readability of the book as a whole. In fact, I recently felt the need to tell a writer friend about it in an email...
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I read a really good book last night – stayed up well past my bed time! This one was another Harlequin Presents, but an old one from the 90’s. It’s called Tainted Love by Alison Fraser. Wow. So different in style from the new ones. I wouldn’t say there was no POV from the hero exactly, more like a consistent slip that somehow worked. LOL Like, “he spoke more gently as he saw the color drain from her face,” but stays in her POV. Only once, for a few paragraphs in the entire book, does it go clearly into his POV – sort of. Okay, indulge me, but I’ve got to type it out:
She stirred a little, but did not wake when Fenwick entered her attic bedroom. He touched her hair, lightly brushing it back from her face, but she felt nothing. He covered her still clothed body with the quilt.
He watched for a while as she slept and wondered that she who seemed so strong could look so vulnerable in sleep.
He stared at the picture that had slipped from her grip and barely recognized the girl in it. She looked a decade younger and happier. She was beautiful with her dark red hair and flashing green eyes.
He looked back down at the bed. It was the same face but too thin now, and scarred by grief. He wanted to wipe away her tears but couldn’t without waking her. He wanted to take away the pain but couldn’t, because he didn’t know how.
He was no good with people. He’d realized that a long time ago. Normally he didn’t care, but this girl…
So what the heck was that? Lol How is that allowed? Even this, in his POV, has “but she felt nothing.” It all makes me think I worry too much about what is and isn’t allowed. LOL But shouldn’t I? I don’t see this anymore, so was this allowed then, but it isn’t allowed now?
I don’t know. All I know is I liked it – the book. Heck, it made me cry. It’s messy, but not confusing messy – you know? Maybe even a necessary messy.
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Forgivable. That's what it was. The one thing I didn't like, by the way, was how rushed the ending felt. Other readers, I noticed, felt the same way. They wished for more. They dinged a 5-star read down to a 4-star. Hmm. Not a bad problem for a writer, wouldn't you say?
So what is forgivable or unforgivable? It depends. (Remember that Scruples game? I always said "it depends.") It takes thought. As writers we should want to think about it. We want to learn. You may even take solace in knowing a writer wrote badly because it gives your own writing some leeway to be bad as well! Yep, I said it. But of course, you don't want that. You tell yourself you wouldn't do that, whatever that may be. Yes, a 1-star DNF of a train wreck can be averted. But maybe...just maybe, it's just as important to captivate with voice. Without that connection, a reader can lose interest long before the train wreck. With it, they can forgive when it happens.
So what makes you stop reading? Is it one thing or a combination of several things? Are you a "forgiving" reader? Do you have personal writing "don'ts" or lines crossed that come to light from what bothers you as reader?
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