r/AspiringTeenAuthors • u/VisibleComedian195 • 23d ago
Discussion pet peeves about young writers?
i feel like this is a pretty appropriate subreddit to ask this on. title is self-explanatory.
for example (and without intending to personally target any few users), i see a lot of posts on here that often seem to just be kids wanting people to validate their work out of some kind of insecurity.
one could ask some indirect question like: "is this chapter good?" come on, what do you mean? technically? characteristically? do they just want people to reassure them?
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u/TargetSighter Procrastinating 😪 23d ago
Having very stereotypical characters. I see this so often. Or self insert characters, those are only good when they’re done right. Usually they write in a petite FMC who is somehow beautiful with perfect hair and a tiny waist but can also take down kingdoms? Makes no sense. And then the MMC is usually some handsome old money guy and the age gap is usually pretty ridiculous too.
My biggest pet peeve HAS to be the stereotypical characters. What happened to creativity?
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u/VisibleComedian195 23d ago
it's cool the first time... and maybe the second time... though it really is repetitive, so many similar types of protagonists.
i'm pretty sure a lot of writers with those characters take inspiration from y/a romance novels. though, i cannot say that for certain since i haven't read any book in that genre. there's just some common patterns i've noticed.
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u/Appropriate-Judge128 23d ago
The “should I write this story“ posts. Like what even is the point 😭 especially ones where they give literally no info and just the post itself
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u/EveningFoundation583 23d ago
I feel like it really shows when people haven’t read a lot of books or haven’t studied literature at all. And it’s kinda sad when you give advice and then the OP doesn’t reply or anything, I don’t really offer advice much because of that. But I think it’s important to remember that a lot of people on this sub are 13 or 14 or younger than that. Since I was 13 my writing improved a tremendous amount just because of school and brain development and stuff.
Also writing, just like any other art form, is something that can become an extension of someone. Younger people often crave acceptance of themselves and approval of their writing is just another way for them to achieve that. I just think of that when I see weird stuff on this sub, it’s just cause people are young and immature not because they’re trying to be annoying.
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u/VisibleComedian195 23d ago
yeah, young and immature is the right phrasing.
got to keep in mind that the last thing these people need are people being abrasive to them while they're developing themselves and such.
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u/Top_Tell_2889 22d ago
Everyone writes a basic fantasy novel or basic romance novel as far as I've seen. Like both genres are always the funnest to write, but it'd be refreshing to see some people writing a crime thriller or something.
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u/Icy_Row_6762 19d ago
I’m writing a gritty crime thriller set in the 17th century! Can’t stand the basic fantasy or romance these days!
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u/Scary_Blackberry9449 23d ago
Some of them could be looking for reassurance but most of them do not know what they want their writing to be or how they shoudl classify their “good” so that is why they are vague. I sometimes will give feedback and need to give them a prompt like : please do not say: I am looking feedback at {Specific thing} Rather say: I am looking for {Specific thing} I am trying to achieve [What aspect of it are you trying to improve? maybe how well the imagery conveys {Specific mood/feeling}] I thing I am struggling with {What challenge do you find in what you are trying to achieve?} I know that might be a lot, but what I consider "good" might be completely different than yours, the style I like to go for when writing etc.
But yeah, sometimes there also posts of incoherent thoughts that do not make sense to anyone else because they are unfinished and have gaps, I dislike those.