Boring openings. People waking up aren't interesting. People complaining about how boring their lives are aren't interesting. Opening with blocks of setting description or back story isn't interesting. I want characters and I want action in the hook.
Pretension. If someone has a nosebleed, call it a nosebleed, don't talk about the twin red flags running down their chin. Don't have characters using words that you wouldn't use. Don't over describe stuff, and if you're going to use words that stand out as not being common, make them count for something. I'm not saying to go crazy limiting your vocabulary, and good words can be powerful, but don't use a big word when a shorter one would be clearer.
No hint of a speculative element within the first page or two.
Anything that has something sexual in the first or second paragraph. It squicks me out. I'm okay with sex in stories, if it's appropriate, but not in the opening. I don't know these characters yet, I'm not ready to be that close to them. Sexual action is not the sort I was talking about.
Things that get boring and drag on in the middle. Cut things that don't move the story along. I'm serious. If it's not interesting, I'm not going to read it. I don't care if your opening is good and your ending is brilliant, if the middle is like wading through a swamp, I'm not going to keep going.
Things with lame endings. I really hate when I get all of the way through something and then the end makes me feel like I wasted my time.
Vampires. I don't like vampires. I'm not huge on zombies, either. I'd like to like both of them, but I haven't seen any that were really well done. Not even in things that have been published. Pseudopod sometimes picks up things with zombies or vampires that I just can't stand.
That leads me into twists that I see coming. And that I don't want to happen. If I'm reading something and saying "Please don't let this be a vampire (or zombie) story" and then it is, I'm not happy.
That's all for now. I might come up with more later.
Pretension. If someone has a nosebleed, call it a nosebleed, don't talk about the twin red flags running down their chin. Don't have characters using words that you wouldn't use. Don't over describe stuff, and if you're going to use words that stand out as not being common, make them count for something. I'm not saying to go crazy limiting your vocabulary, and good words can be powerful, but don't use a big word when a shorter one would be clearer.
No hint of a speculative element within the first page or two.
Anything that has something sexual in the first or second paragraph. It squicks me out. I'm okay with sex in stories, if it's appropriate, but not in the opening. I don't know these characters yet, I'm not ready to be that close to them. Sexual action is not the sort I was talking about.
Things that get boring and drag on in the middle. Cut things that don't move the story along. I'm serious. If it's not interesting, I'm not going to read it. I don't care if your opening is good and your ending is brilliant, if the middle is like wading through a swamp, I'm not going to keep going.
Things with lame endings. I really hate when I get all of the way through something and then the end makes me feel like I wasted my time.
Vampires. I don't like vampires. I'm not huge on zombies, either. I'd like to like both of them, but I haven't seen any that were really well done. Not even in things that have been published. Pseudopod sometimes picks up things with zombies or vampires that I just can't stand.
That leads me into twists that I see coming. And that I don't want to happen. If I'm reading something and saying "Please don't let this be a vampire (or zombie) story" and then it is, I'm not happy.
That's all for now. I might come up with more later.
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