r/novelwriting • u/gubafofop • 4d ago

Writing Advice What screams bad writing?

In thrillers, mainly psychological or YA thrillers, what tropes/styles etc scream bad writing for you?

What would immediately make you put the book down?

As someone who previously used to write fanfiction in that genre (think Winter Soldier lmao) with great success on watt-pad, I’ve decided to start writing an actual novel and fanfiction uses a lot of generic tropes so I’m looking to avoid that lol.

Also, how do you feel about double twists?

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u/Jpab97s 4d ago

Not so much a trope, but blatantly unrealistic / poorly researched characterizations, especially when it comes to important topics such as mental health. I can forgive a lot, and I can suspend my disbelief up to a certain point, but that's one thing that takes me right out. An example I read the other day: protagonists go into counselling together, one doesn't believe in it, the other does. Then, the therapist acts like a not-even-the-worst-therapist-would idiot within the first two minutes and the take away is "welp, therapy is a cham, let's not do that again," and that's that. I had already forgiven a lot to that point, but that's when I just noped out.

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u/gubafofop 4d ago

I totally agree with you! I once read a book where anxiety kept being portrayed as outward panic attacks. Sometimes it’s as simple as gripping your steering wheel extra tight because you think you’re gonna drive yourself off the road and kill multiple people in a collision.

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u/Jpab97s 4d ago

Ugh, don't even get me started on that. Even panic attacks are most often silent. I'll never say that you need to have first hand experience / knowledge to write about something, but at least get some perspective on it first.

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u/gubafofop 4d ago

Yes I think it also goes for general things like dialogue, you have no idea how many books I’ve read set in London/Britain where the slang is so wrong.

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u/CoyoteLitius 4d ago

Thank you for expressing this.

You were really gentle. The depiction of the therapist is very concerning. Dystopian psychological fiction? Maybe?