7 Reasons Why Readers Will DNF Your Book
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 พ.ค. 2024
- Are you afraid readers might give up on your book halfway through because they’re bored? What can you do to avoid this terrible fate? In this video, I’m sharing the 7 reasons why readers DNF books and how you can avoid these pitfalls, based on my personal experiences and research. Grab a notebook and let’s dive into these literary traps-and learn how to keep your readers glued until they've turned the very last page!
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TIMESTAMPS:
2:14 1) Not enough internal conflict
4:19 2) Readers encounter content they didn't expect/you didn't prepare them for
6:06 3) The pacing slows way down and the story loses momentum
9:08 4) Not enough of what readers came for
10:34 5) Writing is overly dense/hard to read
12:36 6) Deviating too much from the main characters we care about
14:25 7) This just isn't the book for them (nothing you can do about that)
Thank youuuuu!!!!! I know this will help a lot of people.
Thank you❤
#3: Robert Jordan’s “Wheel of time” series. The first few novels are good, then they start wandering all over the place.
Number five might be my biggest problem when it comes to writing.
I dnf grr Martin's a feast for crows because of 2,3,4 and 6. I actually lost interest in the rest of the series.
My biggest reasons for DNFing are 1) characters who don't feel like real people, 2) poor writing, and 3) lack of internal logic within the story
What is poor writing in your opinion?
What do you mean by internal logic ? Could you elaborate?
'poor writing' is too general, the other points were clear tho
@@billyb4790 maybe there's a more technical term for it, but I meant when the established world and/or characters contradict themselves. For example when the world building doesn't make sense, character actions go against their established personalities/life circumstances, etc.
@@NeoPokebonz that's a great question because I couldn't come up with anything concrete right away lol but generally, when the writing on a sentence level is clunky enough to bring me out of a story. For example, awkward phrasing or word use, using "intelligent" vocabulary in slightly incorrect contexts, etc. And more personally to me, if the writing suffers from similar issues to my writing in middle school, I would consider it poor writing.
“We can also kill momentum when we-“ Ad plays “-deviate too much with these separate topics that take us away from the main objective.” Hilarious timing.
Here's a few more in addition to your list
1. Inconsistency. When the characters we think we know make choices that are incongruous to traits and personalities that have already been established.
2. Plot holes. When important questions such as why and how don't get answered, discussed, or even acknowledged.
3. Character Introduction . When too many characters are introduced at once before I even begin to care about any of them
4. Dumbing down the narrative. Repetition of established facts and obviously treating the reader of grasping the writer's intentions.
5. Info dumping to excess. When the writer spends so much time world building or analyzing thoughts and feelings that the plot becomes an afterthought.
6. Dislikeable main characters. Outside of main characters having flaws, and fears and internal conflict, this is more about when main characters are displayed as willfully ignorant or stupid or just not curious about the situation or their own curiosity. This also included when character misunderstand or misinterpret basic information the read does for the sole purpose of extending a plot. Or you could just not like the main character. When I'm not liking a character, I'm not rooting for them and much less immersed and affected by their conflict.
7. Vague/half-assed world building, if applicable. If I don't understand the political. social, religion, or magic systems, I usually know fairly early on in a book if I'm going to be left curious and dissatisfied, which leads me to begin questioning if other factors in the book have me immersed enough to continue reading.
8. Convenience. This one is subtle, but I've encountered it enough. This one is something needs to happen and someone in the cast of characters has the exact information, experience, or object necessary to further the plot. Writers who use this tend to do it more than once in the same novel.
9. Continuity Errors or retconning. When writers contradict what they've written or have characters forgetting that they have information affection the plot it's jarring. Or when the author straight up lies to the reader outside of character dialogue and changes the facts to make completes sections of plots and subplots completely irrelevant.
I wish I could like this a hundred times over!
This would’ve made it twice as long.
Not that that’s a bad thing, at all, especially since those points are equally as valid, and probably could’ve actually easily been added to this one, especially since a lot of them seem to contextualize what she’s saying here, in a way that seems particularly im-por-TANT……
..oh
I retired at 56 to finally write full-time. And I find your videos so damn helpful. Keep up the great work!
That sounds wonderful! Good for you! Extra money will never replace a purpose.
@@brandic89 Well said. Thank you!
12:47
This bothers me about tv series so much too! It’ll be season five and the main characters won’t even be in the show for three episodes straight and I’ll just be sitting there bored to death, hoping the main characters will come back in the next scene, not caring about what’s happening 😭
I think the only show I remained interested in when the MC was out for a bit was Hercules the legendary journeys, oh, well, his sidekick was also an MC and the writing was a lot of fun. (We learned that Sorbo had damaged his shoulder doing a couple of stunts and that's why we had Herc lite eps.)
Scott Gimple Syndrome
Hawkeye did this to me!🫠 I loved his character so much in the original movies, and I wanted a show about HIM, not the random deaf girl who’s working for the bad guys… seriously, was she only in there to set up for the spin off or something?!
Mood! This is one of my least fave things about shows! Now, if they're a genuinely GOOD side character? Hell, yeah, I'm all for it! But a lot of series, they're not, and it's REALLY awful! lol.
My top 3 reasons for DNF after reading the first few pages
1) when you start off with the MC waking up and looking at themself in the mirror
2) beginning with over-the-top violence or language that sounds like you are trying too hard to get the reader to like the book ("Today is the day when everyone will die")
3) Opening with a lengthy description of your character's life, looks, personality and everything else which should be slowly dripped in throughout the opening.
Realest comment I've read so far
I'd prefer "Today everyone dies." I like succinct. Although I'd prefer "For once, everyone lives!" (I suspect there are those who know where I lifted that from. )
yikes i am the third because i really wanna describe the character and the real action is way shorter
@@heyitsania1683 meh.... I mean this is why writing advice can be so dangerous because it's so out of context and opinionated. You do you :)
Hi!! Ik this was a bit late, but in a wip i was thinking about starting, my character actually starts by looking in a mirror. Except its like this. "I stood by the mirror, examining myself. Or at least, pretending to. I found that if I tried to ignore the montrous shadowy figure that lingered by my side would disappear for at least a while."
Is it ok?
