Hey all I'm struggling with a bit of my story that is quite important but idk if its too boring or written lik a child? if you read a book with a paragraph that was a bit naff would you carry on reading or just put the book down? the rest of the story seems to flow well but this bit seems kind of short and pointless even though its an important bit. Am I just been too harsh on myself or should i try and fix it? I know I should carry on writting regardless but I dont know which direction to go in from this point. Thanks Kate
No text is bad based on a paragraph. Bad writing is constant. No text is good based on each and every word. Good writing is normal writing sprinkled with genius.
One paragraph wouldn't be enough to make me put a book down. A chapter might, but it depends on the placing. If the weak chapter was the opening chapter, I probably wouldn't bother reading on. But if it was further into the story, and the writing preceding it had been good, I'd probably give it the benefit of the doubt and carry on. But if this is an important part of your story, you shouldn't just accept it as not good enough in your own eyes. Work with it, redrafting it, until you get it right. It's what you, and your potential readers, deserve.
Pointless yet important? I'm not sure how that works... If important, I'd work on making it the best I could.
if it's the first paragraph, yes, i'd most likely dump the book... if it's in the middle, i would wonder if the rest was going to be that bad, but would keep reading to make sure one way or the other, before giving up on it...
Pointless yet important doesn't really work... I understand what you mean though but as a writer, you should never compromise the quality of your work. If you're writing a book, each sentence should be the best you can make it. No, a weak paragraph wouldn't be enough to make me put the book down but that should not be used as excuse to keep a weak section of your book. If it's too important to cut, re-write until you are happy with it.
If you see a weakness in your writing, fix it. Why would you consider leaving it weak? If the paragraph is weak, but conveys a necessary part of the story, then strengthen it. If it doesn't convey a necessary part of the story, delete it.
Why on earth are you accepting a "naff" paragraph as an important part of your story? If it's rubbish, take it out and re-write it, or just dump that part all together. Don't waste words.
