I posted the final chapter of book two about a month ago, The feedback, for the most part, has been encouraging. I do have people complaining that they do not see any plot. I am having some trouble understanding their complaint. The story is an ongoing account of the lives of two kids that meet in high school and go on to (here's the word many use) unbelievable success and incredible experiences. Okay, it's hard to believe. I get that. Would a story about my mundane life, or the life of most readers, be of interest? I think not. I like books and movies where the good guy, or woman, is actually good. I do not enjoy the artsy movies that are dark, and life is miserable for all of the characters. That's my preference.
Today I received the following email:
"This has been difficult to read (to keep reading):
The dialog is so over the top, the constant
crying, the excessively handsome / beautiful /
busty / tough people, the lack of an interesting
story line... and the grammar and vocabulary
errors. Not a LOT of them, but some of them are
risible, such as saying that the hospital
"services" its patients (WHAT kind of hospital??)
or that the "inaugural" is on the 7th... inaugural
is an adjective. You need either "inaugural ball"
or "inauguration"... plus the occasional
their/they're/there issue and a couple of plurals
made with apostrophes.
In the first 9 chapters.
I would like to like the characters, but they seem
too too too much larger than life. I would like to
enjoy the plot, but it seems to just wander around
with the occasional crisis thrown in to show off
how tough Steve is, how much Gwen loves him, ad
nauseum.
So: I do appreciate that you spend your time
making stories for all the rest of us to read.
Thanks for sharing."
I don't quite know how to respond. I suppose that the guy wants to like the story, but there's just too much shit in the way to really enjoy it. Yeah, I made some stupid mistakes and I know better, for the most part. I do seem to like pretty girls with big tits and tough guys. I have tried to cut back on the hero worship, but these two are heroes, so it isn't easy. I hate when I get "there", "their", and "they're" wrong. I really do understand when to use each word. I have been corrected on things that I had to look up to find the correct term, or to believe that I was truly wrong. Inaugural is a good example. It's an adjective. I used it as a noun. It won't happen again, I hope. I had to look up the word "risible" that was used in the critique of my story. That's how dumb I am. (Synonyms and antonyms for risible. 1. risible (adj.) arousing or provoking laughter. Synonyms: funny,; humorous,; mirthful,; humourous,; amusing,; laughable) I appreciate that many readers overlook my stupid mistakes. I appreciate when readers point out errors. I try to correct them, if I remember. I just don't quite understand the point of the above email. As a reader, when I start reading something I feel is poorly written, I simply stop and look for something else. I guess I should be happy that I am able to supply some mirth to some readers with my misuse of terms and wording. I do enjoy a good laugh.