Things you hate in literature

What's your least favourite cliché? What plot point would you burn with fire?

I'll start us off: I hate portrayals of cancer in books and movies. It's portrayed as the worst thing that can happen to a person. Then all their hair falls out and they die a romantic death. There are a few exceptions to this rule but usually I hate it. It's unrealistic and twee.

Now, how about you?

(also yes, I am liking my own topic so it'll show up in your newsfeeds. Also I know the answers will ce great so I'm liking in preparation for awegreat answers!)

When some authors portray deaf people as having this amazing ability to be able to magically lip read all of what someone's orally saying to them, when only about 30% of the English language can be lip read.

It gets me every single time.

Maybe it's that authors don't have any experience of cancer of deafness, and instead of just doing the research they follow the conventions already set in place by other authors?

I wonder if maybe the deafness thing is so they can have a "disabled character" for the sake of diversity, but don't actually want to show that disability as disabling. After all, dialogue isn't nearly as fun if characters have to repeat things!

I do agree with the cancer thing.
And/or other equally awful diseases.
But somehow I end up reading a lot of the medical/science fiction ones.

I dislike it when a setting is described waaay too much that you have a good idea of what the MC would do in the following pages. It seems like unnecessarily drawing it out.

When a character describes themselves as 'clumsy' but isn't. When a character is meant to be 'shy' but isn't. When a character is meant to be 'geeky' but isn't. When a character says that all women love shoes. When a character says that girls don't like comics or superheroes. When the author gives a character an 'weird but cool thing' like OCD or shyness, but it gets forgotten about after the first two chapters.

Also, love triangles.

When allll the characters are oh-so-sarcastic and witty. (And even if they're not, there's always that one sarcastic jerk to fill the quota.) A few well-played remarks are a dream to read, but when a whole conversation overflows endless banter... That's not real!

Also, I don't like if the word sarcasm or sarcastic are used Especially if someone calls themselves that! It's best done when it's subtle, I think, not rubbed in various faces.

Ugh, I totally hate all the things that you guys hate!

Twit- that's so stupid. Especially when clumsiness is seen as the character flaw. Like, I don't see that as a flaw? It's not a personality thing, it's a physical thing. It's like having freckles or a big bum. Maybe not totally desirable but not something that makes me go "Ah I see you are a HUMAN BEING".

Also, we're all clumsy/shy at certain times. Authors should accept that and move on.

Demette, you're totally right! That was one of my main issues with The Mortal Instruments series. It wasn't even like there was one annoying sarcastic character. They were all annoyingly sarcastic. No one ever said anything because they were too busy being witty.

I also dislike stories that start with teenage girls moving to a new town after their guardian's funeral.

I hate when something is supposed to be realistic, and it just flat out ridiculous. Or when books get really simple facts wrong, like what degree you need to work in certain places, or the layout of a city/region. It's totally jarring and takes me completely out of the story so not only is that all I remember about, but I sit there and scream at the book going "No! Wrong! FAIL." or some other equally belligerent reaction.

When the villain is simply a misunderstood individual twisted by the misfortunes of life. -.- Then again, I also hate the "either 100% evil or 100% good" cliche. It's unnatural.

Also, when the hero wins unconditionally, with all loose ends conveniently tied up in pretty little bows. And if any "sacrifices" were made, they don't really have a big impact on anyone's lives.

Excuse the all caps, but I HATE IT WHEN CHARACTERS COME BACK TO LIFE!!!!! I don't care how the author twists logic around into some sort of cheap explanation, but dead people should stay dead. There's a difference between someone who faked there death, though. (I still hate that). When an author brings a character back to life, it cheapens the death of any other character that stays dead. I sit there as a reader thinking, "Well, death is obviously avoidable, so I guess this other guy just didn't seem to fulfill the author's plot purposes alive." Sheesh.

The list goes on, but I'll stop there for now.
-Sea-

StellaThomas wrote: Demette, you're totally right! That was one of my main issues with The Mortal Instruments series. It wasn't even like there was one annoying sarcastic character. They were all annoyingly sarcastic. No one ever said anything because they were too busy being witty.

Was I the only one who saw the, "Luke, I am your father!" coming? because I did. Right from the beginning as soon as they got down to explaining who the main villain was.

Meshugenah wrote:I hate when something is supposed to be realistic, and it just flat out ridiculous. Or when books get really simple facts wrong, like what degree you need to work in certain places, or the layout of a city/region. It's totally jarring and takes me completely out of the story so not only is that all I remember about, but I sit there and scream at the book going "No! Wrong! FAIL." or some other equally belligerent reaction.

Thankfully, Veronica Ruth gets the layout of Chicago right in The Divergent Series. I can tell you.

When there is a girl and some boys to chose from for love interest. Or when there is any love interest at all in movies. And when they kiss at the end.
Most love in literature is crappy.

I agree with Blackwood . . . most.

I HATE Vampires (100%).

I HATE it when a story is supposed to be 'tragic' and just comes off as dumb and dull. That's unbearable.

Blackwood wrote:When there is a girl and some boys to chose from for love interest.

Yeah I totally agree there! And they're both so madly in love with her and she just, poor her, doesn't know who to choose. Also one guy is always the sensitive one and the other the muscular one.

Ahaha, yeah, love triangles can be pretty lame. Especially when the girl insists she's nothing special.

I'm guilty of vampires (I have a weakness to folklore) - but one of my biggest pet peeves is when authors try to play off vampires, faeries, wraiths, and the like as OMG totally human!!! and totally regretting stuff!!! - I mean, for one character, sure. It's a character thing, their personality, and so on; but for the ENTIRE CAST of mystical creatures? I don't care if you want to make your vampires etc. relatable - if you're going to CALL them monsters, MAKE them monsters.

I especially don't buy it when said mystical creature apparently shares a hive personality with every other creature like them. Individuality exists. (This goes for humans, too.)

False modesty in characters gets me - when they say "Oh, I'm nothing special", and then continue to act like they're ruler of the world. Or if you have the "plain" girl in a high school and all of the boys are suddenly chucking themselves at her feet and licking her boots. (I AM the "plain girl" at my high school. The only boys anywhere near my feet are the ones taunting me from the other side of the courtyard.)

Technique-wise, one of the things that absolutely kills me is when every. other. word. is an adverb. Okay, so your character is doing things "quietly" - why do you feel the need to tell me in the next sentence that they're continuing to do things "silently"?