I don't DNF much, but when I do, it usually has nothing to do with the story, the characters, etc. The only time I DNF is when the editing is so poor that I can't get past the errors and mistakes. I truly don't get people who don't have their work edited or at least do it themselves. This is your story! Take pride in it! Take every step you can to make sure it is correct and complete! Grammar and spelling errors, even formatting issues, will take me out of a story faster than anything else. My OCD brain just can't put up with it.
And your last point is dead on. As a self-published urban fantasy writer, I can honestly say that the five-star reviews/ratings are great, but nothing made me smile more than getting the first one-star rating I got. I wish whoever it was had left a review so I knew what they didn't like or if they did DNF, why, but just knowing that someone took the time to say via a rating that "this ain't for me", is refreshing. That might sound incredibly odd, but it really is the truth.
I hear you on this. Don't you want to take a red pen and circle stuff? LOL.
This is it right here. And this is why folks are so reluctant to buy self-published books. The market is simply flooded with crap that could have been saved with proper editing and a quality cover artist. I really wish Amazon and Lulu and the like would pump the work through some AI bot and ask the author, "Are you really sure you want to publish this pile of pooh?"
I’m OK with minimal editing for our modern equivalents of the Penny Dreadful - KDP and fanfic. But I get very annoyed at a lack of good editing in traditional publishing. If a publishing house wants to publish without all the stages of editing they should have a second, cheaper, imprint.
I DNF books when they get too spicy or when the main character is too obnoxious to continue reading.
I would say, writing style is a big contender in what makes me DNF a book. If I don't connect with the author's style, then I just drop it 😥
This comment should have a lot more likes. I completely agree about writing style. Everyone like something different.
I agree, this is the reason why so many people I came across don’t read. Because certain writers write dull content, have uninspiring storytelling that the reader feel as if they wasted their money on paper that bored them half to death. Luckily most people like my poetic lyrical flow, bad part it gets stolen a lot…
Exposition dump from page one is an immediate DNF for me. Sometimes I'll skip to the next chapter to see if it gets better, but I like to learn about the world through the characters.
Yeah, or through the setting itself. Show, don't tell.
Yeah, now you mention it... I always forget such things if I'm not shown why the characters' surroundings are the way they are, why it matters to the character that their surroundings are what they are.
I tried to read Foundation. I swear, I tried 😂
Yeah, sometimes its like “Bro, why are you telling how this world got created when I haven’t even met a character to know if I have a reason to care about that sort of thing yet?” I have had some where I skimmed that part and ended up finding a story I enjoyed, but then they reference the beginning part later and I’m like “oh, was I supposed to pay attention to that?” Lol like if they had just waited until it was important I would’ve actually read that info dump.
@@CWAChristy Agreed 100%.
The biggest things that make me DNF a book are:
1. Forced conflict through cliches like minor miscommunication or a sudden rival love interest
2. Heavy-handed moralizing, or holier-than-thou enlightened protagonists
But what if the protagonists are born into a strict family and appreciating their care, but struggling to breathe under some of it? Would you DNF a book with a character who was born into a strict family, or who suddenly met an ex-girlfriend (which shocks us even though it frequently happens in real life)?
@@brandic89 I'm not sure which of the points the strict family situation is referring to, but for both of these, they feel like elements that would be important enough to be show up in the synopsis and thus not feel like a sudden shift. They'd be part of why someone would or would not read that story in the first place.
But if an ex character suddenly appears and disrupts what I was reading for (seeing the main couple the story was supposed to be about)? I'm done. Though that tends to happen more often with series than standalone books.
Yes! Good examples, 100%.
@sanfransiscon Thank you. Well, the strict family birth was referring to your point of how you would be done if you read a "self-righteous" character. This character would not be exactly "self-righteous," but would retain some of the qualities of self-discipline and morality and love for his parents he was brought up with.
But what if a character was beginning to fall for a love interest, still in denial, and then suddenly met his ex who is no longer in the picture, but who shocked the protagonist into considering her love interest romantically? (Of course, her love interest would not get back together with his ex, but still, shocking to discover and meet her, separately.) And what if this is what raised the stakes and opened the protagonist's eyes? We do love to watch a character suffer, and this suffering is quite realistic. Believe me.
That was one of the reasons i almost DNF'd ASOUE. Glad i didnt though, it was a great story, even though the Baudelaires and basically the entire fire fighting side of VFD were all a goody two shoes. The netflix series is also great, but the books are definitely darker.
Nothing keeps me going through the ups and downs of writing like these videos. Thank you so much, Abbie!
Aww I'm so glad to hear that my videos are helpful and inspiring to you 🥰📚 Happy writing and rock on!
I didn't know what DNF stood for when I started watching this video, yet I was able to guess it correctly just before you said it.
My top 4 reasons for a DNF.
1. Exposition dump.
2. Blabbering on. (Read a book once where the author took 2 pages talking how much they loved bacon instead of getting to the story about accidental timetravel instant DNF.
3.Characters I can't connect with
4. No conflict or plot to catch my attention by the 1st 10 minutes
"No conflict or plot to catch my attention by the 1st 10 minutes" - Wow, you must have great attention span... :/
@marikothecheetah9342 There is actually a science behind that ite even taught in film, animation and storyboard writing schools cause no one would care about a character like say batman if he was just some spoiled rich kid with no issues to relate to
@@Alexindiegamedev "that ite even taught in film, animation and storyboard writing schools" - you do realise books are a different medium? Or not? What works in one might not necessarily work in the other. Books are not limited by the time so strictly as movies or animations are, and 10 minutes for the book is still pretty little time to often really tell what the book is all about. But unfortunately books have been fast-fooded so people can boast off that they "read books" :/
@@marikothecheetah9342 That is a very fair point
Hi Abbie! I have just finished the entirety of fifty days of sunlight and loved it! Please keep on writing and don’t stop. This book hits home for me, I have been officially diagnosed with ADHD and I am currently in the process of writing my first novel, it’s a struggle sometimes, even though I don’t have a physical disability and could never know what that’s like, I do have a mental one that inhibits me from writing as well as I like sometimes, your book has inspired me to keep on pushing through. And you should also know that your book is the first to make me genuinely, un-ironically, laugh for the right reasons. One of my favorite quotes in Fifty Days of Sunlight is, “It’s not a big deal. Just talk about something you’re passionate about.” “Great idea. I’ll talk about beating you up.”
