Sunday, March 14, 2010

Bad books, Good plot


I'm reading a book by a very popular author. Same one who's audio book I finished last month and I have the same issues.
Head hopping. I've counted up to four heads on the same page and it's driving me crazy. But I keep reading because the plot is good. Sometimes it's hard to concentrate. I'll be reading along and then suddenly it's like hitting a pot hole...bam! Where am I? Wasn't I just in Claire's brain? Why am I remember things his sister said when they were four and Claire wasn't even a thought then? Okay, back track...yes, I was reading in her head and flip! now I'm in his.
And through all this I still want to know what happens next.
Good writer? Bad writer?
Now I want to go back and find the first book this author ever wrote to see if she was actually published with this rhythm or was it something now overlooked because she is more popular then Obama.
I write, I study writing, I read about writing so now I'm wondering if someone who really doesn't know that much about writing dynamics would pick up on this stuff.
What happens when good writers go bad?

2 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

I recently read something with head hopping and that element bothered me. Fortunately, it only happened about twice and so I was able to get passed it. But it was very noticable.

Anonymous said...

Have you read the DaVinci code? Plot aside, there are so many "mistakes" in that novel it's like reading a how not to... I don't know how Dan Brown ever got passed the slush pile.

It's true with Michael Crighton as well. I have a feeling it might be true of all thriller writers.

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