Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
While we readers are constantly on the hunt for the penultimate book that satisfies to the core, we spend a lot of time reading books of a lesser nature. I wonder if we’re garnering as much benefit from such books as we could.
The book club I’m a part of has taught me that sometimes 
books I think I won’t like surprise me. I’ll stick with a book longer if it’s a club pick out of loyalty to the club as well as because I feel a responsibility to explain to the group why I didn’t like the book. I contend you should read bad books to learn good writing techniques.
Taking the time to think about why you would label a book as bad can offer insights into what makes a book good. You might find yourself thinking,
- It was so hard to get into
- There wasn’t enough dialogue
- It was nothing but dialogue
- I didn’t like the protagonist
- The ending was disappointing
- The plot was unbelievable
- The research was inadequate
- The writing was flat
- The structure never made sense to me
- It didn’t move fast enough
- The middle slumped
All of these observations are your first step to benefiting from reading a book:
Step 1: Analyze what was wrong with the book.
Step 2: Ask yourself, How could the author have fixed the problem(s)?
One title we read in our book club was Gone Girl. Several members thought the ending was all wrong. Of course they didn’t like; it’s not a likeable ending.
But I asked them how they would suggest it end. They had a long list of ideas, which, we realized as we took a hard look at each one, would have been the wrong ending for this book. By the time we finished debating, everyone reluctantly agreed that the ending the author chose was just right. But we all learned a lot as we looked at the possibilities rather than just proclaiming it “wrong.”
Step 3: Apply your findings to your own writing. Might a reader end up complaining about the same flaws in your WIP that you found in the bad book?
Go through the analysis steps with your manuscript, asking yourself such questions as, Is my ending right? Why or why not? What else could it be? How are readers likely to view it? and on down through the list of possible missteps.
While we, as readers, continue to forage through the forest of books for a shimmering aspen of great beauty, let’s not squander what we’re reading now by just giving that book a simple label and then moving on.
What was the greatest flaw of the last book you read? (You don’t need to tell us the title, if you want to protect the writer’s identity.)
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robert Ruark’s “Something of Value” was one of the best books I’ve ever read. It told the story of the Mau Mau through the small and personal lens of its effect on one family.
He returned to the subject with “Uhuru”; it wasn’t quite a sequel, as it told the story, and its projection into what was then the future, from the viewpoint of a larger group of (different) characters.
“Uhuru” was a disappointment. The biggest problem was the agenda, the way Ruark put forward his ideas for dealing with the situation under the aegis of his storytelling. It turned his characters from real people into puppets who were employed to prove a point.
The characters are therefore flat, and their movement along the story arc is unsatisfying. he ending is dramatic, but frankly silly. But it doesn’t matter, because by that point one has ceased to care.
Part of the problem with “Uhuru” is that it suffers so badly by comparison with its predecessor. “Something of Value” has finely drawn characters, lyrical descriptions, and a plot that, while not “happy”, is still very satisfying in that the it builds to cathartic ending that incorporates a significant redemption.
If “Something of Value” didn’t exist, “Uhuru” would still have problems, but those issues wouldn’t have a yardstick next to them, inviting a measurement of their magnitude.
Sorry about the typos in the comment. Fingers fast, brain slow.
The penny finally dropped, and I know what I was trying to say –
In “Something of Value”, Ruark’s characters were real people with whom you wanted to spend time, even through the horrors.
In “Uhuru”, they were crash test dummies.
Well expressed comparison, Andrew. Sequels are scary if the second book follows on the heels of a finely honed one. Sometimes the author just needed to step away from the temptation to revisit what occurred in the first novel.
I seem to have a had a run of bad books.
The one I finished yesterday was billed as a romance, but the “hero” and “heroine” only met twice in the entire book, then got married in the space between where the last chapter finished and the epilogue began.
I’ve also been reading Wired for Story by Lisa Cron, and she explains my issue with this book:
“Without a genuine narrative thread (read: no story question, no internal issue), the book didn’t build. So it wasn’t long before what little momentum it started with dissolved, leaving in its wake a series of disjointed vignettes.”
The vignettes were interesting enough in their own right, but there was no connecting thread to make the book an entertaining whole.
The other two books I disliked (one contemporary, one historical) were because I didn’t like and couldn’t relate to the heroines. Both were unbelievably naive, and I found myself shaking my head at their lack of understanding.
