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Wednesday, August 3, 2022

PLOTS WE'D RATHER NOT READ

Being an author isn't easy. How do we find fresh plots that readers will like? What's popular and what isn't? We have to think about it. We don't want to write a book that readers will reject because they're tired of certain plot ideas. 

I wrote a book titled, NIGHT FALL, that was about a killer who planned to release a deadly toxin. This was the first and only time I used this idea. But after writing it, I began to see comments from readers about not wanting to read anything that reminded them of Covid. Yikes! It was too late to change the book, but I was concerned about how it would be received. Thankfully, most readers liked it. 

There are plots I'm tired of. Why does almost every suspenseful show on television use the "trapped in the bank with violent robbers" idea? It drives me up the wall. I'll switch to a different show or another episode if I'm binge watching something on Roku. 

So help authors out. What plots make you avoid a book? 

Leave you comment, and I'll pick someone to win a $20.00 Amazon gift card!

Nancy



15 comments:

  1. I don’t like the enemies to romance angle. There’s always just too much hate and angst between them and then just before the end of the book they decide they are romantically inclined. Ugh!
    Perrianne Askew
    perrianne (DOT) askew (AT) me (DOT) com

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  2. I do not enjoy love triangles, enemies to lovers, and secret baby tropes. Also, I think the serial killer plot is way overdone now.

    eclitton at gmail dot com

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    1. I hear you, but it's really hard to write about FBI profilers without serial killers. Or serial arsonists...etc. They usually don't work on cases with just one death. We try but it's tough.

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  3. I don't need an entry to the contest, but I get tired of the "I just met you and we endure several crazy, scary days running from danger and now I want to marry you" plots. I don't mind a romantic element but that particular scenario it's just so unrealistic, impractical, and way over done.

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  4. I don’t like books where the characters just meet and are crazy in love already. The only thing they know about each other their first name.
    Onlysis06

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  5. I’m a little tired of the political figure has some mysterious person out to get them. Mostly just because I’m sick of politics in general 😀

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  6. I don't really have a particular trope I am tired of because I read so many different genres I get a lot of variety but I am not a fan of love triangles.

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  7. If there's too much romance I won't read it. I love suspense. Another common plot on TV is to have an AI computer lock someone in a room and kill them. I think that one has been used too much.

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  8. I'm enjoying seeing what everyone is tired of!

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  9. This is interesting see what others have to say. I can agree with a lot of these. I also don’t enjoy romances that the people either hate or don’t know each other one chapter and are deeply in love in the next.

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  10. Forgot to leave my name ^^ allofakindmom/Rosalyn

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  11. triangles, cliffhangers

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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  12. I don't think a plot line has ever kept me from reading a book. What has caused me to close one has been things that I have never ever encountered from any of the Suspense Sisters, and that's profanity, graphic murder/love scenes. It's so wonderful to find a group of authors that I can endorse wholeheartedly!

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  13. I get kind of tired of cliffhangers especially when the story has no actual ending.
    dianah7272 (at) gmail (dot) com

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  14. I don't like plots that have too much romance. I skim thru them. And don't care for cowboy books. I enjoy a good mystery and fast paced suspense without too much background details to slow it down. Also prefer to read a book with an ending. If it has a cliffhanger you usually wait almost a year for the next one and by that time I cannot remember the plot.

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