I find it difficult to DNF a book, especially if I bought it
But I really hate when the main character is too damn perfect with no flaws
Me too! This is why I didn't even finish the first part of the Winnetou series by Karl May. Because the protagonist is so effing perfect! I found myself hoping he would fail miserably due to a mistake he makes, I wanted him to feel pain, and be publicly shamed but it never happened. Still, I'm glad I've started reading it because now I know how irritating a Lary/Mary Sue character can be and I'll avoid it.
@@hungariangiraffe6361 Yeah... Superman is like that, too... :D You read for the adventure in case of Karl May, not necessarily the character. Taking into consideration that May was never in the U.S. it makes it even more interesting, of how he imagined Native Americans. There is one Polish hero in historical fiction books Pan Wolodyjowski (Mr Wolodyjowski). he's perfect: courageous, best swordsman in the country, he sacrifices himself and dies for the country, leaving his beloved wife. But despite all this readers are devastated by his death, the funeral speech about him is one of the best I have ever read or encountered for that matter.
Some novels will appear cheesy by our standards, some not, but May has definitely wrote the book that inspired a lot of films and similar books.
@@marikothecheetah9342 I guess so... it's just that I read for everything. Not only for the characters, or the humour, or the worldbuilding, not even just the writing style or whatever other people care about the most, I'm very much interested in all aspects of storytelling. Sometimes one good thing can be an excuse for a bad thing (for example, I hate love triangles but I'm a huge Hunger Games fan because the concept and characters are hella amazing), however there are some "deadly sins". Such as a flawless MC.
I hope this made sense.😅
@@hungariangiraffe6361 Sure! And it's absolutely legit. I hate Superman for the some reason but I like Pan Wołodyjowski, maybe because with all his attributes are balanced with his likeable character that isn't pushed on the reader.
I don't like many things in books (enemies to lovers, or opposite attracts bull... extremities. My biggest pet peeve is women_always_want_to_have_babies. I have yet to read a book where a woman doesn't follow the traditional role, and sadly - it's written by women as well. :/
@@marikothecheetah9342 you're probably the first person I've met on the internet who isn't into enemies to lovers😆
And about women always longing for babies, I totally agree. It's probably because I'm the opposite gender, but I never quite understood why would women voluntarily go through pregnancy, then the pains and dangers of childbirth. Or the reason why anyone would want a little human to be depending on them while having the communication skills of an alarm clock. Of course I'm glad most people want it and our species won't go extinct, but I'm not most people.
The main reason why I put a book down is not that it is boring, it is always because it annoys me: The character makes a stupid choice; the author is too hard trying to be original; the story is cliché; the theme is repeating ideas that I heard a hundred times.
ESPECIALLY subplots that never actually are never resolved much less even addressed a second time, stuff that didn't even matter to the story only simply to extend the length of the book.
OOF! YES! Those drive me up the WALL! X'D
I knew my instinct as a writer was spot on. Thank you I feel so much more confident in my writing and I will just freewrite and go with my gut thank you!
Authors, pay attention! I judge all books by Ken Follett's preference: "I like the story to turn every 4-6 pages" and feeling the emotion of the character.
I've been reading Pride and Prejudice again and I have to slightly disagree with #5. Yes, if someone is writing "flowery" simply to try and sound good, it's probably going to be bad and obnoxious. But ideally, "flowery" language helps to be more clear and precise on what is happening and what is being felt and meant. I find "raw" and simple and straightforward annoying sometimes. I read to read most of the time but if I want in your face and straightforward I'm probably just going to watch a movie.
I am not crazy about flowery writing, but it goes with the territory with classics which I do like reading.
I read a short horror last year that annoyed the crap out of me because there were numerous words that I had to pull out a dictionary for. That started on the first page. Each page felt like they had pulled out a thesaurus every paragraph to show off the author’s extensive vocabulary. It was pretentious. The word choice pulled me out of the experience. It should have been gory and scary and disgusting, but it wasn’t. I guess the author did one thing right. They made me feel something towards their writing and I still remember it unfortunately for the wrong reasons. The Salt Grows Heavy by Kassandra Khaw was my worst read of 2023.
The main problem with flowery prove is that few authors are as talented as Jane Austen when it comes to writing. As you also seem to be saying, the issue is when readers are faced with bloated prose with little substance, with baroque sententences that do not provide any clear or enticing imagery.
Somehow this video filled the plothole of “why does this REALLY matter though?”
I had internal conflict, but no misbelief. The conflict felt flat and the story had holes because of that. Now I can see my story as clear as day, something that's been hard for me recently. Thank you
The book Story Genius by Lisa Cron gets into the misbelief importance very well in case you are interested.
@@freedomthroughspiritill check it out! Ty!!
I DNFed a book once because it wasn’t as-advertised. An official Minecraft novel that was centered more around dealing with the trauma of a car crash than an exciting fantasy video game adventure. It was also painfully inconsistent with how the world worked, both internally and in connection with the game it was based on (which I’ve put hundreds of hours into).
There was also one I DNFed because the whole thing was written in 2nd person (library book, so I didn’t do much looking into the book before starting it). It was very uncomfortable to read, and felt like there was no main character, despite there being multiple main characters (all written in 2nd person). I didn’t get past the first chapter, but did skim ahead to see if it changed.
I remember reading said minecraft book years ago, it was the reason why I stopped reading these official novels haha
@@MlecznyHuxel9999 I’m weirdly glad to know I’m not the only one who was bothered by that book. 😅
@@thatonepossum5766 Same here 🐝
Whoa what? Whats the book called
#6 is big in books with POV switches. In books with POV switches, or when you're deciding whether or not to do POV switches, think about if the reader will just want to get trhough one POV before going back to the other. Having to slog through a ton of story before getting back to the one you care about is really annoying.
I want to expand on 2 though. People are SO afraid of spoiling! No! Stop it! I want to know what to expect. I don't want the end spoiled but the premise and major aspects of it should not be a suprise because I want to know what I'm getting into. I dind't dnf this example because it suprised me with something I liked MORE, but I have a gripe with this one book because the first few paragraphs of his POV tell us he was kidnapped and is being forced to help a theif. This is not mentioned AT ALL in the plot summary. It's not a spoiler, it's literally the premise, it should have been in the blurb.
