Whether it causes confusion, disdain, or disgust, bad writing rouses strong feelings for readers and writers alike. But what exactly makes the writing so terrible?
I remember several classmates ranting about the Twilight books (and their film adaptations) while I was in high school, but it’s hard to say who was complaining about the actual writing and who was angry that something they found so awful could be so popular. Thinking of this now, I’m faced with another question: what do we mean when we say ‘bad writing’? Are we referring to the plot events, the author’s style, grammatical errors, or the representation of certain characters?
A quick online search gives me these answers:
- “Bad writing is when you constantly struggle with the writing instead of the story.” – cmpalmer52 on Reddit.
- “In my mind, bad writing is prose that has bolted the stable too early. Every bit of writing created in the world can be improved.” – Paul Flynn on Quora
- “Utilizing longer words and arcane symbolisms to elucidate one’s cogitations just to facilitate the appearance of erudition is one hallmark of poor communication skill.” – Toby Dillon on Quora
How my opinion compares
“Bad writing is when you constantly struggle with the writing instead of the story.” – cmpalmer52 on Reddit.
Agreed. Writing that is inconsistent, full of errors, or the wrong style for its audience distracts the reader. The more distracted I get, the lower my opinion of the writing.
While I appreciate stories that break stereotypes, I also believe that books that abruptly change genre or tone (e.g. from bucolic to grimdark or vice versa), without any foreshadowing, betray their readers. Similarly to Chris Winkle’s concept of a satisfying throughline for the plot, I prefer stories to have consistent pacing and style, and believable character development.
For more of my feelings towards books that don’t stay true to themselves, read my review of Gideon the Ninth.
“In my mind, bad writing is prose that has bolted the stable too early. Every bit of writing created in the world can be improved.” – Paul Flynn on Quora
Rushing to finish a story never earned me good marks in school. However,
working under a deadline was not the root of the issue. My classmates were
often confused by my stories because I hadn’t considered what reading them
would be like from someone else’s perspective. Creative writing workshops and
helpful friends could spot issues that I never knew were there.
My first drafts never give readers the story I want them to read, so I need
the perspectives of other people and my future editing self to tell me what is
lacking.
Bonus: article from Aliventures on the hallmarks of bad writing.
“Utilizing longer words and arcane symbolisms to elucidate one’s cogitations just to facilitate the appearance of erudition is one hallmark of poor communication skill.” – Toby Dillon on Quora
This is similar to cmpalmer52’s quote above, but it gets bonus points for humour. Irony aside, it’s true that pretentious writing and overuse of the thesaurus doesn’t impress readers.
It’s more likely to frustrate them and make them abandon the book.
You might ask, “But why do I have to write in a way that pleases everyone?” You don’t have to. You probably shouldn’t. Just focus on telling your story over proving your intellect.
Writing mistakes can happen to any part of any story – the plot, characters, themes, and beyond. This post is just an introduction to some of the things that can irritate readers. I’d love to explore these problems in more detail, so tell me: what would you like to read about next?
- Unbelievable character motivations
- My most hated “solutions” to characters’ problems
- Tropes I’m tired of seeing in YA and children’s fantasy
- Reviews of popular fantasy books (middle grade, YA, or adult)
Emma Lammers 