Iola, thank you for including the quote from Lisa Cron.
I wonder if the publisher had a strong hand in positioning the novel as a romance. The author might have been shaking her head and thinking, “I’d never call this a romance, but, whatever…” (But the lack of a story arc is a problem regardless.)
I’ve started many books that I don’t finish–not because they are bad books, but because they don’t seem worth the time–more a function of my schedule than the value of the book. A “good” book begs for every spare moment, a “great” book gobbles time that should go to other activities.
A few books never escape my critique-group mode–a running mental commentary on what could be improved. You’re right, Janet, about the value in that. There are moments when I think, “yep, I’m guilty of this.” But it sucks the pleasure out of reading.
I like this quote Shirlee: A “good” book begs for every spare moment, a “great” book gobbles time that should go to other activities.
Ditto. I want to hit the tweet button.
I find that if I’m reading a book that either doesn’t grab me or I find too many things in it that distract from the story, I set it down. I don’t have a ton of time for reading, so I tend not to use the time I do have on books I don’t enjoy.
That being said, I like your idea of looking for lessons to learn from bad books, rather than just labeling it. A number of years ago, I made it about 60 pages into a self-published book recommended to me by a friend in my pre-writing days. Even as a reader the POV shifts within one scene bugged me. There were wildly unrealistic changes within a few pages that caused me to think, “Implausible!” At that point I set it down. I try to make sure I’m consistent with my POV in my writing. And having a beta reader challenges me to make sure things stay plausible within my stories. 🙂
Jeanne, sometimes we don’t need to read the entire book to learn from it. The great part about reading a flawed book is that it’s so much easier to those problems in someone else’s writing…then we need to force ourselves to ask, Is that true of my writing as well?
I am one of “those readers” who sticks with a novel to the bitter end. But lately, I’ve downloaded novels to my Kindle that are so awful I can’t finish them (unfortunately, all of them were published by respected publishing houses).
The biggest turnoff for me is predictability. I love the element of surprise and of unexpected twists and turns. But all too often, I can predict exactly how the book will end after reading the first page.
Also bothersome: Plastic characters who sound alike and immature, self-centered protagonists who never change.
I agree, Laura. I have started downloading more to my Kindle to reduce the investment in unknown authors I want to try because lately many novels are so terrible I can’t read to the end. I’d hate to destroy my Kindle by throwing it across the room, but that’s how bad some of the writing is these days — from publishing houses that used to release more quality work. The latest novel, a romance, had characters in their forties who were written more like characters in their early twenties who lack a lot of life experiences to draw from — when an author presents a more mature character in a novel, whether it’s romance or another genre, the reader expects those characters to bring something extra to the experience. The female protagonist’s actions and reactions were way to immature to be believable as a widowed mother of two grown daughters. And there were just chapters and chapters of misunderstandings that occurred only because the woman never allowed the male protagonist to finish a sentence. Really? I skimmed seven or eight chapters that were filled this way. But this article makes a good point. I need to beware of those kinds of elements in my own writing. Now, I’ll ask myself why I want to throw the Kindle across the room and make notes from it so I don’t make the same mistakes. It’s a great lesson, worth repeating.
I think I’m reading that book, Jeanne. I’m close to abandoning it…I feel like I’m getting a migraine headache.
Oh, dear. Feel free to all books that bring on migraines.
The last book I read seemed to start out slowly. I forced myself to read it. But it did pick up, and I ended up falling in love with the characters. In the end, I was glad I persevered to finish it.
I loved the book I read prior, but I didn’t like a certain “point” the writer made in the book. But I reminded myself that everyone has an opinion and tried not to let that aspect ruin the book for me. The “point” could have easily ruined the book for me. 🙂
Shelli, regarding the point the author made in the book you loved, perhaps if that perspective had been depicted differently, it wouldn’t have been as jarring. That might be worth considering, as a way to learn from someone else’s writing flaw. I don’t think we have to agree with the author; we just don’t want to be awakened from the dream of the story, which you apparently were.