Yeah, there is only one book series I read where POV switches was a huge detriment. Usually, if the book's plot description says there's a few main characters the story will be told through, I'm usually fine with that. But there was one book series that didn't do that. First book was one primary character. Then as I read other books, the authors started add POV's of other characters. Some were minor, others were put the middle of the story as major players. The initial main character I took an interest in was slowly taking a back seat behind another character and couldn't care nearly as much. I might have been okay with it if the descriptions weren't so mind numbing to read. It was a character with superior hacking skills. I just couldn't stand the incredibly dry mini-novel of the author describing this character hacking into something for the 100th time. I had to DNF the book and the rest of the series.
My brother-in-law is a chef. The restaurant he worked for was contracted to feed a local sports team once a week. At the first serving, the coach (whom my brother-in-law idolized) came up to him and said, "I don't like salmon. I've tried it many times, prepared many different ways, and I still don't like it. If you prepare salmon, I promise I'll try it. Just don't take it personally if I don't finish it." That stuck with me. For some people, it just a matter of taste. I think this video gives great advice to us as readers, too. If we give feedback or review something, it's far more useful to give something specific instead, "Ugh, I hated it."
Abbie! you should make a video about how to write third wheels! (if there’s even enough stuff to talk about, lol)
Great suggestion!
@@AbbieEmmons no way, you replied!!! thank you!💗💗
Also a big one is unrealistic shenanigans. I can suspend disbelief only so far. Like in fantasy of course there can be magic systems and creatures but I’m talking about far fetched scenarios that either go against what you’ve established with your characters, or just breaks the rules of the world. I feel like I’ve seen authors do this to manufacture conflict (or resolution) and it’s incredibly frustrating and takes me out of the story.
The last book I dnfed was due to bad marketing. It was a 550 page historical fiction. I didn’t read the blurbs on the book until I was at page 100. Not a single thing in the blurb had even happened yet! I kept on for another 50 pages and the blurb was still spoiling events that hadn’t happened yet.
Well, that is justified. 100 pages is practically one fifth of the book, something should have happened by then.
The overdone side character really bugs me. I read a fairly popular series that was solid generally, but it kept bringing up a character who had been dead since midway through the first book - it felt like the author was deeply fascinated by this one character she created but failed to make him important enough to care about him as much as she did.
Veronica Mars used this plot and Lily appears throughout the season, but is a crucial characters for the resolution of the first season, so it really depends. maybe this was just poorly executed.
Here's a topic suggestion. I hear writing advice that says you need internal conflict, character contradictions, and the lies the character believes. I feel like these are jargon terms that can be misleading or difficult to connect with my specific writing. For example, when I hear "internal conflict", What does that mean and how does it manifest itself in writing? My first reaction is, "Oh, I guess I need paragraphs of the protagonist thinking about what just happened to them." So then I start to worry.
In my story, the protagonist experiences bullying. Every encounter, I don't stop the narrative with a paragraph of how he feels. But as the story progresses, it is clear that mentally it's harming the protagonist through what he's doing and how he's reacting. I don't know if that's the same thing as internal conflict as you refer to it.
So I guess besides just using jargon, perhaps a episode where you give specific examples would be helpful.
yes, i'm very confused on what "internal conflict" means as well😭 i would love a video on the specifics of these terms
Self doubt, fears, irrational thinking...things one struggles with emotionally.
Your external conflict might be having to take a flight to NYC when you are terrified of flying.
The internal conflict might be overcoming struggling to overcome the fear.
Why can't I just get on the plane like all these other people
Or wanting to be loved but sabotaging every potential relationship because of what might happen if you let them close enough.
A mental emotionally driven conflict..lie or mis belief that gets in the way of achieving your goal.
I think internal conflict is just characters being torn between two decisions: one is what they truly want to do, the other is what their fear is telling them to. Let's say in your example, your character might struggle between fighting back or not. You don't necessarily have to detail how he feels every time. Hinting at what he wants to do, then a brief run through of his reasoning for why he ends up not doing it or chooses an ineffective alternative, should be enough. You can then proceed to explain, whether through backstories or interactions with other relevant characters, why he makes the choices that he does, because internal conflict is always rooted in something that wounded a character emotionally. It could be an abusive parent that punished him severely for trying to stand up for himself, for example. Or it could also be that he has pretty decent parents, except that they're the type to invalidate his anger so he ends up not knowing what to do with it.
I’m still in the beta phase and, thankfully, nobody has DNFed my book so far. Some people dropped out after the prologue or chapter one, but that was because they realized that they weren’t cut out for beta-reading. As for the “how excited are you to keep reading” question, I believe I’ve gotten a 7/10 at the _lowest._ However, the betas are still in the first act and it’s the sagging middle that I’m worried about.
I am o glad you included #7. It's so important for writers to know that not all writing is not for everyone. Great list overall. hanks for the video.
So glad I subscribed!! This is exactly what I needed to hear! I over think and am super over critical. I get so in my head sometimes. Thank you for sharing!!
My top 3 DNF reasons: 1. Unlikable main characters - bratty, idiotic, entitled female characters or unbelievably stupid and unreliable male characters. 2. Inconsistent character behavior - doing things that they would never do just to drive problems and create plot. 3. Staying the story with an easily avoidable lie or mistake or omission of information that snowballs into a disaster. Oh - okay 4. Clearly incompatible “lovers” That’s start out hating each other for no reason just to fight like spoiled elementary aged siblings in order to create friction. So tired, exhausted, of that trope.
"Clearly incompatible “lovers” That’s start out hating each other for no reason just to fight like spoiled elementary aged siblings in order to create friction." - yes, yes, yes and yes. And freaking yes.
It's kinda covered by interesting characters and pacing problems, for me the main reason I DNF is because there's nothing that hooks me and makes me want to keep reading.
Funny thing is that this is the reason why I've not finished a single Stephen King book. He's a world famous author with a massive following yet I tried several of his books and I'd get a quarter or a third of the way in and I'm still waiting for something to actually happen. I ended up just giving up and not trying any of his others.
It's not because it's horror genre because I really enjoy other authors, like James Herbert and Clive Barker, there's just something about how King writes that just fails to grab me.
I also DNF a lot of Steven King books, despite his exceptional prose. You're right, often it feels like nothing is happening and I feel no anticipation about what will happen next.
In one memorable DNF billed as a romance novel, someone started stalking the MC. This was a disaster for me. I had begun to relate to her and wanted her to fall in love. Instead, I was scared out of my wits. I lived alone just like her. We were the same age. When I started having nightmares, I had to put it down.
lol I did just the opposite. I thought I was getting a mafia genre when it turned out to be a romance novel. So instead of a gritty underworld story I got some girl wondering page after page if some man loved her the way she loved him and if only she could change him.
Sounds like bad marketing not bad writing. I’ve stopped reading blurbs because I’ve been burned too many times. I would rather have no expectations than unmet expectations.
I picked up what I thought was spy thriller only to find out in the last five chapters that it was psychological and the character I thought I related to because she was CLEARLY being gaslight by the villains was actually mental😅 that was the first and last time I ever picked up that genre!!
My biggest DNF reasons are 1) writing is hard to read. 2) characters are too unrealistic.
The biggest one for me would have to be character motivation, which is basically like your reason #1.
If I feel a character is just meandering around and there's no clear internal motivation- or if the motivation is unrealistic then I lose interest real fast. To me, a story is all about the characters and the characters are all about their internal struggles and motivations.
I try and get through each and every book i come across. I have a weird system that has actually helped me and I've also realized that sometimes a story hooks me after a chapter or two. What I do is if a book lags my interest. I put it on a shelf for future reads in a section i think of as book roulette. In book roulette, i count to a selected number..which can be anything, but i go with my current age. Whichever book my count lands on. I pick it up and reread. Sometimes ill get a few more pages, sometimes a chapter or two. And sometimes I've disvovered the hidden gems of the story.
'Slow pacing' and 'not enough of what I came for' combine in what what I like to call the 'character development farm.' I've DNF'd several books because what was *supposed* to be an action-packed sci fi novel stranded the characters on a single bucolic planet to 'develop character.' Also: The "What the hell, hero?" trope makes me DNF. When 'heroic' characters do or believe something awful...no. Bye, book.
You know it's funny how most books don't get to the point in the first chapter. Like chapter 2 is when the interesting stuff happens. You know that's when the real meat of the story usually happens.
Has anyone else noticed that?
Do you think these stories would benefit from having the first chapter cut or edited down to get to the fun stuff sooner? Or from your experience do you think the set up makes the fun parts work? I'm curious about different opinions on this.
I didn't notice that bc I will never make to chapter 2 😅 They'd better make chapter one good.
@@mojojojo3411 fair enough
ive only just got my characters to their main location and im up to chapter 10 LMAO
As a writer you are supposed to capture your reader from the first page and if you can rope them in within the first 10 sentences, then they will read on. Every book, TV show or movie still follows a three act structure. Setting up that first act is vital. Michael Hauge says picture the opening of your book on the big screen. This is a visual prompt for the author to see if those opening minutes would capture the imagination or put you to sleep. 😂
one of my biggest dnf reasons, especially in romance, is excessive smut, especially considering how much its ingrained into the romance community now. like in Icebreaker, there was smut nearly every chapter. it was excessive and suffocating and lacked any real plot or reasoning,
I just received the otherworld in the mail today!! I love your writing, super excited to get back into reading it!
Yay!! I'm so excited for you to journey to The Otherworld! 😁📖 Thank you for supporting my work!
@@AbbieEmmons of course!! 💙
I recently purchased it, too. It's next up after Tessa and Weston's Christmas story. Love your writing, Abbie.
Great advice, thank you. I try really hard not to DNF. Even if I hate the book (hate is such a strong word, but often is the only word that fits), I will force myself to finish it trying to see what is redeemable for my tastes. Not saying it always works, but whoa! A lot of books that are popular today are complete train wrecks for me. There's a particular author that I really like, but lately all she writes is smut...not romance, smut. Ugh! I wonder what happened to her?
#5 is the one that does it for me. If the writing style makes it hard work, I find it a real distraction. I lose sight of the plot, because I'm so annoyed by how it has been written. Having said that, I can usually spot it within the first page or two. So it's more a case of DNS, than DNF.
Love your videos Abbie! They always give me something to look forward to! I'd love to see another Story Science video, they are so fun, and you do such a great job!
I REALLY don't enjoy fiction written in present tense. It seems as though it's getting more common to write this way, and I have tried but it's a total DNF for me.
that's a very odd reason.
Mee too, I don't like it. I only read it sometimes because I learn languages and it helps to learn that grammar but I don't see it as a book,I see as a tool for learning.
It feels like I'm reading a screen play, not a story
1. Listing the roads the characters drive down to get somewhere. I've read too many books to count in which a chapter will spend two or more pages describing the route someone takes to get somewhere. "He drove to the hospital" will do. I don't need to know all the road names and what the houses looked like.
2. Life histories of characters who have no bearing on the plot. Often found in police/detective books. For example, when we get the whole life story of a character who finds the dead body that sets the plot off, then we never hear about them again.
3. Describing the detail of a room/house down to the type of curtains and wallpaper.
4. Describing everything that a character sees when, for example, they go for a walk, and it has no relevance to, or bearing on, anything at all happening in the story.
As you can tell, too much description is a killer for me! Set the scene, yes, but keep the focus on character and story.
Thank you. These are great points for me to consider going forward.
I DNF books that are "not for me", books where it is clear that the author did no research on the subject, or are too wordy - especially descriptions of intimate encounters that don't sound like real people. Definite turn-off for me. Another reason is when it is clear that no one proofed the writing or did any editing.
Thanks so much, Abbie. You are so good at this! I only write for my own amusement (and for my two current fans), but I get a lot out of your advice. Rock on!
P.S. Just thought of another one: overly describing the appearance of the character. It is not often that important to know the details of the outfit someone is wearing. Oh! And in a romance novel where they jump in the sack on page two. Anticipation is important.
This was so helpful! I'm a young writer and your videos really help, Abbie! Thank you!
I am 70k words into my second novel and I just realised that I have glossed over the internal conflict in the story. Not so much that it isn't there... but more like it doesn't show. Thanks so much for making it the #1 point.
My two biggest DNFs are pacing first and characters I can't connect with second. Poor writing will make me DNF if it's stiff and awkward. Rarely I will DNF if the protagonist is too dumb to live. I generally give about 25% if it looks like the story might improve before I give up, but occasionally it's blatant from the first page that this book is not a good fit for me.