You’re offering such good advice, Janet, thanks for that. I’ve also read stories that were really good, written well, except for the author’s determination to make a point that awakened me “from the dream of the story.” I have a couple of binders with stories written that way. I’m learning to get out of the way of the story and not use it for some kind of personal platform. I was surprised how difficult this was for me, but I’m “awakening” to the joy of allowing my characters to live within their life’s drama and dreams, not mine.
Thank you, Janet, for bringing up the topic of bad books today. I’m 65% through reading one right now. Last night I wanted to give up on it, but instead I’ve been switching over to a book I love for sanity breaks.
This has helped me figure out why I dislike one and love the other. The bad book is too introspective. I’d rather it had more dialogue and more action.
It reminds me of the first draft of my manuscript. (I hacked off a lot of sleepy lines and useless sections.)
By the way, the bad book is an Indie one. I think if it had had a good publishing team behind it, it would have been a great read. There are some good self-pubs out there–but this isn’t one of them.
Blessings ~ Wendy ❀
That’s a great idea to see-saw between a great book and a below-average book. The contrast can be instructive.
The last few books I read that I wasn’t crazy about were written well; they just didn’t have enough tension. I kept reading, looking for the stakes to get higher, and they never did. They were books where life happened to the characters rather than the characters happening to life.
Those are good insights, Jennifer, as to what the books were lacking. Now, to apply that to your own writing…
I learn so much from reading “Bad Books” perhaps more than when I read those awesome ones that I know I can’t duplicate for myself. How can I learn to write like Cornelia Funke or Francine Rivers or Stephen Lawhead? I just love them. But when I see all the mistakes and analyze why I didn’t love a book, and get a glimpse of how I can improve.
That’s a good point about some books being so vaunted you know you can’t reach that level of writing at this phase in your career. Books that are good but not great give us a target that’s reachable.
As authors, we should always continue to grow and learn and apply what we learned to our next book. Therefore, I think an author’s second book SHOULD be better than the first, but it can be a challenge to keep the plot fresh and characters as charming as first created. If the second book isn’t better, it suggests that the author has not continued to learn and grow. I do find, though, often popular series writers just plot out one book after another that sell like pancakes at a Fireman’s breakfast, and they don’t compare with the effort and plotting and storylines that went into their earlier editions. The words an author should always hear from a fan after reading his/her book is, “I loved your book. When is the sequel coming out?”
Deadlines shouldn’t limit the creativity of an author, but I imagine they play a big role in the amount of time allotted to the second, third, etc. project.
I guess this is why I hear my agent say to enjoy the pre-published stage because the pacing of the process will swiftly change after publication.
I read all the “Twilight” books to be able to talk about them when my daughter was deeply “into” all that. And while I learned a lot about what not to do, I also learned a lot about what she did right.
She created a world many women, not just young girls, wanted to live in with incredible detail and through the eyes of a protagonist who resonated with millions of readers. The grammatical errors and wonky sentences drove me crazy, of course. But I started jotting down some of the things that kept me reading even as the English teacher in me writhed in agony.
Some “bad” books do things a lot of good writers need to consider.
Hooray for your being able to see past the details of writing to observe what about the Twilight books connected with readers.
I read the first sample chapter of 50 Shades of Grey on my Kindle and saw how engaging the characters were. I hadn’t expected that. (And I didn’t get to any of the S-M stuff.)
The most recent “bad” book I read wasn’t truly bad. It was authored by a writer acquaintance of mine who had his manuscript accepted and published by a “small” publisher. From what I could tell, he pretty much got ripped off, even if he didn’t pay anything to get it published.
There was a lot to like about the story, but it definitely needed the help of a good editor to make it into the book it could have been. I went to the publisher’s site and saw that this “publisher” hires freelancers to edit. That is, they used to. The site said they were discontinuing that and all their authors were expected to hire their own editors. Also, the publish only ebooks, and the paperback I purchased was printed by Lulu. In other words, the author could have gotten the same (or better) results by self publishing, and his royalty percentage would have been higher.
While I didn’t learn a lot about writing technique from the book, I did learn a bit more about the business–and at least one publisher to avoid.
Your experience goes to show that other types of lessons can be had when reading a book that is less than it could have been.
Sometimes, even with traditional publishing, I find myself appalled at the lack of substantive editing. But to have no editing is the worst of all.