I dnfed a book because of the gross details of gore that truly wasn’t needed. It was one scene and it was so callus and made no sense for the scene. It just turned me off from the book
Hi Abbie, great video as always :) to point 7 I would complement the time aspect. Sometimes it's just the wrong book at the wrong time or period in life. It can be worth a second try some weeks, months or even years later.
Kudos are due to you! Love the page and the knowledge and the information! Thank you ❤
Omg 12:36 is totally me with the Mandalorian in Season Three - like, that one episode that focused on the doctor and it didn't end up mattering to the plot and it was one of the longest episodes of the season. Like, why? Maybe I'm missing something - I'm not that diehard of a Star Wars fan and I've only seen the Mandalorian once. Even if we did learn something or it did matter somehow, I still didn't want an episode that started with the Mandalorian, then after about five minutes switched to the doctor for the rest of the episode. I didn't even remember who he was at first.
The _Star Wars_ saga has really turned into that. For example, "The Book of Boba Fett" has _two episodes_ that were void of the main character and focused on the Mandalorian instead. Boba Fett became a 'crime lord' who just wanted to protect his people and be a practical pacifist. Then there was "Kenobi" which wasn't even about Ben Kenobi, it was about some forgettable antagonist. It also had side quests of two characters who didn't even matter. I've stopped watching all _Star Wars_ shows now.
I just finished Mando (I know, late to the party) and yeah! What was with that?! Season one was my definite fav, and I liked it much better than most of modern Disney, but some of those side quests just make you wonder😅
Thanks for the tips, Abbie!
Thanks again, Abby! Yet another useful video! Thank you so much for these, btw! I think the main thing which makes me DNF a book is is I can't get into it within the first chapter. It has to grip me.from the beginning, not necessarily from extreme action, but I have to be taken somewhere where something important/unusual is happening. If it carries on like this, or worse, slow paced & not very gripping, then I have to leave it. I kinda of hate it when people tell.ke 'oh, just push through it a little, it gets better'. I just can't DO that, because I'm just reading something that I don't care about. I also hate it when there are too many people involved with each other, either directly, or indirectly, and I have to remember who's who & what's what. It's confusing!! Clichés annoy me too. A few times I've picked up a book that looks interesting, only for it to have the exact same story plot as several different ones before it (e.g. 'a war is coming', or someone who is conflicted between 2 love interests in the midst of a war/conflict happening.) A lot of books atm seem to be about magical schools, which are ok for a start, but so many of them are doing it. I know that books follow a theme that the market is currently looking for due to the subject popularity (everything 'trends', even books), but I kinda of just grumble over it like 'again?!' 😫 I like to look at books that take a new angle on things, subjects that haven't really been brought up before. Unique characters in unique situations. That's what tends to grip me. Just my thoughts, though!
For me... writer's block by going back to redo again or look over on sites for this inspiration to redo it again by making sense of this story.
Personally I read books to experience the story myself, to live the events of the book. You can blame those early choose your own adventure books when I was young. The background and setting are incredibly important for me. Typically I stick to sci-fi and fantasy as I enjoy my escapism reading time.
The last thing I want is to read the endless internal conflict of someone with a serious need for therapy sessions. Every character needs an actual personality to be interesting, but I don't need to hear their innermost motivations being gone though in their mental landscape in order to find a story or that character interesting. Show me through their actions what their motivations are, utilize dialog between characters to express one characters thoughts.
Keep any internal monologue within reason and for key moments when the character actually does not know what to do and has to figure it out.
Anytime someone says, “I’ve been busy lately and just didn’t get around to reading it, but the first chapter is good,” is trying to say in a nice way that they DNF’d it lol If they can’t make it to second chapter, no bueno. Doesn’t mean the rest isn’t great, just means you need to keep working on it and to not let others read it till you at least complete the first or second draft.
Another reason for me to DNF a book is difficulty remembering names due to cultural differences. I know that The Sword of Kaigen is a huge best seller, and that's the only reason I'm forcing myself to struggle through it, hoping that it gets good. I just can't remember anyone's names because they are all Japanese, and I'm just not used to hearing those names, so I have a harder time remembering them. The culture is also very different from my own, and that also makes the reading much more difficult.
I understand you! Although I'm bad with remembering names in general, not only difficult ones😂
Hi Abbie! Could you please do a video about how to pick a book title? Thanks.
Thank you so much, Abbie! I knew this whole time I had internal conflict and human characters, but there was something...off. And you explained it all, that's what makes you such an amazing author, you tell other reasons I never thought of. I always knew there was something off and you told me those blurs! Thank you!! Now that I'm on my second book I'll be sure to follow your tips! Thank you!
Abusive relationships are a big NO for me. Or romances with huge age gaps
Thank you so much for this!
I wish people could just admit that something is not for them. And that others would accept that. I couldn't get through the first 50 pages of the Hobbit. Tried several times. Just not for me, but people get upset and try to make me read it, because its soooo good. Yeah never said it wasn't good. Just not a book for me
I had that happen with The Silmarillion. I loved the other LOTR books but couldn't get into that one.
@@DebOlliff Oh I can see why!
Took me ages to finish the Hobbit. Finally it got picked for a book club, and I ended up really enjoying it. I can definitely understand it not being for everyone though.
Thanks Abbie!! Loved the video!!❤
Great video. As a reader DNFing is a healthy practice, so many good books out there, why waste time on one that doesn't meet your expectations? Some readers feel if they start a book they have to finish it, and if they pick up the wrong book for them, they might never finish it and give up on reading all together. I don't DNF often, I have a good idea of what I will like and what I won't like, but maybe one out of 20 isn't a good fit for me and I'll quit.
Sometimes it's just right book wrong time
Number 5 is definitely a big one. Ive actually been reading a lot lately and picked up a book called “The Library of Broken Worlds” I put it down immediately, after my sister warned me I wouldn’t like it ( before I picked it up) I put it down because I couldn’t stand to read through it the author was purposely making grammar mistakes to maintain character voice.
THANK YOU, Abbie, for all your videos and pointers, especially today's no. 7, which I didn't think of all these months in trying to understand a bad bad review on Goodreads on my first historical fiction Escape From Bussorah Street. The reviewer most certainly DNF my book otherwise she would have reached the Acknowledgement page and the Author Bio, and would definitely not have spoken of me as a 'he', AND would have read that I did have in mind the target market because five of my seven beta readers were 9 to 12 year olds. And funny thing is that the book is 1 of 4 shortlisted for a 2024 children's book award🥲I'll let you know next week if it is the winner! I'm more confident now to get going with my second book project!
Because I was compelled to write my book which turned into a 3 book series going on 4 a DNF will be a death sentence. I haven't even published any of this yet. I know I should have waited until I got a response from the first book, but again I was compelled to write this as confusing as that might sound..
I couldn't finish “Something of Value”, the true story of the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya. The violence was horrific.
I hear you, not that it's the same but I threw away my copy of Little Bee halfway through. Sometimes it's just too much.
I DNF long-winded, wordy books..... JRR Tolkin comes to mind. I'm so glad for the movies because I love fantasy, but I just couldn't read those books.
I recently DNFed two Netflix series because they did a horrible job endearing the audience to the main character.
❤🤣🤣 I have to admit, I got into Tolkien because I was already steeped in Mythology: Bullfinch, Edith Hamilton, the Time-Life world mythology books, Hindu tales. I blame my Dad. But the language can be difficult if that's not your cup of tea. (Hamilton was easier than Bullfinch, but then I got hooked on the Mabinogian ... Welsh myths ... boy are they tangled and wordy! ) I've watched the movies way more times than I've read the books ... breathtaking!
For me there are waaaaay to many characters to keep track of and some have similar names. I can't even keep track in the movies! LOL. I watch for the special effects , cinematography and the actors.
Thank you. I loved the movies too. Tried to read the books as a teen after watching an animated movie of the Hobbit. I couldn't get past his first description of a tree they were passing in the forest. I was like, this is so irrelevant to the plot and it's going to be a long trip through this forest if we have to detail every tree, nope.
The reason TV series deviate from the main characters is likely to accommodate a tight shooting schedule. Your actors are only available for so many days a year, and you have to write around that.
Thank you for these tips they saved my life
Thank you for your video, very usefull !! For me my worst dnf is when the main problem is just a miscomunication between the characters that could be fix sooooo easily
As soon as I figure out how to format my first ebook with Atticus & sync it with the cover I'm making with bookbrush, I'm sure I'll be able to relate to the struggles of seeing DNF once releasing it on KDP.
On the bright side, I already have the recordings done to publish the audio version of it on ACX after the ebook comes out, & I'm just in the 'proof of concept' phase of self-publishing.
Wish me luck, good people of Abbie's comment section 🙏.
Thank you Abbie you are an inspiration.
I DNF a LOT. And I’m not happy about it. There are so many books I want to read, and when I find one I really love, reading is one of my favorite things to do. The main problem for me is when the author gives me nothing to look forward to. If I don’t care to get to a point in the future of the book, there’s no point in me reading to get there. I think part of my problem is that I become initially invested in the idea of books, and, as a writer myself, it’s easy for me to pick out places where I wish the story went differently. When a book doesn’t align with the expectations I had going in, it has two potential futures: either I don’t like it, and I DNF (which is unfortunately many books), or the author pivots to something different that I like just as much or even better than what I’d been expecting (which is great when it happens! Though it is rare). I find the stories that keep me engaged all the way through are usually the ones that have more than one thing going on. That DOES NOT mean that you should overwhelm your reader with too many plot points. I just mean that it’s good to always have something coming in the future that your reader will keep reading to get to. That way, when your reader arrives at one of the destinations they wanted to see, they will still have a reason to keep reading. The challenge at that point is just to really make sure that each point you want your reader to get excited about is actually exciting. Also, it’s very important to make sure you aren’t holding off on rewarding the reader for too long. If they’re putting in the time to read, they’ll want to get to something interesting before the 500 page mark. If you hold off for too long without anything else for a reader to focus on, they will likely get tired of reading and DNF.
I’ve DNFed quite a few stories when it’s a love triangle where there’s an abusive person as one of the love interests and I’m reading the first half of the story thinking that the story is about the struggle the main character has about getting away from an abusive person even though they’re in love with them. And every single time I am severely disappointed because either the endgame is the abusive person who has not changed at all OR the other love interest is also abusive in the end.
I also have DNFed so many BL stories where the main character is so incredibly submissive that they either come off like a child or like a very VERY obvious self insert of the female author. I do not mind more feminine, transgender or gender fluid main characters in a BL, it’s just when the character is so poorly written that they don’t even feel real or feel like a literal child that I have a problem with them. Tbh I feel like there needs to be more variety of characters in the BL genre because sometimes I just want to read a story about guys being guys, or about a transgender male lead/love interest.
I’ve unfortunately also started DNFing BL/GL romance stories that I’ve started seeing follow the ‘I’m actually straight and I never thought about being gay, but you’re the only girl/boy I would ever consider being with. It’s just you nobody else.’ trope for both main characters and it just ending right there, no realizations of ‘huh maybe I’ve been actually Bi/Pan/Gay this whole time but because of my upbringing or cultural norms or just not considering it, I’ve suppressed it.’ It’s become so normalized in all LGBTQ+ characters, no matter what story they’re in, who aren’t already gay at the beginning of the story and it’s just not a realistic or believable LGBTQ+ experience.
I have also basically completely DNFed most stories with the FWB trope even though it is my absolute favorite trope because the trope has basically become a place where abuse is OK or it is very poorly written.
Just putting in here that I started listening to 100 Days of Sunlight on Spotify and listening to you read it makes me wish I had a physical copy. I've only listened to the first chapter so far, but so far, I think it's really good and serves as my inspiration to keep writing (even though I'm just writing blurbs at the moment and the genres [for my main draft] aren't even the same). 💕💕
I really hate _not_ finishing a book. However, last year I finally got around to reading "Moby-Dick" and forced myself to finish it. I said, "Never again." lol The other classics I read after this that I wouldn't finish are "Robinson Crusoe," "Great Expectations," and "A Tale of Two Cities." I just couldn't get in to them. I have over five bookshelves (five shelves each) of books that I've read (I don't like to throw away books) and I can only think of six off-hand that I haven't finished, including the above three I mentioned.
Reasons I DNF a book:
1) Definitely come across a trope I wasn’t expecting, but especially one I despise.
2) Pacing.