My girls have read the Harry Potter series. I love hearing my oldest daughter’s take on the series … and she’s glad to give it. She said the first book wasn’t written very good, but she can tell the author improved over time. 🙂 Priceless?! And like she is such an expert judge! 🙂 Gotta love it.
Every reader gets to form his or her own opinion–and to freely share it!
When I’m reading a “good not great” book there’s usually something about the writing that bothers me or pulls me out of the story world. When I go back to my own writing, sometimes this same issue jumps right out at me and I know what I need to fix.
On the other hand, I know I’m reading a “great not good” book when my internal editor shuts off and I get completely lost in the story.
I suppose that there is value in both types of books! 🙂
Indeed there is. But we readers long for the books we get lost in.
I try to finish every book I start. There are two things that prevent that: horrific torture/treatment or no story. Quite a difference, huh? I can overlook most anything writing related if the story is good.
I do remember those things, though. One of the worst for me is using the wrong word. That could be because of meaning or connotation. One book I read was full of this type of error, especially well-known phrases. I finally figured out that it was probably a translation–by someone whose first language was not English!
I almost stopped reading that same book because it took forever to get to the point. This happened, that happened, but none of it suggested a story or a mystery. Finally, the story became apparent. I was glad I didn’t stop, because it was a pretty good little mystery. I don’t mind slow beginnings, but I do like to know where I’m headed. Maybe that was lost in the translation, too!
I experienced a different kind of disappointment recently that I had never experienced before. The book did not end; the mystery was not solved! It may have been intended as a serial-type book, but there was nothing to indicate that. I would have been okay with that if I had known it and purchased it anyway, but I was frustrated to say the least.
I’m rambling, and I’m not sure I’m making sense, so I should stop. It’s past time for a coffee break!
Imagine having your book poorly translated–you would never know about the problem!
I hear what you’re saying about cliffhanger endings. I remember many years ago a friend introduced me to the Tarzan series. When I reached the cliffhanger, not-a-real-ending conclusion of the first book, I was so angry at my friend for knowing I couldn’t stop at reading the first book. I grudgingly read the second book, but I made up my mind I was NOT reading any more in that series!
This post is so timely. I’m reading a novel right now that is driving me crazy. I am determined to stick it out until the end because my sister recommended the book so highly and I feel like I can learn from it. My biggest complaint is that the plot took forever to get off the ground, so I’m on page 180 and it’s finally getting good. Whenever I feel myself getting annoyed I ask myself, “Am I doing the same thing in my writing?”
I really hope not!
Thanks again! I plan to share this post with my critique group.
Knowing where to begin a novel is one of the greatest challenges for a writer. The author often feels the need to provide backstory at the very beginning, which isn’t where the reader wants to begin at all.
The last book I started reading had a decent enough first chapter, but started dragging in the second. The problem was it was a lecture thinly hiding under the guise of dialogue. That was two weeks ago and there always seems something better to do than wade through more pompous dialogue.
Lesson learned.
We read Laura Ingals Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods to the kids, who are 4 and 6. I was surprised I did not like it more, but the failure to develop a plot and failure to develop the characters other than the father were striking. I suspect that these things improve in the later volumes. Other than the father, everyone seemed distant in this one — they were largely props for scenes describing how pioneer folk lived. It was more a series of vignettes than a novel. The father was better developed, though not fully so.
Another challenge for me was dealing with the degree of corporal punishment that was acceptable in family life back then. I regret having to explain to my children that some people then, and even now, thought it a good approach to hit their children with sticks–ironically, in one scene, to teach one child not to hit another.
Sabbath observance was interesting in the book. In a flashback to a previous generation, Sabbath was kept in the dour old-fashioned Presbyterian way (I’m a Presbyterian myself) for the sake of Christian faith practices, like studying the catechism. In the generation of the narrator, though, the Sabbath is kept the same way, with no joy, no playfulness, no activity allowed but, unless I misremember something, without anything to nurture faith.
All this took me by surprise in a book so important to so many!
I read this book to my dog last week at bedtime: “One hundred jokes you should never tell your cat.” Harper Collins – Canine Division.
How bad was it? Rascal chuckled once, chortled three times and then fell into a deep coma. (For a dog, a deep coma is just a really long nap)
My Uncle Freddie used to tell me: “Life is too short to read bad books or drink bad wine . . . or wine that comes out of a box. (What makes it funny is he never learned to read.)