I am, unfortunately, very guilty of two things that keep me from DNF-ing books I ultimately wish I had:
1) Giving undeserved grace - I will continue stories in desperate hope that whatever aspect is upsetting me will (a) resolve or (b) be part of some brilliant thing the author is trying. (I’ve never had the latter happen.)
2) Pausing - Stopping a book I fully intend to finish (if only for the previous reason) simply because I’m f*ing busy. It’s not a great habit, and I would really like to fix it. (But I’d have to figure out self-control with books first.😅)
This is so helpful to know when I’m editing my book so I can make these important changes.
The last time I DNFed a book, it was relentlessly depressing. We were given no reason to expect a happy ending.
I put one book down for the couple of days (Quo Vadis) because the gruesome descriptions just were too much for me. I finished the book but I never wanted to reread it, although it's really great.
Thanks this helped!
Idk why but I LOVE your intro so much
My reasons for DNFing the book:
1) poor descriptions - I need specifics, details. I need to know how your protagonist looks like, what hair, eyes colour they have, whether they are of average looks or they are ugly, or beautiful (I have a character whose great looks are contrasted with awful personality and it may be cheesy but... that character is pretty successful in life. :P). I love to be able to imagine how the person looks like.
2) simple vocabulary, simple sentences. I read books for the pleasure of it. I want to learn new words (I read in English - my second language), I want something more demanding than a burger of a book.
3) too much action, no relief. If I am reading about character's struggles constantly, without any relief from it, I'm gonna DNF the book. I want a nice jogging moments and not the sprint all the time. Give me chill moments, give me star gazing, casual shopping and moments of happiness between the hardships you put your protagonist through.
4) No or little research. If I read about something and it clearly shows the author made a mistake or is ignorant about something I feel ignored by the author. If you are going to write about character that has a powerful fighting dog and then the author names the breed as Newfoundland then I am not gonna treat them seriously, nor will I have the feeling of being treated seriously by the author.
5) first person narrative. I just can't stand it anymore, it's everywhere. Almost every damn modern book uses 1st person narrative. I'm gonna put that book down, if the author will not convince me that their first narrative is not just boasting off of the character. Or pitying. Or mega-ultra self insert.
There's probably more but can't think of it now.
As for the 7 reasons in the video:
1) Not enough internal conflict - the conflict does not have to be big. It may be rather small but cause the character to develop into a certain direction - it's often the little things that impact people the most. What i loved in Bella and Sebastian book, second volume, was that generally very little has been happening - the boy was attending the same route in mountains with a newly befriended man, over and over, until you learn the man- oh, no spoliers, go and read it. It's great.
2) yup, agreed. Nothing like ordering spicy pizza and getting sweet pancakes.
3) pacing - yup, but it depends. The change in pacing, whenever it's justified, is okay. I'm less keen on unnecessary time skips.
4) Yes, definitely. But too much is also off putting.
5) Don't necessarily agree. Some genres require dense language and rich vocabulary. Maybe this particular book is not for you. There are some of us left, that are annoyed by simplification of literary language
6) yes
7) like I sad - I like my books more challenging than a story on K-12 level. It just might not be the book for you even if genre and characters are okay for you.
Great video. Yes we don't want to hear DNF. Your videos are always so helpful.
I am from Brazil. I don't understand English very well. But I LOVE these videos and this girl. It's like we're friends and I need advice on my writing. Thank U!
1. idiotic characters, especially the heroines who are 25+ but act like 13 yo kids
2. betraying body syndome, the hero is a jerk and bullies or cheats on the heroine and she just jumps to bed with him like nothing happened
3. no build-up, no chemistry, no layers, no brains, no reason why i should continue
4. too much BS drama created only to keep them apart that could be solved within a short conversation, i hate that
5. weak heroine who cries a lot and is the queen of martyrs and kinda likes being this way
6. start with a ONS or they just kiss within the first 5 chapters or so
7. instalove
8. bad writing
9. too many characters introduced all at once right at the beginning, see point 8
10. giggling characters. nope. moving on.
there are of course more depending on the book, but these are pretty essential to me, the self-proclaimed queen of DNFs.
6:06 "Readers looove progress" -Brandon Sanderson
Loved your book “The Otherworld”
❤️
For me, the top reason for DNFing a book is when there's errors in the writing itself. Wrong words used for the wrong things, lots of typos, or even poor formatting (which may be th publishers fault) are instant no-goes for me. I can laugh along if the plot is ridiculous or if the character is a mary sue. Hell, I've read some atrocious books and loved them for the goofiness. But the moment it's HARD to get through a single sentence because EVERY. SINGLE. WORD. in that sentence is spelled incorrectly/has wrong punctuation/is obviously straight from a thesaurus and put in there just for a flex, I'm putting the book down
And don't get me started on crutches that appear every second page in a book. I once read an author that literally could not go a single page without using the word "delicately". I don't even know why it was used half the time.
I've had recent DNFs of books, here's the reasons why so other writers can definitely avoid them too:
1. Unfair Skill Balance. I was promised a serial killer mystery where two detectives (male and female) from opposing investigation units have to set aside their differences to work toward finding the psychopath. I stopped 1/3 into the story because only the way the author wrote the detectives are frustrating; the male detective is Full-on Sherlock Holmes, already getting all the juicy clues and going place to place, actively mocking and belittling his co-detective who mostly only had social skills. He had to drag her around at assassination attempts, never gives her updates on his findings, he's hoarding it all and she has nothing on the table even after more than 10 chapters in, I'm here feeling like its an indirect way of saying female detectives can never be on level with male detectives. I dropped it despite the mystery being so good, I just had icks at how unfair the author was when giving the skillsets.
2. Picked up a romance that entailed angst, second change and mutual pining to try and make it work, so I expected feels. First chapter; girl flashes guy on accident and he proceeds to make it an awkward nickname for the next chapters. Imagine getting ready for feels and heartache only to see a miserable homesick female lead trying to get by, then male lead calls you 'Panties' in a meeting in front of professionals.
3. Cliche, Mary Sue characters without depth that act petty in each turn.
4. The Inciting Incident and External Conflict is immature for the characters' age and supposed maturity. Basically a bunch of College Seniors having a middle-school level of "playboys vs dumb blondes on a revenge back-and-forth"
There is a reason why Care in in the word Character
This video really helped me and guided me to know how to make my target audience love my books and films and nto DNF them. Thanks for anther great video as always and Rock On! 😀
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